Bai Hua She (Qi She)
StarBungarus multicinctus Blyth
Traditionally used for
- Nerves & recovery
- Pain & joints
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Before surgery
- Allergy risk
☯ TCM Properties
Powerfully unblocks the channels and extinguishes Wind; Dispels Wind from the skin; Dispels Wind from the sinews and settles jitteriness and convulsions
Traditional Chinese Uses
Bai Hua She (Jin Qian Bai Hua She) is the dried body, minus head and viscera, of the many-banded krait Bungarus multicinctus, a warm, sweet-and-salty wind-damp-dispelling animal substance entering the Liver and Spleen channels. It is regarded as an especially powerful mover that travels the whole body to unblock the channels and collaterals, dispel Wind, and extinguish internal Wind. It treats obstinate wind-damp painful obstruction (bi) with numbness, spasm, and paralysis, post-stroke sequelae, tetany and childhood convulsions, and Wind-in-the-skin conditions such as chronic itchy rashes, tinea, and leprosy. It is usually soaked in wine or ground to powder (small doses), often with Wu Shao She.
As an animal medicinal, sourcing raises conservation, welfare, and legal concerns; plant wind-dispelling herbs are widely used as substitutes. This description is informational, not an encouragement to source wild snakes.
Relationships
Full-screen graph →Click a node for details · double-click to expand it · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll or two fingers to zoom and pan.
Botanical Description
The parenthetical Pinyin 'Qi She' specifically identifies the substance as Bungarus multicinctus, the many-banded krait — a slender, brilliantly black-and-white-banded elapid snake of southern China, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam, reaching 1–1.8 m. Adults inhabit lowland woodland edges, paddy borders, and disturbed habitats; the species is nocturnal and possesses extremely potent neurotoxic venom. The medicinal preparation consists of the whole, dried, gutted juvenile snake, coiled into a flat disc and traditionally split open along the ventral surface; the head is usually retained. This is not a plant. Note that the bare Pinyin 'Bai Hua She' is also applied to Deinagkistrodon acutus (the long-nosed pit viper) in much TCM literature, and the two snakes are sometimes confused or substituted in commerce.
Active Constituents
alpha-Bungarotoxin
Three-finger postsynaptic neurotoxinConcentration: Venom-gland constituent; the head is retained in this drug
Essentially irreversible antagonist of the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and the neuronal alpha7 receptor, and the standard laboratory ligand for labelling those receptors. Blockade at the neuromuscular junction produces flaccid paralysis after envenomation.
beta-Bungarotoxin
Presynaptic phospholipase A2 and Kunitz-domain heterodimer neurotoxinConcentration: Reported as close to half the venom protein by weight
Binds the presynaptic terminal and destroys acetylcholine release, giving the prolonged paralysis that does not reverse with antivenom once established. Its phospholipase A2 subunit is enzymatically active.
kappa-Bungarotoxins (kappa2 and kappa3)
Three-finger neuronal nicotinic receptor antagonistConcentration: Minor venom fraction
Antagonists of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, in particular the alpha3beta2 subtype, acting at autonomic ganglia rather than at the neuromuscular junction.
Crude protein, peptides and free amino acids
Protein and amino acidsConcentration: Bulk of the dried drug
The drug is a whole juvenile snake, so its mass is mostly muscle and connective tissue protein. Peptide fractions released by simulated gastrointestinal digestion of this species have been shown to inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme in vitro.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides
Bioactive oligopeptideConcentration: Generated on simulated gastric and intestinal digestion of the drug material
Short peptides liberated from Bungarus multicinctus protein inhibited angiotensin-converting enzyme in vitro and lowered blood pressure in a hypertensive rat model. This is the only pharmacological activity so far attributed to the digested drug rather than to injected venom.
Bone mineral and collagen
Inorganic phosphate salts and structural proteinConcentration: Present throughout; the juvenile snake is used whole and is not deboned
The whole coiled body including skeleton is powdered or decocted, so hydroxyapatite and collagen form part of the administered material.
Residual ethanol-soluble skin lipids
LipidConcentration: Minor; partly removed by the ethanol soak used in processing
The Pharmacopoeia process soaks the opened snake in ethanol before coiling and drying, which removes part of the lipid fraction and acts as a preservative step.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Qi She (dried body of Deinagkistrodon acutus)
This record is the many-banded krait, Bungarus multicinctus, an elapid, and the drug is Jin Qian Bai Hua She, the dried body of the juvenile snake. It is not Qi She. Qi She is the pit viper Deinagkistrodon acutus, a viperid whose venom is haemotoxic rather than neurotoxic, and it is the other Bai Hua She record in this corpus. The suffix on this record's pinyin label is therefore attached to the wrong drug: the corpus entry named Bai Hua She (Qi She) carries the krait binomial, while the entry named plainly Bai Hua She carries the viper. Both drugs are separately monographed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, both are classified as toxic, and their dose ranges differ, the krait drug being given in smaller amounts because it is a small juvenile animal.
