Alkekengi officinarum
StarAlkekengi officinarum
Synonyms: Physalis hyemalis, Boberella alkekengi
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Urinary & fluids
- Energy & fatigue
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Alkekengi officinarum, the Chinese lantern or bladder cherry (formerly Physalis alkekengi), is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Solanaceae reaching 40-60 cm in height and spreading by creeping rhizomes. The erect, somewhat zigzag stems bear spirally arranged ovate to rhomboid leaves 6-12 cm long and 4-9 cm broad, with entire to coarsely toothed margins and tapered bases. Solitary, nodding, five-lobed white flowers about 10-15 mm across appear in the leaf axils in summer; after fertilisation the calyx enlarges dramatically into a papery, inflated, bright orange-red lantern-like husk 4-5 cm long enclosing a single shiny scarlet berry. Native from southern Europe through central and southwest Asia to East Asia, it is widely grown as an ornamental and has naturalised in many temperate regions.
Active Constituents
Physalin A
Physalin-type 13,14-seco-16,24-cycloergostane steroidConcentration: One of the principal physalins of the calyx; content varies markedly with harvest stage and with maturity of the calyx
A characteristic steroid of the genus and one of the compounds that gives the drug its bitter taste. It is anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic in cell models, and pharmacokinetic work in rodents shows it peaks in plasma within about one to two hours and then undergoes extensive phase II conjugation.
Physalin B
Physalin-type 13,14-seco-16,24-cycloergostane steroidConcentration: Major physalin of the calyx and fruit
The physalin with the most striking tissue distribution: in rodent studies it accumulates in lung at more than twenty times the concentration reached in other tissues, which is a rare instance of measured pharmacokinetics matching a classical channel attribution, since the drug is assigned to the Lung channel and used for phlegm-heat cough and sore throat.
Physalin D
Physalin-type 13,14-seco-16,24-cycloergostane steroidConcentration: Major physalin of the calyx
Distributes preferentially to kidney and liver, does not cross the blood-brain barrier, and is largely excreted unchanged in faeces, with about twelve percent recovered within seventy-two hours. Its poor absorption is typical of the class.
Luteoloside (luteolin 7-O-beta-D-glucoside)
Flavone glycosideConcentration: The Chinese Pharmacopoeia assay marker for the calyx drug, which must contain not less than 0.10 percent
The compound on which the official identity and potency of the crude drug rests. It is hydrolysed by gut flora to luteolin, which is then heavily glucuronidated and sulfated, so intact luteoloside is essentially undetectable in plasma after oral dosing.
Luteolin
Flavone aglyconeConcentration: Present in the calyx and generated from luteoloside by intestinal hydrolysis
The absorbed form of the drug's principal flavonoid. It inhibits pro-inflammatory signalling and is the most plausible carrier of the anti-inflammatory action seen with crude calyx extracts in animal models of pharyngeal inflammation.
Withanolides
Steroidal lactoneConcentration: Minor steroidal fraction accompanying the physalins
A structurally related steroid group shared with Withania and other Solanaceae. In this species they are minor relative to the physalins and no distinct clinical role has been established for them.
Physakengose sucrose esters
Sucrose esterConcentration: Series of at least ten congeners reported from the plant
A genus-characteristic class of amphiphilic sugar esters, useful chemotaxonomically. Their pharmacology is largely unstudied.
Calyx polysaccharides
PolysaccharideConcentration: Major water-extractable fraction of the calyx
The high-molecular-weight fraction that survives decoction. Structurally characterised calyx polysaccharides are anti-inflammatory in cell models, and polysaccharide fractions from the plant lowered blood glucose in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Pregnancy and any uterotonic agent (oxytocin, misoprostol, ergometrine)
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia entry for the calyx drug carries an explicit prohibition in pregnancy and in spleen-vacuity diarrhoea, and the traditional literature records the plant as having an abortifacient action. Both the whole herb and the root are documented as promoting uterine contraction, and alcoholic extract of the species reduced implantation sites and neonate number and weight when given in early pregnancy in rats. The identity of the uterotonic constituent has not been established, so this is an effect attributed to the drug rather than to a defined molecule.
Clinical note: Do not prescribe in pregnancy, at any dose, and do not use it while a patient is undergoing fertility treatment or attempting conception. Ask specifically about pregnancy before dispensing, because the calyx is also eaten and sold as a decorative and food item and patients may not think of it as a drug.
