Kuru

This genus consists of a single species of perennial, found in the W Himalayas. Picrorhiza kurrooa grows wild on rocky slopes of the Himalayas, between 3300 and 4300m (10,000-13,000ft). The genus was once considered to have two species, the other being P. scrophulariiflora, a rare species now known as Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, which is used as a febrifuge, and interchangeably with P. kurrooa. Both have a long history of medicinal use in the region. P. kurrooa is especially important as a bitter tonic in both Ayurvedic and Unani medicine; the roots are also used as an adulterant of, or substitute for Gentiana kurroo (Indian Gentian). During the 1990s, in response to growing demand worldwide for medicinal herbs, plants were over-collected, leading to environmental damage and loss of over 60 percent of the wild population. As a consequence, P. kurrooa was banned from international trade in 1997 and is now a protected species.

Rhizomatous perennial, rooting at nodes, with rootstock to 0.5cm (¼in) in diameter, covered in withered leaf bases, and dark green, narrowly elliptic to spathulate, coursely toothed leaves, 5-15cm (2-6in) long. Pale blue or purplish-blue flowers, with long extruding stamens, are produced in a compact spike in summer, followed by an ovoid capsule enclosed in the calyx, containing many seeds.


Common Name:
Kuru
Other Names:
Kutki
Botanical Name:
Picrorhiza kurrooa
Genus:
Picrorhiza
Family:
Scrophulariaceae
Native Location:
Himalayas (Bhutan, India, and Nepal)
Cultivation:
Moist, well-drained soil in sun or partial shade.
Propagation:
By seed sown when ripe; by division of rhizomes in early spring.
Harvest:
Rhizomes are collected in autumn and dried for use in decoctions and tinctures, or ground as powder.
Height:
15-23cm (6-9in)
:Width
30cm (12in)
Hardiness:
Z5-9
Parts Used:
Rhizomes
Properties:
A very bitter, tonic, laxative herb that lowers fever, improves liver function, increases gastric secretions, expels intestinal parasites, and in larger doses is cathartic and emetic, and stimulates the uterus. Reported to have anti-inflammatory, liver-protecting, and immune stimulating effects, and to be effective against the .organism that causes leishmaniasis.
Medicinal Uses:
Internally for bilious fever, constipation, dyspepsia, jaundice, liver complaints, chronic diarrhea, dysentery, intestinal parasites in children, psoriasis, vitiligo, epilepsy, asthma, and gout; also as an antidote in snakebite and dogbite. Externally for skin diseases, burns, ringworm, scabies, and hemorrhoids. Contraindicated during pregnancy.
Bibliography:
Encylopedia of Herbs by Deni Brown Copyright ©: 1995, 2001 Dorling Kindersley Limited pg 315