Clinical note: Treat the binomial as the identity. If a prescription says Bai Hua She, establish which drug is meant before dispensing, and never substitute one for the other on the strength of the shared common name.
Lycodon rufozonatus, Bungarus fasciatus and other banded snakes used as substitutes
Jin Qian Bai Hua She is expensive, small and sold as a tightly coiled dried disc, which makes it a prime target for substitution. Published analytical work exists precisely because of this: a DNA barcode based PCR-RFLP and diagnostic PCR method was developed specifically to authenticate Jinqian Baihua She, and a capillary electrophoresis based multiplex PCR method was developed to separate Bungarus multicinctus from Bungarus fasciatus and from the non-venomous red-banded snake Lycodon rufozonatus in crude drugs and extracts. Lycodon rufozonatus is the classic look-alike because it too is a banded snake. Substitution matters clinically in both directions: a non-venomous colubrid gives none of the claimed activity, and an unexpected elapid changes the toxicological profile.
Clinical note: Insist on DNA-verified material. A coiled dried snake disc cannot be authenticated by eye, and the price differential gives suppliers a strong incentive to substitute.
Neuromuscular blocking agents, aminoglycoside antibiotics and other drugs that impair neuromuscular transmission
Unlike the viper drug, this one retains the head. The Pharmacopoeia process opens the abdomen, removes the viscera, soaks the body in ethanol and coils it with the head at the centre and the tail in the mouth, so the venom glands are not excised. The venom contains alpha-bungarotoxin, an almost irreversible nicotinic receptor antagonist, and beta-bungarotoxin, a presynaptic phospholipase A2 toxin, and this is one of the most neurotoxic land snake venoms measured. Against that, these are proteins of about eight to twenty kilodaltons that are degraded by gastric acid and pancreatic proteases and are not absorbed intact, heating has been shown to abolish the biological toxicity of comparable snake venom fractions, and the quantity of venom in a juvenile snake is small and further reduced by the ethanol soak. No case of systemic neurotoxicity from ingesting this drug is documented in the accessible literature. The residual concern is additive rather than causative, and applies to patients whose neuromuscular reserve is already compromised.
Clinical note: Do not use in myasthenia gravis, Lambert-Eaton syndrome, or in patients on aminoglycosides or awaiting surgery with neuromuscular blockade. Avoid raw unprocessed powder, avoid administration to patients with oral ulceration, and treat any complaint of ptosis, diplopia, dysphagia or limb weakness during treatment as a reason to stop the herb and assess urgently.
Beta-adrenergic blockers and ACE inhibitors
The drug is a whole animal and therefore a concentrated foreign protein load, and snake proteins are documented human allergens; IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to airborne cobra venom protein has been reported in an occupational setting. Heating a viper venom destroys biological toxicity but leaves part of its immunogenicity intact, so decoction cannot be assumed to abolish allergenicity. Beta-blockade makes anaphylaxis refractory to adrenaline and ACE inhibition impairs bradykinin degradation, so a reaction in such a patient is harder to reverse.
Clinical note: Screen for animal-protein and reptile allergy before prescribing, and avoid whole animal drugs in patients on beta-blockers with a history of anaphylaxis. Staff milling the drug should use respiratory protection, since powdering generates an inhalable protein aerosol.
Antihypertensive drugs
Peptides released from this species by simulated gastrointestinal digestion inhibited angiotensin-converting enzyme in vitro and reduced blood pressure in a hypertensive rat model. The finding is preclinical, the doses used are not comparable with a clinical herbal dose, and no human data exist, but the mechanism is the same one exploited by ACE inhibitor drugs.
Clinical note: No action is required on current evidence. If a hypertensive patient on ACE inhibitor therapy is taking this drug, monitoring blood pressure at the start of treatment is a reasonable precaution.
Wild-caught and illegally traded snake material
Bungarus multicinctus is not listed in any CITES Appendix, so international trade is not CITES-controlled. In China it was added in 2023 to the national list of terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value, which places wild take and trade under permit requirements of the Wildlife Protection Law; it is not on the National Key Protected Wild Animals List. Supply is largely from snake farming, and the trade is driven by both medicinal and culinary demand. Because the drug is juvenile animals, the volume of individual snakes consumed per kilogram of drug is high. Many jurisdictions outside China separately restrict the import, keeping or sale of products from highly venomous species, independently of CITES.
