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Herb library · Herb · Tinospora cordifolia

Guduchi (giloy)

A climbing vine of India whose stem is a staple of Ayurveda and was widely taken as an immune remedy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has not been shown to help any condition in people, and it is a well-established cause of liver injury.

Serious warning

LiverTox (NIH) rates Tinospora cordifolia a well-established cause of liver injury: more than 50 cases of acute liver injury have been reported since 2017, including acute liver failure and deaths, most often in people who already had liver disease.

Traditional use

Long used in Hindu medicine, where its Sanskrit names include Guduchi and Bhishakpriya, dear to physicians. The stem was valued for fevers, as a tonic, and for rheumatism, digestion, diabetes, jaundice and urinary complaints, and a starch made from it was sold in every drug shop. The Sushruta Samhita lists Guduchi among the bitter herbs, and Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that Hindu physicians used stem, leaves, root and watery extract alike, giving the fresh juice with milk as a tonic and a cold infusion with honey in fever. Today it is sold as powders, capsules and tablets, often in combination products, with claims for immune health.

Traditional energetics

What studies show

  • Insufficient

    Immune health and other uses: LiverTox notes that none of the activities seen in lab and animal studies have been shown in studies in people. That includes the claims made for it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Insufficient

    Allergic rhinitis (hay fever): one 8-week randomized trial in 75 people in India reported fewer symptoms than with placebo. It has not been repeated.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • ConditionLiver injury from guduchi has been more frequent and more severe in people with existing liver disease; if you have liver disease, talk with your clinician before taking it. Stop and see a clinician if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, nausea or unusual tiredness.
  • NoteLiver injury has appeared from a few weeks to 6 months after starting, sometimes with autoimmune features. Most people recovered after stopping, but some cases were fatal.
  • NoteOther side effects are uncommon and include headache, dizziness, nausea, stomach discomfort, diarrhea and rash. It is often one ingredient in multi-herb products, so check labels.
  • PregnancyNCCIH advises talking with your clinician before using Ayurvedic products while pregnant or nursing.
  • NoteSome Ayurvedic preparations include metals. The FDA warns that this makes some Ayurvedic products potentially harmful, and a 2015 survey found high lead or mercury levels in some of the supplements tested.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“The stem, leaves, roots and watery extract of this plant are all used in Hindu Medicine. The entire plant is regarded as a valuable alterative and tonic.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 105. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 105 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 105
“The herbs and creepers such as the Atarushaka, Kirátatikta, Parpataka and Guduchi together with the tender shoots of the Vetra and the Nimva, have a bitter taste and subdue the Pittam and Kapham.”
Sushruta; edited and translated by Kaviraj Kunja Lal Bhishagratna, An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam) (1907), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518. See the page of An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from An English Translation of the Sushruta Samhita, vol. 1 (Sutrasthanam), vol. 1, ch. XLVI, p. 518
“The stem, if placed upon a bush in the open air, will retain its vitality through the hot season, and when the rains commence, put forth leaves and long whipcord-like roots, which soon reach the ground, whence the Sanskrit synonym Chinnaruha, or, growing when cut.”
William Dymock, C. J. H. Warden and David Hooper, Pharmacographia Indica (1890), vol. 1, p. 55. See the page of Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 1, p. 55 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from Pharmacographia Indica, vol. 1, p. 55

Sources

  1. LiverTox: Tinospora (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Efficacy of Tinospora cordifolia in allergic rhinitis (2005) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  3. Ayurvedic Medicine: In Depth (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.