Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Plumbago zeylanica
Also known as Chitrak
Pronounced Chitrak (CHIT-rak, also CHIT-ruh-kuh); Plumbago zeylanica (plum-BAY-go zay-LAN-ih-kuh).
Hot, dry, and sharply stimulating: a caustic pungent fire-kindler that rouses cold, damp, torpid digestion, best kept in a practitioner's hand.
Contraindicated. The root is a documented uterine stimulant and abortifacient; classical Ayurvedic texts list Chitraka as an emmenagogue and garbhapatana (abortive), and animal studies show dose-dependent anti-implantation and abortifacient activity for both plumbagin and root extracts (Edwin et al., Asian Pac J Trop Med 2011, PMID 22118035; preimplantation-loss study PMID 1889824). Do not use in any trimester.
Contraindicated (avoid). No human lactation safety data exist; plumbagin is cytotoxic and an irritant, and its excretion into breast milk is uncharacterized. Precautionary avoidance per Mills & Bone principles.
Contraindicated in infants and young children. Irritant caustic constituent, very narrow therapeutic margin, and no pediatric safety data. In traditional practice reserved for adults under supervision.
Narrow therapeutic margin. Plumbagin is an irritant, vesicant naphthoquinone: overdose or prolonged use causes burning epigastric pain, worsened gastritis, mucosal irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, and in large doses CNS depression and vascular collapse (the root is classed as an acro-narcotic poison). Fresh root sap blisters skin on contact. Use only purified (shodhita) root, in small doses, buffered with a demulcent, under qualified supervision. Not for casual self-dosing.
Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy (uterine stimulant and abortifacient) and in lactation. Avoid in gastritis, hyperacidity, peptic or duodenal ulcer, GERD, inflammatory bowel disease, active bleeding or heavy menstruation, and in high-Pitta or heat states. Not for infants or children. Discontinue well before surgery.
Common, fast-growing pantropical subshrub, widely cultivated across India; not listed as at-risk and not on United Plant Savers watch lists. Root harvest kills the plant, so favor cultivated over wildcrafted material. The main stewardship duty here is safe handling: wear gloves, since fresh root sap is a skin vesicant, and use correctly purified material.
Not in canonical biblical texts and not a Mediterranean plant of Dioscorides or Pliny. Native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), India, and tropical Africa and Asia; a classical Ayurvedic dravya named in Charaka, Sushruta, and the Nighantus.
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