Picrorhiza kurroa, or Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora  胡 黃 連 Hú huáng lián        
 Often used as a substitute for the more expensive Huang lian.
This herb is one of the major income generating non-timber forest products found in the Nepalese Himalayas. P. kurroa grown in Tibet, Nepal, India. It is found in the Himalayan region from Kashmir to Sikkim at an elevation of 2700-4500 m and in Nepal, found abundantly between 3500 and 4800 m. It is found far away from the community and takes from hours to days to walk to its growing habitat. It has been reported that Picrorhiza has been harvested to near extinction.
P. scophularifolia grown in Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan. P. scrophulariifolia is heavily used as a substitute for P. kurroa. It grows on rocky slopes at altitudes of 3,600–4,800 m.
PART USED: Root- Harvested in Autumn when the aerial parts have withered.
Nature: Cold       FLAVOR: Bitter   CHANNEL: Liver, Stomach, Large Intestine
FUNCTIONS- Used as an emperor herb for infantile digestive malfunctions
 GROUP: Clearing Internal Heat- Drying Dampness
1. Clear Damp Heat.[3]
2. Yin deficiency Heat.[2,3]
3. Clears Heat and reduces childhood nutritional impairment.[3]
ACTIONS
INDICATIONS
1. Damp Heat dysentery or sores.[3]
2. Yin deficiency Heat signs.[3]
3. Childhood nitritional disorder: abdominal distention, afternoon fevers, and dysenteric diarrhea.[3]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Use with caution in cases of Spleen or Stomach deficiency.[3]
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Dried Root 3-9 g.[2,3] Good quality is thick, lightweight, fat, and bitter. The rhizome should have a gray-black cross section.

DESCRIPTION
Leaves: 5–15 cm long leaves, almost all at the base, often withered. Leaves are coarsely toothed, narrowed to a winged stalk. Rhizomes of the plant are 15–25 cm long and woody. Flowers: small, pale or purplish blue, borne in cylindric spikes, spikes borne on almost leafless erect stems. Flowers about 8 mm, 5-lobed to the middle, and with much longer stamens. Fruits: 1.3 cm long.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

A study of standardized extracts of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth in experimental nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Shetty SN, Mengi S, Vaidya R, Vaidya AD.
Abstract
As a major organ of intermediary metabolism, the liver is exposed to a variety of metabolic insults due to diseases and xenobiotics viz., insulin resistance (IR) drugs, toxins, microbial products, etc. One of the consequences of these metabolic insults including obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus is the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The recent alarming increase in the prevalence of NAFLD compels the need to develop an appropriate animal model of the disease so as to evolve effective interventions. In this study, we have developed, in the rat, a new model of NAFLD showing several key features akin to the disease in humans. Male Wistar rats were challenged with 30% high fat diet (HFD) - butter, for 2 weeks to induce NAFLD. A hydroalcoholic extract of Picrorhiza kurroa was administered to study the possible reversal of fatty changes in the liver. The extract was given in two doses viz., 200mg/kg and 400 mg/kg b.i.d., p.o. for a period of 4 weeks. There were three control groups (n = 6/group) - vehicle with a regular diet, vehicle with HFD, and HFD with silymarin - a known hepatoprotective.Histopathology showed that the P. kurroa extract brought about a reversal of the fatty infiltration of the liver (mg/g) and a lowering of the quantity of hepatic lipids (mg/g) compared to that in the HFD control group (38.33 ± 5.35 for 200mg/kg; 29.44 ± 8.49 for 400mg/kg of P. kurroa vs.130.07 ± 6.36mg/g of liver tissue in the HFD control group; P<0.001). Compared to the standard dose of the known hepatoprotective silymarin, P. kurroa reduced the lipid content (mg/g) of the liver more significantly at the dose of 400mg/kg (57.71 ± 12.45mg/kg vs. 29.44 ± 8.49 for the silymarin group vs. 400mg/kg of P. kurroa, P<0.001). In view of the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and NAFLD, P. kurroa should be investigated by the reverse pharmacology path as a potential drug for the treatment of NAFLD, and essential safety studies and preformulation research for concentration of the putative actives should be carried out.
PMID: 21547049 PMCID: PMC3087357 DOI: 10.4103/0975-9476.72622 J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2010 Jul;1(3):203-10. doi: 10.4103/0975-9476.72622. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 Picrorhiza kurroa. Monograph.
Abstract
Picrorhiza kurroa is a well-known herb in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and has traditionally been used to treat disorders of the liver and upper respiratory tract, reduce fevers, and to treat dyspepsia, chronic diarrhea, and scorpion sting. It is a small perennial herb from the Scrophulariaceae family, found in the Himalayan region growing at elevations of 3,000 - 5,000 meters. Picrorhiza kurroa has a long, creeping rootstock that is bitter in taste, and grows in rock crevices and moist, sandy soil. The leaves of the plant are flat, oval, and sharply serrated. The flowers, which appear June through August, are white or pale purple and borne on a tall spike; manual harvesting of the plant takes place October through December. The active constituents are obtained from the root and rhizomes. The plant is self-regenerating but unregulated over-harvesting has caused it to be threatened to near extinction. Current research on Picrorhiza kurroa has focused on its hepatoprotective, anticholestatic, antioxidant, and immune-modulating activity.
PMID: 11410077 Altern Med Rev. 2001 Jun;6(3):319-21. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Picrorhiza kurroa (Kutaki) Royle ex Benth as a hepatoprotective agent--experimental & clinical studies.
Vaidya AB1, Antarkar DS, Doshi JC, Bhatt AD, Ramesh V, Vora PV, Perissond D, Baxi AJ, Kale PM.
Author information
Abstract
Picrorhiza kurroa (Pk), a known hepatoprotective plant, was studied in experimental and clinical situtations. The standardization of active principles--Picroside 1 and 2 was done with High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Picroside 1 ranged from 2.72 to 2.88 mg/capsule and picroside 2 from 5.50 to 6.00 mg/capsule. In the galactosamine-induced liver injury in rats, Pk at a dose of 200 mg/kg p.o. showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in liver lipid content, GOT and GPT. In a randomised, double-blind placebo controlled trial in patients diagnosed to have acute viral hepatitis (HBsAg negative), Pk root powder 375 mg three times a day was given for 2 weeks (n = 15) or a matching placebo (n = 18) was given. Difference in values of bilirubin, SGOT and SGPT was significant between placebo and Pk groups. The time in days required for total serum bilirubin to drop to average value of 2.5 mg% was 75.9 days in placebo as against 27.44 days in Pk group. The present study has shown a biological plausability of efficacy of Pk as supported by clinical trial in viral hepatitis, hepatoprotection in animal model and an approach for standardizing extracts based on picroside content.
PMID: 9715310 J Postgrad Med. 1996 Oct-Dec;42(4):105-8. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov