Use with caution. Review interactions and contraindications below.
TCM Properties
- Taste
- bitter
- Temperature
- cool
- Channels
- Liver, Large Intestine
Traditional Use
Primary Actions
- Clears Heat and resolves toxicity
- Dispels Wind-Dampness and relieves Bi syndrome pain
- Stops dysentery and resolves intestinal heat
- Eliminates pestilential toxin
Secondary Actions
- Neuroprotective — Tibetan use for conditions of mental confusion and cognitive decline
- Anti-rheumatic for chronic wind-damp joint disorders
Classical References
- Tibetan Pharmacopoeia: known as Bang-zi-du-wu (邦子都乌); one of the core herbs of traditional Tibetan medicine used for treating cold disorders, pain, plague-type febrile illness, and arthritis
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1977): adopted under the formal Chinese name 益寿草 (Yi Shou Cao, Longevity Herb); note — stub data listed pinyin as 'Tu Ku Shen' (土苦参), a name associated with Sophora species; corrected to Yi Shou Cao per pharmacopoeia and PMC review (PMC9038101)
Modern Research
Active Compounds
- Bis-iridoids (principal bioactives; ~33 compounds including sweroside, loganin, sylvestroside I, cantleyoside)
- Seco-iridoid glycosides
- Iridoid oligomers
- Lignans and phenylpropanoids (19 compounds)
- Oleanane- and ursane-type triterpenoids (18 compounds)
- Flavonoids
Studied Effects
- Anti-arthritic: total glycosides reduced paw swelling by 38% and arthritis scores by 25.3% in rat CIA model; mechanism involves NF-κB p65 suppression (33–78% reduction) and reduction of oxidative stress markers MDA and NO (PMID 27937009)
- Anti-inflammatory and analgesic: standardised bis-iridoid extract showed significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity in multiple animal models via COX-2 inhibition; peripheral analgesic action predominant (PMID 29410154)
- Comprehensive review of 93 identified compounds confirms anti-rheumatoid arthritis, anticancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), and neuroprotective (dopaminergic neuron protection) pharmacological profile (PMID 35478563)
PubMed References
Safety & Interactions
Contraindications
- Cold-Damp Bi syndrome without Heat signs
- Spleen-Stomach Deficiency Cold
Cautions
- Standard dose 9–15g decoction
- Hepatotoxicity reported with n-butanol extract in animal studies: elevated ALT, AST, ALP, and bilirubin via inflammatory and necrotic pathways — avoid concentrated alcohol extracts; decoction use under practitioner supervision
- Primarily a Tibetan minority medicine; limited long-term clinical data for Han Chinese population