Clinical note: Require captive-breeding documentation and check the destination country's wildlife and dangerous-animal import rules, which frequently bind where CITES does not.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 4 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
4
1 verified · 3 unverified
Show 4 studies
- DNA Barcode-Based PCR-RFLP and Diagnostic PCR for Authentication of Jinqian Baihua She (Bungarus Parvus)
- Species identification of Bungarus multicinctus, Bungarus fasciatus, and Lycodon rufozonatus in Chinese medicinal crude drugs and extracts using capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR
- Novel Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from Bungarus multicinctus: Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion, Identification and Antihypertensive Mechanism
- Homogeneous fluorescent specific PCR for the authentication of medicinal snakes using cationic conjugated polymers
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
DNA Barcode-Based PCR-RFLP and Diagnostic PCR for Authentication of Jinqian Baihua She (Bungarus Parvus)
Developed DNA barcode based PCR-RFLP and diagnostic PCR assays that identify this drug, listed in the Pharmacopoeia under the Latin name Bungarus Parvus, and distinguish it from its common substitutes in commercial samples. The most directly applicable published quality-control method for this specific drug.
Species identification of Bungarus multicinctus, Bungarus fasciatus, and Lycodon rufozonatus in Chinese medicinal crude drugs and extracts using capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR
A multiplex PCR method read by capillary electrophoresis that separates the official species from the banded krait Bungarus fasciatus and the non-venomous red-banded snake Lycodon rufozonatus, and works on extracts as well as crude drug. Confirms that these three species are encountered together in the supply chain.
Novel Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Peptides from Bungarus multicinctus: Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion, Identification and Antihypertensive Mechanism
Subjected material from this species to simulated gastric and intestinal digestion and identified the resulting peptides, several of which inhibited angiotensin-converting enzyme. Notable because it models the oral route, which is how the drug is actually used, rather than injecting venom.
Homogeneous fluorescent specific PCR for the authentication of medicinal snakes using cationic conjugated polymers
A homogeneous fluorescent species-specific PCR platform for authenticating the medicinal snakes of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, this drug included, in processed material where morphology is no longer usable.
Historical Texts
Kai Bao Ben Cao (Materia Medica of the Kaibao Era)
Northern Song dynasty, 973 to 974 CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica)
Ming dynasty, 1596Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, monograph Jin Qian Bai Hua She (Bungarus Parvus)
Modern, 2020 editionReferences
- Chiappinelli, Vincent A.; Wolf, Kathleen M.; Grant, Gregory A.; Chen, Shi-Jiu. κ2-Bungarotoxin and κ3-bungarotoxin: two new neuronal nicotinic receptor antagonists isolated from the venom of Bungarus multicinctus . Brain Research (1990) [DOI]
- Kondo, Kiyoshi; Toda, Hiroko; Narita, Kozo. Characterization of Phospholipase A Activity of β1-Bungarotoxin from Bungarus multicinctus Venom . The Journal of Biochemistry (1978) [DOI]
- Liu, L.. Genetic characterization of the mRNAs encoding alpha-bungarotoxin: isoforms and RNA editing in Bungarus multicinctus gland cells . Nucleic Acids Research (1998) [DOI]
- Li, Xiang-Mo; Su, Shan; Zhang, Lu-Wen; Wu, Yan-Qing; Ji, Xiang. Patterns and Risks of China’s Snake Trade Driven by Medicinal and Culinary Traditions . Animals (2026) [DOI]
- Coghlan, Megan L.; Haile, James; Houston, Jayne; Murray, Dáithí C.; White, Nicole E.; Moolhuijzen, Paula; Bellgard, Matthew I.; Bunce, Michael. Deep Sequencing of Plant and Animal DNA Contained within Traditional Chinese Medicines Reveals Legality Issues and Health Safety Concerns . PLoS Genetics (2012) [DOI]
- Tang, Ya; Dong, Weihua; Kong, Tianhan. Effects of heating on the immunogenicity and biological toxicity of Deinagkistrodon acutus venom and its fractions . Toxicon (2010) [DOI]
- Prescott, Ruth A.; Potter, Paul C.. Hypersensitivity to airborne spitting cobra snake venom . Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (2005) [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.
📝 Notes
Public notes from the community and your own private notes on Bai Hua She (Qi She).
No notes yet.