Kidney disease

Caterpillar fungus

Ophiocordyceps sinensis

A 2014 Cochrane review of 22 trials (1,746 people) found cordyceps preparations added to conventional treatment lowered serum creatinine and proteinuria and raised creatinine clearance, but the trials were low quality and no firm conclusion was possible.

Chaya

Cnidoscolus chayamansa

Leaf extract (100–200 mg/kg) largely prevented the rise in urea and creatinine and the kidney damage caused by long-term alcohol in rats. No human data were found.

Cherokee rose

Rosa laevigata

Fruit extracts protected the kidneys in diabetic rats, and total flavonoids from the fruit reduced creatinine, urea and oxidative damage in rats with kidney ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Cogongrass

Imperata cylindrica

A decoction reduced blood and protein in the urine in a rat model of IgA nephropathy, and the triterpenoid cylindrin reduced kidney fibrosis in mice. No human trials were found.

Cow's foot

Bauhinia forficata

Brazilian folk medicine uses the leaves as a diuretic and for kidney disorders. Leaf extracts and the flavonoids kaempferitrin and afzelin increased urine output in rats; there are no human studies.

Cubeb

Piper cubeba

A single case report described a man with hypertensive chronic kidney disease whose creatinine and urea improved after 4 g a day of cubeb capsules for 6 weeks. One uncontrolled case cannot show an effect; earlier animal studies report nephroprotective activity.

Devil's hand tree

Chiranthodendron pentadactylon

A flower infusion is used for kidney failure associated with diabetes. In diabetic rats given flower extract for six weeks, kidney oxidative-stress markers and kidney function measures improved, but blood glucose did not.

Giant dodder

Cuscuta reflexa

Used traditionally for kidney problems. The same extract reduced gentamicin-induced kidney damage markers in rats. Animal data only.

Gum arabic

Senegalia senegal

Many rat studies show protection against induced kidney damage, and small human studies report falls in urea, creatinine, phosphate and inflammatory markers in dialysis and chronic kidney disease patients. A 2024 review judged the human trials small, short and partly uncontrolled, and the evidence not yet robust enough to recommend it.

Indian kudzu

Pueraria tuberosa

Tuber extracts protected against drug-, chemical- and diabetes-induced kidney damage in rats and mice; no human data.

Mountain knotgrass

Aerva lanata

An ethanol extract (75–300 mg/kg) reduced blood urea and creatinine in rats with cisplatin- or gentamicin-induced kidney injury. In a four-patient Siddha case series on early diabetic nephropathy, Sirupeelai kudineer was followed by lower urea and creatinine and no reported adverse events. There was no control group. A Sri Lankan rat study found the herb damaged kidney-tubule cells (see safety).

Orient vine

Sinomenium acutum

Used in China for chronic nephritis and to reduce proteinuria; the evidence comes from small trials, and the case of severe agranulocytosis below occurred in a patient treated for kidney disease.

Porcupine flower

Barleria prionitis

Described as a common traditional remedy for kidney disease. In rats, extracts given at doses scaled from the Ayurvedic human dose reduced kidney injury caused by doxorubicin.

Punarnava

Boerhavia diffusa

Listed in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India and used as a nephroprotective herb (e.g. in Punarnavadi kvatha); root extracts protected rat kidneys from cisplatin and methotrexate injury. In a 6-month clinical study of 25 patients with diabetic nephropathy, B. diffusa did not significantly reduce urinary protein, whereas ramipril did.

Sharp-leaf galangal

Alpinia oxyphylla

Extracts lowered blood glucose and reduced kidney damage in diabetic mice; it is being studied for diabetic kidney disease, but only in animals.

Tansy

Tanacetum vulgare

The Malecite and Micmac used the leaves for kidney trouble, and Moroccan traditional medicine uses them as a diuretic. In rats a water extract of the leaves (100 mg/kg by mouth) increased urine output to about the same 24-hour volume as furosemide. No human data.

Thunder god vine

Tripterygium wilfordii

Meta-analyses of Chinese trials report benefit in membranous nephropathy and other kidney diseases (raised remission rates, lower proteinuria), but most included trials were at high risk of bias.

Umbrella polypore

Polyporus umbellatus

Long used in Chinese medicine for urinary and kidney disorders; reviews report kidney-protective effects in animal models only, with no controlled human trials.

Vetiver

Chrysopogon zizanioides

A standardised aqueous root extract (25–100 mg/kg) reduced kidney damage from doxorubicin in rats. Animal work only.

Cleavers

Galium aparine

Ojibwa, Micmac and Penobscot people used it for 'kidney trouble'. It is a traditional diuretic in sources cited by Beirami et al. No clinical studies were found.

Cocklebur

Xanthium strumarium

Recorded Indigenous North American uses include the plant for diseased kidneys (Mahuna) and a decoction of the seeds for bladder ailments (Costanoan). The seeds are the most toxic part.

Genipap

Genipa americana

Brazilian ethnobotanical surveys repeatedly record the fruit, bark and other parts as diuretics and for kidney disorders. Not tested clinically.

Han fang ji

Stephania tetrandra

Because of its diuretic action it is widely used in Chinese formulas for chronic kidney disease, including diabetic kidney disease; supporting evidence is from animal and cell studies.

Joe-Pye weed

Eutrochium purpureum

Cherokee healers used a root infusion for kidney trouble and a compound root decoction for difficult urination; the Menominee used the plant for diseases of the genito-urinary canal. No clinical studies were found.

Longevity spinach

Gynura procumbens

In Indonesia the plant is widely used for kidney (renal) dysfunction; rat studies found leaf-extract formulations protected liver and kidneys from cisplatin damage.

Oregon grape

Berberis aquifolium

Okanagan-Colville took a root decoction, with chokecherry or kinnikinnick, for 'bad kidneys'.

Purple pitcher plant

Sarracenia purpurea

The Algonquin, Mi'kmaq and Penobscot used the roots or plant for urinary difficulties and kidney trouble; Tete-de-Boule Algonquin used the roots as a diuretic. Nineteenth-century observers noted increased urine in people who drank it.

Tongue fern

Pyrrosia lingua

Small-leaved shi wei from P. lingua or P. petiolosa is traditionally used for nephritis, and shi wei is also used for blood in the urine.

Wintergreen

Gaultheria procumbens

Delaware, Mohegan and Iroquois used infusions or compound decoctions of the plant as kidney medicine.

Yacón

Smallanthus sonchifolius

In Peruvian folk medicine the tubers are used for kidney problems; not tested.