Aster ageratoides
StarAster ageratoides
Synonyms: Aster trinervius subsp. ageratoides
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
Western Herbalism Properties
Gallery
Botanical Description
Aster ageratoides is a rhizomatous perennial herb of the family Asteraceae, widely distributed across temperate to subtropical East Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, the eastern Himalayas and Indochina, where it occurs in forest margins, grassy slopes, roadsides and open ground from lowlands to montane elevations. The plant typically grows 40–100 cm tall, with erect to ascending, slender, simple or branched stems arising from a creeping rhizome and clothed in short pubescence. The basal leaves wither at flowering; the cauline leaves are alternate, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 5–15 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, with three prominent veins, serrate margins, a short petiole on the lower leaves and sessile on the upper, and short rough hairs on both surfaces. The inflorescence is a loose, flat-topped to corymb-like cluster of several to many heads; each head is 1.5–2.5 cm across, with 10–20 narrow ray florets that are white, pale lilac or pinkish, and a yellow disc of tubular florets. The fruit is a small flattened achene with a whitish to slightly tawny pappus of capillary bristles. It is a variable species with many recognised varieties.
Active Constituents
Ageratosides A1-A5, B1, B2 and C1
Oleanane-type triterpene glycosides (saponins)Eight saponins first described from the above-ground parts of this species, isolated together with scaberoside A2. They are the compounds that give the herb its saponin character; no pharmacology has been published on the purified glycosides. Note that they were obtained from the variety ovatus, not from typical Aster ageratoides.
Shiona-19(E),21-dien-3-beta-ol and shiona-22(29)-en-3-beta,21-diol
Shionane-type tetracyclic triterpenesTwo triterpenes new to science when described from this species, isolated with the known shiona-21-en-3-beta-ol. The shionane skeleton is the same family as shionone, the marker triterpene of the unrelated drug zi wan (Aster tataricus root), so a shionane finding is not by itself evidence that a sample is zi wan. Isolated from the variety oophyllus.
Crotocorylifuran
Clerodane diterpeneRecovered from the aerial parts on re-investigation of this species in 2002. Reported as a structural finding with no accompanying bioassay.
Oplopanone
Oplopane-type sesquiterpeneThe second compound recovered in the same 2002 re-investigation of the aerial parts. Again a chemical identification only.
Friedelinol
Friedelane triterpeneA common Asteraceae triterpene, isolated from this species alongside beta-sitosterol and a stigmastadienol. Present as part of the non-polar fraction that a water decoction largely leaves behind.
Kaempferol and quercetin, with their glycosides
FlavonolsChinese materia medica sources give flavonol derivatives, chiefly kaempferol and quercetin, as the main flavonoid constituents of the whole herb, with the root additionally reported as roughly 0.48 percent triterpenoid and 1 percent steroidal saponin. These figures come from the Chinese herbal literature rather than from an indexed analytical paper, and should be treated as approximate.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Zi wan (Aster tataricus root and rhizome)
The Chinese name of this plant, san mai zi wan, contains the name zi wan, but the drugs are different in species, plant part and action. Zi wan is the root and rhizome of Aster tataricus, warm, and used to moisten the lung, transform phlegm and stop cough; this herb, hong guan yao or shan bai ju, is the whole above-ground plant of Aster ageratoides, cool, and used to clear heat, resolve toxin, promote urination and stop bleeding. A published review of Radix Asteris covering 135 compounds does not mention Aster ageratoides at all, and no adulteration case report for this pair was found, so the risk here is name-driven confusion at the point of dispensing rather than a documented substitution.
Clinical note: Check the Latin binomial and the plant part on the label. A sample of whole herb with leaves and stems is not zi wan, whatever the Chinese name on the packet says.
Anticholinergic drugs (for example scopolamine, oxybutynin, tricyclic antidepressants)
An aqueous extract of the aerial parts, 10 or 50 mg/kg orally for 7 days, reversed scopolamine-induced memory impairment in rats across the Y-maze, novel object recognition and passive avoidance tests, the higher dose more clearly than the lower. The mechanism was not resolved and no receptor binding was measured, so whether this reflects true cholinergic opposition or a general neuroprotective effect is unknown. There are no human data of any kind.
Clinical note: Not a reason to withhold the herb, but if it is given to a patient taking an anticholinergic for a therapeutic purpose, note the theoretical possibility of reduced effect and observe.
Asteraceae-family allergens (ragweed, chrysanthemum, chamomile)
A Compositae herb applied topically as pounded fresh plant as well as taken internally. Cross-sensitisation inside this family is recognised clinically; no case report specific to this species has been published, which is a reflection of how little the species has been studied rather than of demonstrated safety.
Clinical note: Ask about Compositae allergy and patch-test before repeated topical application to broken skin or a sore.
Evidence Tier
Limited evidence · 1 studyRecorded 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
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
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
Aster ageratoides Turcz. extract attenuates Alzheimer's disease-associated cognitive deficits and vascular dementia-associated neuronal death
The only substantive pharmacology study on this species, and it is in rats. A freeze-dried water extract of the aerial parts collected in Eumseong, Korea, was given orally at 10 or 50 mg/kg once daily for 7 days. In the scopolamine model the high dose improved Y-maze spontaneous alternation and novel object preference, and both doses improved passive-avoidance latency dose-dependently. In the two-vessel-occlusion with hypovolaemia model, surviving CA1 hippocampal neurons increased and Iba-1 positive microglial activation fell dose-dependently, while GFAP astrocyte staining did not differ. No human study of this herb has been published.
Historical Texts
Quanguo Zhongcaoyao Huibian (National Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicine)
20th century (People's Republic of China)References
- Sakai K, Nagao T, Okabe H. Triterpenoid saponins from the ground part of Aster ageratoides var. ovatus . Phytochemistry (1999) [DOI]
- Yan FL, Yao SM, Zhou Y. Two New Tetracyclic Triterpenoids and Other Constituents from Aster Ageratoides var. Oophyllus . Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society (2007) [DOI]
- Ahmed AA, Mahmoud AA, Hegazy MF, Pare PW, Karchesy J. Terpenoid Constituents of Aster subspicatus and A. ageratoides . ChemInform (2002) [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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