Herb library · Herb · Vitex negundo
Nirgundi (five-leaved chaste tree)
A fragrant shrub of India and Southeast Asia whose leaves go into pillows, vapor baths and oils for aches and colds. No study of nirgundi alone in people could be found.
Traditional use
Kirtikar and Basu's 1918 survey records that Sanskrit writers used the root and leaves of nirgundi, that a pillow stuffed with the leaves was laid under the head for headache, and that a leaf decoction with long pepper was given for fevers with a heavy head. They record that people in Mysore took vapor baths with the plant for fevers, colds and rheumatism, that, according to Ainslie, Muslims smoked the dried leaves for headache and catarrh, and that in the Konkan the leaf juice was given for rheumatism. Nirgundi oil is still a common Ayurvedic rub for aching joints, and in the Philippines the same plant, lagundi, is a familiar herbal medicine.
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Aches, pains and cough: no study of nirgundi on its own in people was found. The trials that include it test a blend with ginger, so they cannot say what nirgundi does alone.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThere is little modern safety information for nirgundi taken by mouth.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid it then.
- NoteSome Ayurvedic preparations include metals. The FDA warns that this makes some Ayurvedic products potentially harmful.
- 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.
“A pillow stuffed with the leaves of Nirgundí is placed under the head for relief of headache.”
“The people of Mysore are in the habit of treating febrile, catarrhal and rheumatic affections by means of a vapour bath prepared with this plant.”
Sources
- Effect of E-PR-01 on non-specific low back pain in the adult population: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial (2024) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- A comparative study of Lagundi and aspirin as analgesics for post-extraction pain (J Philipp Dent Assoc, 1985) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Ayurvedic Medicine: In Depth (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.