About Chanca Piedra (Stone Breaker)
Phyllanthus niruri, sold as Chanca Piedra or Stone Breaker, is the most common active in herbal kidney-stone products. The clinical base is thin: a 2020 meta-analysis (Dhawan & Olweny, Can J Urol) pooled the only two controlled studies (89 treated vs 92 controls) and found modest reductions in stone size and number (SMD −0.39 and −0.38, p=0.01) with high heterogeneity. The single placebo-controlled RCT (Nishiura 2004, n=69, 3 months) found NO significant difference in stone size, number, stone passage, or pain vs placebo — urinary calcium fell only in the hypercalciuric subset. The positive stone-burden data come from an uncontrolled single-arm study (Pucci 2018, n=56). Well tolerated in trials with no serum metabolic changes. Avoid during pregnancy (traditional uterine-relaxant concern; product labels advise medical advice first). No established RDA/UL.
What Chanca Piedra (Stone Breaker) supports
- Modest reduction in kidney-stone size and number in a pooled analysis of two small studies
- Lowered urinary oxalate and uric acid in patients with elevated baseline levels (single-arm study)
- Increased urinary magnesium and potassium excretion, factors that inhibit stone formation
- 2,000+ years of traditional use for urinary and kidney complaints across Ayurvedic and South American medicine
How much Chanca Piedra (Stone Breaker) to take
The RDA prevents deficiency. The effective range is what clinical trials used to actually move the outcome.
Effective
1350–4500
mg
Clinical trials used 450 mg dry-extract capsules three times daily (1,350 mg/day, Nishiura 2004 RCT) up to 4.5 g of herb per tea infusion twice daily (Pucci 2018). Capsule products dosed below ~1,350 mg/day are below every studied dose.
Clinical evidence
Limited clinical evidence. Only one placebo-controlled RCT (null on stone outcomes); the positive data are from a small uncontrolled study. Meta-analysis calls efficacy 'modest, pending further study'
Reference