Qing Xiang Zi
StarCelosia argentea
Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Eye health
- Blood pressure
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Wind-Heat, drains Liver Fire and improves the vision; Treats hypertension
Traditional Chinese Uses
Qing Xiang Zi (celosia seed) is a cold herb used in Chinese medicine primarily for eye conditions and hypertension associated with excess Liver patterns. It clears Liver Fire and disperses Wind-Heat to relieve red, swollen, painful eyes, corneal opacity, and photophobia. Its secondary action of anchoring Liver Yang is applied for headache and hypertension from Liver Yang rising or Liver Fire. It is a focused herb for Liver Heat and Fire patterns affecting the upper body.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Celosia argentea is an annual herb in the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae), growing 40-100 cm tall. Stems are erect, branched, and often reddish. Leaves are alternate, lanceolate to ovate, 5-15 cm long, sometimes variegated. The inflorescence is a dense, elongated spike of silvery-white, pink, or red flowers. The variety cristata (cockscomb) has a broad, crested inflorescence. Seeds are small, black, and shiny. The cultivated ornamental form is highly variable in flower color and form.
Roadsides, fields, waste places, and disturbed habitats; native to tropical Asia and Africa, widely cultivated and naturalized throughout tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
Celosia argentea is a widespread tropical weed and cultivated ornamental plant. It is not threatened in the wild. No conservation concerns.
Active Constituents
Celosian
Acidic polysaccharideIsolated from the water extract of the seed. In rats it blocked the rise in GPT, GOT, LDH and bilirubin after carbon tetrachloride, and in mice it reduced GPT and mortality in fulminant hepatitis induced by D-galactosamine/LPS or Propionibacterium acnes/LPS, dose-dependently. It is also an immunostimulant, inducing TNF-alpha in mice and IL-1 beta and nitric oxide in J774.1 macrophages, which is the reverse of what an immunosuppressed patient wants.
Celosins (celosin E, celosin F, celosin G)
Oleanane-type triterpenoid saponinThree saponins first isolated from the seed in 2011 and tested in vitro for antitumour and anti-inflammatory activity. Triterpenoid saponins are regarded as the characteristic constituent class of Celosiae Semen.
Cristatain
Triterpenoid saponinA known saponin obtained alongside the celosins from the seed and, like them, reported from this plant for the first time in that study.
Celogentins and moroidin
Bicyclic peptideBicyclic peptides from the seed that inhibit tubulin polymerisation, the basis of their antimitotic activity in cell-free and cell assays. They have not been studied in animals or people.
Amaranthin
Betacyanin (betalain pigment)The principal red betacyanin of the inflorescences of both the cristata and plumosa varieties. Note that the pigments are a feature of the flower spike, which is a separate drug (Ji Guan Hua), not of the seed sold as Qing Xiang Zi.
Betalamic acid and its immonium conjugates with dopamine, 3-methoxytyramine and (S)-tryptophan
Betaxanthin (betalain pigment)The yellow pigments of the inflorescence. The dopamine and 3-methoxytyramine conjugates, plus the dopamine-derived betacyanin 2-descarboxy-betanidin, indicate a high free dopamine concentration in yellow inflorescences, which the authors flagged as of possible toxicological relevance when they are eaten as a vegetable or used medicinally.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Mydriatics and anticholinergics (e.g. atropine, tropicamide, cyclopentolate), in patients with or at risk of angle-closure glaucoma
Qing Xiang Zi is described across the Chinese materia medica literature as dilating the pupil, and on that basis is contraindicated where the pupil is already dilated or intraocular pressure raised, as in glaucoma. This is a consistent traditional-source caution and is repeated in modern practitioner references; it has not been characterised pharmacologically and no responsible constituent has been established in the primary chemical literature, so the mechanism is unverified even though the caution is standard.
Clinical note: Do not use in a patient with glaucoma, raised intraocular pressure or an unexplained dilated pupil, and do not use the herb to self-treat eye disease. The usual decoction dose in the sources is 3 to 15 g, seeds crushed.
