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← The ApothecaryAsteraceaeaerial parts (herb), leaf and shoot juice, whole plantFact-checked 24 October 2026

False daisy

Eclipta prostrata

Also calledBhringraj / Bhringaraj (Sanskrit, Hindi) · Bhumiraj (Nepali) · Mo han lian (Chinese) · Ecliptae Herba (pharmacopoeial name) · Erva-botão (Portuguese, Brazil) · Ink plant

In older monographsEclipta alba

A small white-flowered weed of wet ground, known in India as bhringraj and in China as mo han lian. In Ayurveda its juice and medicated oils are used for hair loss and greying and for the liver; in Chinese medicine it 'cools the blood' to stop bleeding and nourishes liver and kidney yin, often paired with glossy privet. Liver-protective and hair-growth effects are shown in rats and mice, but there are no clinical trials of the herb on its own.

What it is used for

  • Leaf extracts promoted hair growth in rats and mice at rates comparable to 2% minoxidil. In a 120-day randomised trial in 75 adults with hair loss and greying, an Ayurvedic polyherbal oil containing bhringraj (Neeli Bhringadi oil) improved hair growth, density and greying scores from baseline; because the oil has many ingredients, the effect of eclipta alone is unknown.1,2,3

  • Extracts protected rats against carbon-tetrachloride liver injury, and folk medicine in India and Bangladesh uses it for jaundice; a 2021 review notes that clinical significance has not been studied.1,3

  • Bleeding
    Traditional

    In Chinese medicine it is a blood-cooling haemostatic for nose, mouth, urinary, rectal and uterine bleeding; the Tang Materia Medica (659 CE) records it for bloody dysentery.3

  • Wounds and cuts
    Traditional

    Leaves and shoots are used in Nepal to prevent and treat wound infection, and in India for cuts and skin problems.1

  • Diarrhoea
    Traditional

    In Indian folk medicine shoot juice with mustard oil is taken for diarrhoea and dysentery; in Brazil it is used for diarrhoea.1,3

  • Menopause
    Traditional

    The pair of eclipta and glossy privet (the Erzhi formula) is among the herb pairs most frequently prescribed for menopausal symptoms in Chinese medicine; no clinical trials of either herb alone were found.3

How it is prepared

juice

Fresh leaf or shoot juice, taken by mouth or applied to the scalp; with honey it is a folk remedy for catarrh in infants.

Hair and scalp

infused oil

Herb cooked into an oil base with other herbs (for example Neeli Bhringadi taila) and massaged into the scalp.

Hair and scalp

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy
Insufficient data
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data
Children
No paediatric safety data found.

Side effects

  • The polyherbal hair-oil trial reported favourable safety; human safety data for the herb itself are lacking

Toxicity

Water extracts caused acute toxicity in mice at doses above 2 g/kg per day. Human toxicity data are lacking.

In the healing traditions

  • Ayurveda

    Bhringaraj

    Used for its revitalising and anti-ageing properties, and for hair loss and premature greying, applied in medicated oils such as Neeli Bhringadi taila for head massage (shiro abhyanga).

    Neeli Bhringadi taila (classical Ayurvedic formulation)

  • Traditional Chinese Medicine

    Mo han lian

    Cold and sour; tonifies liver and kidney, cools the blood and stops bleeding in yin deficiency with blood heat. Combined in equal parts with glossy privet fruit (Ligustrum lucidum) as Erzhi Wan, the 'two solstices pill', named for the summer and winter solstice harvests of its two herbs, for dizziness, tinnitus, weak back and knees and premature greying.

    Tang Materia Medica (659 CE), as 'li chang'; Erzhi Wan first recorded as Nüzhen Dan in Fu Shou Jing Fang (1536); Chinese Pharmacopoeia

  • Andean / Amazonian

    Erva-botão

    In Brazil used for lung complaints, diarrhoea, syphilis, snakebite, filariasis and leprosy; ethnic groups in South America use it for snakebite.

Active compounds

wedelolactone
coumestan; the Chinese Pharmacopoeia quality marker (at least 0.040%); linked to hair-growth and liver effects in animal studies
eclalbasaponins / ecliptasaponins
triterpenoid saponins
α-terthienyl
thiophene
luteolin and apigenin
flavones

History

The Tang Materia Medica of 659 CE first recorded the herb under the name 'li chang', for bloody dysentery. In 1536 the Ming formulary Fu Shou Jing Fang paired it with glossy privet in Nüzhen Dan, later called Erzhi Wan, the 'two solstices pill', because eclipta is harvested at the summer solstice and privet at the winter solstice.

Sources

  1. 1.Timalsina D, Devkota HP. Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. (Asteraceae): ethnomedicinal uses, chemical constituents, and biological activities. Biomolecules 2021
  2. 2.Patel MN et al. An integrative approach of Neeli Bhringraj polyherbal hair oil in clinical evaluation of androgenetic alopecia and premature hair greying. Cureus 2026
  3. 3.Li X et al. The modern scientific interpretation of ancient wisdom: a review of the phytochemistry and pharmacology of Erzhi Pill and its constituent botanical drugs. Front Pharmacol 2026
  4. 4.GBIF: Eclipta prostrata (L.) L. (accepted; IUCN Least Concern)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.