Metformin, sulfonylureas and insulin
Polysaccharide fractions from the plant lowered fasting glucose and improved insulin sensitivity in high-fat-diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice. No human data exist, and it is not known whether decoction doses deliver a comparable polysaccharide load.
Clinical note: No dose change is warranted on this evidence, but if a diabetic patient begins sustained use of the calyx, ask them to monitor home glucose for the first fortnight rather than assuming the herb is inert.
Physalis angulata (Ku Zhi) and edible husk cherries such as Physalis pubescens and Physalis peruviana
Several Physalis relatives carry the same lantern-like inflated calyx and circulate under overlapping vernacular names. Physalis angulata is Ku Zhi, a separate medicine with its own indications; Physalis pubescens and Physalis peruviana are food crops whose straw-coloured papery calyces are not the official drug. The authentic article is specifically the orange-red to fire-red calyx, 2.5 to 5 cm long, of Alkekengi officinarum var. franchetii, and it is that variety alone that the Pharmacopoeia recognises.
Clinical note: Buy on the red calyx and on a luteoloside assay, not on the vernacular name. A straw-coloured or pale calyx is not the drug. Do not treat published work on Physalis angulata as evidence for this herb.
Suan Jiang, the whole-herb and root drug from the same plant
The same species yields more than one crude drug. Jin Deng Long is the dried persistent calyx, or the calyx with the ripe fruit inside it, and is the Pharmacopoeia article used for sore throat, hoarseness, phlegm-heat cough and painful urination. Suan Jiang is the dried whole herb, and Suan Jiang Gen is the root and rhizome dug at mid-flowering; these are separate articles of the traditional literature with a diuretic and heat-clearing emphasis. All are recorded as uterus-stimulating and abortifacient.
Clinical note: State the part on the prescription. Evidence generated on the calyx should not be read across to the root, and vice versa; the physalin and flavonoid profiles differ substantially between parts and by harvest stage.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 3 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Physalins and neophysalins from the calyx of Physalis alkekengi: Structures and anti-inflammatory efficacy
Isolated physalins and neophysalins specifically from the calyx, the official plant part, and tested them for suppression of inflammatory mediator production. Several new structures were characterised and the more active compounds inhibited mediator release in macrophage assays. This is chemistry and cell pharmacology on the correct plant part; it is not evidence of clinical benefit.
Hypoglycemic Effect of Polysaccharides from Physalis alkekengi L. in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Mice
Polysaccharide fractions given to type 2 diabetic mice lowered fasting blood glucose and improved insulin resistance and lipid indices relative to untreated diabetic controls. The finding is the basis for the theoretical caution about additive glucose lowering, but it is a mouse study of an isolated fraction, not of the decocted calyx, and there is no human counterpart.
In vitro effects on intestinal bacterium of physalins from Physalis alkekengi var. Francheti
Incubation of physalins with intestinal bacteria showed the compounds to be extremely unstable in that environment, undergoing rapid transformation. Taken with rodent pharmacokinetic data showing low bioavailability and largely faecal excretion, this indicates that much of the physalin content of a decoction never reaches the systemic circulation intact, which should temper extrapolation from cell-based physalin potency to oral dosing.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica)
Han dynasty, around 200 CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1596Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China
1977 to presentReferences
- Li AL, Chen BJ, Li GH, Zhou MX, Li YR, Ren DM, Lou HX, Wang XN. Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino: An ethnomedical, phytochemical and pharmacological review . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2018) [DOI]
- Yang J, Sun Y, Cao F, Yang B, Kuang H. Natural Products from Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino: A Review on Their Structural Analysis, Quality Control, Pharmacology, and Pharmacokinetics . Molecules (2022) [DOI]
- Liu Y, Wang X, Li C, Yu D, Tian B, Li W, Sun Z. Research progress on the chemical components and pharmacological effects of Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino . Heliyon (2023) [DOI]
- Zhao J, Zhang XR, Wu Y, Liu YL, Liang YF, Teng Y. Three New Physalins from Physalis Alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino . Molecules (2025) [DOI]
- Peng X, Fu H. Chemical constituents from the fruit calyx of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti . Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences (2015) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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