Immunosuppressants (e.g. ciclosporin, tacrolimus, azathioprine, corticosteroids) and biologic TNF-alpha blockers
Celosian, the seed polysaccharide, is an immunostimulant: it induced TNF-alpha production in mice, induced IL-1 beta and nitric oxide in the J774.1 macrophage line over 1 to 1000 micrograms/mL, induced IL-1 beta in human mononuclear cells, and enhanced concanavalin-A-driven interferon-gamma production in mouse spleen cells. Whether a decoction delivers enough intact polysaccharide orally to matter is untested.
Clinical note: Worth raising with transplant and autoimmune patients on TNF-directed therapy, but there is no reported clinical event; the concern rests entirely on animal and cell data.
Levodopa, MAO inhibitors and dopamine-modulating drugs, where the flower spike is used rather than the seed
Structure elucidation of the betalains showed that the yellow inflorescences of C. argentea carry dopamine-derived pigments and a high concentration of free dopamine, which the authors explicitly noted may be of toxicological relevance given that the inflorescences are used both as a vegetable and in Chinese medicine. Qing Xiang Zi is the ripe seed, so this applies to substitution or contamination with flowering material, not to correctly identified seed.
Clinical note: Check that what has been supplied is the ripe seed. The flower spike of the cristata variety is a different drug (Ji Guan Hua) and carries the dopamine-rich pigment fraction.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 9–15 g | daily | — | adult | 中国药典 2020年版 一部 【青葙子】【用法与用量】9～15g。 【注意】本品有扩散瞳孔作用，青光眼患者禁用。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, Vol. I. Contraindicated in glaucoma / raised intraocular pressure as it can dilate the pupil |
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
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
Protective Effect of Celosian, an Acidic Polysaccharide, on Chemically and Immunologically Induced Liver Injuries.
Celosian, an acidic polysaccharide from the water extract of C. argentea seed, dose-dependently prevented the rise in serum GPT, GOT, LDH and bilirubin in carbon-tetrachloride liver injury in rats, with corresponding histopathology, and reduced GPT rise and mortality in mouse fulminant hepatitis induced by D-galactosamine/LPS or P. acnes/LPS. It inhibited lipid peroxide generation in vitro and protected against recombinant human TNF-alpha-induced injury in galactosamine-sensitised mice without reducing TNF-alpha release.
Triterpenoid Saponins from the Seeds of Celosia argentea and Their Anti-inflammatory and Antitumor Activities
Three new triterpenoid saponins, celosin E, F and G, together with the known cristatain, were isolated from the seeds of Celosia argentea and structurally characterised by NMR and mass spectrometry. All four were obtained from this plant for the first time and were tested in vitro for antitumour and anti-inflammatory activity.
Betalains of Celosia argentea
The betalains of yellow, orange and red inflorescences of C. argentea var. cristata proved qualitatively identical to those of var. plumosa. Besides amaranthin and betalamic acid, three yellow pigments were identified as immonium conjugates of betalamic acid with dopamine, 3-methoxytyramine and (S)-tryptophan, the latter two new to plants, and 2-descarboxy-betanidin was confirmed in trace amounts. The authors note that the high dopamine concentration found may be toxicologically relevant given the culinary and medicinal use of the inflorescences.
References
- Ying Tang; Hai-liang Xin; Mei-li Guo. Review on research of the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of Celosia argentea . Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia (2016) [DOI]
- Koji Hase; Purusotam Basnet; Shigetoshi Kadota; Tsuneo Namba. Immunostimulating Activity of Celosian, an Antihepatotoxic Polysaccharide Isolated fromCelosia argentea . Planta Medica (1997) [DOI]
- Jun'ichi Kobayashi; Hayato Suzuki; Kazutaka Shimbo; Koichi Takeya; Hiroshi Morita. Celogentins A-C, new antimitotic bicyclic peptides from the seeds of Celosia argentea. . The Journal of Organic Chemistry (2001) [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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