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Herb library · Herb · Rubia cordifolia

Manjistha (Indian madder)

The red root of a climbing madder, used for centuries as a dye and in Ayurveda for the skin. A small pilot trial found it shifted gut bacteria; no study in people shows a health benefit, and a 2022 review found clinical safety data lacking.

Traditional use

Dutt's 1877 compilation from Sanskrit medical works records that Hindu physicians used Indian madder, Manjishtha in Sanskrit, chiefly to color their medicated oils, all of which were first boiled with it, and as an astringent for external inflammations, ulcers and skin diseases. He notes that several writers recommended madder rubbed with honey for brown spots on the face, and that Chakradatta's ghee of madder, red sandalwood and murva root was applied to ulcers from burns. The root is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. Today it is sold as a powder and in capsules.

What studies show

  • Limited· a lab measure, not a health outcome

    Gut bacteria: in a 4-week pilot trial in healthy adults, the 9 people who took 2,000 mg of manjistha a day showed some shifts in their gut bacteria compared with placebo, but the responses were highly individual and no health outcome was measured.

  • Insufficient

    Skin and other uses: a 2022 review found that most research on Rubia cordifolia is in the laboratory or in animals, and that there are few studies of how the body handles it or of its toxicity.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • NoteSafe amounts are not established: the 2022 review says clinical safety data for Rubia cordifolia are lacking.
  • 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.

“Indian madder, well known as a red dye, is used in medicine chiefly as a colouring agent. All medicated oils are first prepared for use by being boiled with madder. It is regarded as astringent and useful in external inflammations, ulcers and skin diseases.”
Udoy Chand Dutt, The Materia Medica of the Hindus (1877), p. 178. See the page of The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 178 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from The Materia Medica of the Hindus, p. 178

Sources

  1. Modulatory Effects of Triphala and Manjistha Dietary Supplementation on Human Gut Microbiota: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study (2020) (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. A comprehensive review of Rubia cordifolia L.: Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and clinical applications (2022) (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.