Andrographis paniculata, the herb the TGA removed from Australia's listed medicines
Lalithamba from IndiaCC BY 2.0
The plant itself, photographed in the wild in India, not a photograph of any packaged supplement product named in this story.
Australia Banned a Cold and Flu Herb. The Pushback Makes the More Useful Point.
Four days after Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration pulled Andrographis paniculata, a common cold and flu herb, from the country's listed medicines over 287 reports of anaphylaxis, the pushback arrived with actual evidence behind it. Industry bodies and a leading botanical researcher did not just object. They made a specific, checkable case that the ban itself creates a worse outcome than the one it is trying to prevent.
- Four days after Australia's TGA removed Andrographis paniculata from listed medicines over 287 anaphylaxis reports, industry bodies and an independent researcher pushed back with a specific, evidence backed objection.
- The TGA counted adverse event reports but never calculated a rate, and use of the herb surged after COVID, so more reports may simply mean more users, not more risk.
- A consumer survey found about 35 percent of Andrographis users would buy the herb from overseas websites instead, and of 26 non TGA products already sold online, 23 carried no allergy warning at all.
- A peer reviewed Swiss lab analysis found some online bought Andrographis products contaminated with mercury and strychnine.
The regulator's numerator is solid. Its denominator is missing.
Professor Jon Wardle of Southern Cross University's National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine makes the sharpest point: Andrographis use rose sharply after COVID 19, so a rise in adverse event reports could simply track a rise in users rather than a rise in risk. The TGA's decision rests on what Wardle calls signal tracing of adverse events alone, with no sales data available to turn those 287 reports into an actual rate. Complementary Medicines Australia adds a proportionality argument with real numbers behind it. Andrographis products have carried a mandatory allergy warning since 2019, but that warning was never required on the front of the pack, and CMA's own consumer research found that roughly two thirds of users never recalled seeing any warning at all. The industry group points to royal jelly, a product also associated with fatal anaphylaxis that remains legally sold in Australia under a bold, mandatory front of pack warning, as the middle path the TGA skipped.
Removing it from shelves may be raising the actual risk
The sharpest part of this story is what happens after a ban. In a CMA survey of nearly 1,000 Andrographis consumers, about 35 percent said they would consider buying the herb from an overseas website if it left Australian shelves, with another quarter unsure. Of 26 non TGA Andrographis products already for sale online to Australians, 23 carried no allergy warning at all and three carried only a partial one. A peer reviewed analysis published in Swiss Medical Weekly found online purchased Andrographis products contaminated with mercury, strychnine, and the pesticide butralin. Put together, that is a real possibility that pulling a supplement off a regulated shelf pushes some of its users toward a version of the same product that is both unlabeled and, in at least some tested cases, poisoned.
Honest caveat
The loudest voices making this argument are interested parties. Complementary Medicines Australia is the industry association whose members sell the product, and the naturopathy body ARONAH represents practitioners who want to keep prescribing it. Their consumer survey of roughly 1,000 respondents and the 26 product online scan are self reported and self published, and no methodology was made available to check either one. Professor Wardle is an independent academic, but naturopathic medicine is his own field. Against all of that sits the TGA's own published conclusion that stronger warnings have not led to a meaningful reduction in reports, and that further education and formulation restrictions were not viable options, meaning the regulator did consider a moderate path and rejected it on the record. The one claim here that is fully independent of the industry is the Swiss Medical Weekly contamination finding, and it is the one worth leaning on most.
What this means for you
If you use Andrographis, or any other herbal cold and flu remedy, the actionable point is not about which side of this regulatory argument is right. It is that allergic reactions can occur even after years of uneventful use, and that if a product does leave Australian shelves, buying it from an unfamiliar overseas website carries its own real, separately documented risk of contamination. A missing allergy warning on an online listing is itself a signal worth paying attention to, regardless of how you feel about the ban.
Primary sources
- TGA safety advisory: medicines containing Andrographis paniculata. Therapeutic Goods Administration.
- Industry, research experts surprised, disappointed at TGA's Andrographis removal. NutraIngredients, September 22, 2026.
- Swiss Medical Weekly, December 2025.
- MEDSAFE New Zealand prescriber update on allergic reactions with Andrographis paniculata, December 2025.
- Health Canada MedEffect Health Product InfoWatch, September 2020.
Common questions
What is Andrographis and why was it banned?
Andrographis paniculata, sometimes called King of Bitters or Indian echinacea, is an herb used for colds, flu, and sore throat. Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration removed it from listed medicines after reviewing 287 reports of anaphylaxis and one fatal reaction reported in June 2024.
Does a rise in adverse event reports mean the herb got more dangerous?
Not necessarily. Andrographis use rose sharply after COVID 19, so more reports could simply reflect more people using it rather than a higher risk per user. The TGA's own review did not calculate a rate, which is the specific gap that industry bodies and independent researchers have pointed to.
Is it safer to buy Andrographis online instead?
The evidence here says the opposite. Of 26 non TGA Andrographis products already sold online to Australians, 23 carried no allergy warning at all, and a peer reviewed Swiss lab analysis found some online purchased Andrographis contaminated with mercury and strychnine. An unregulated online purchase is not automatically a safer one.
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