Chi Fu Ling
StarWolfiporia cocos (F.A. Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb.
Traditionally used for
- Urinary & fluids
- Sleep
- Mood & calm
- Heart & circulation
☯ TCM Properties
Promotes Urination and Drains Damp-Heat; Clears Heat from the Heart and Small Intestine; Promotes Urination; Promotes Urination and Relieves Stranguria
Traditional Chinese Uses
Chi Fu Ling (red poria, cinnabar-colored poria) is a neutral, sweet substance derived from the reddish-brown outer portion of Fu Ling (poria mushroom). In Chinese medicine, it has a stronger Spirit-calming action than the white interior portions, making it specifically indicated for insomnia, palpitations, anxiety, and Heart-Shen disturbance. It simultaneously drains Dampness and calms the Heart, making it useful for conditions where both fluid accumulation and Shen disturbance are present.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Chi Fu Ling is the dried reddish outer layer of the sclerotium of Wolfiporia cocos (formerly Poria cocos), a wood-decay polypore fungus in the Polyporaceae family that grows in association with the roots of conifers, especially pines, across East Asia and North America. The sclerotium is a compact subterranean fungal storage body, irregularly globose to oblong, 10-30 cm or more across, with a thin wrinkled dark brown to reddish-brown rind and a dense white to pale pink interior. In trade the sclerotium is cut into several products: the central pine-root-bearing piece is Fu Shen, the white interior tissue is the well-known Fu Ling, and the reddish layer immediately beneath the outer rind is Chi Fu Ling, harvested as thin reddish-brown irregular slabs or wedges with a slightly granular texture.
Active Constituents
beta-(1→3)-D-Glucan
Fungal polysaccharideConcentration: Present as the same polymer found in the white portion, with a closely comparable relative molecular mass distribution of about 9.13 x 10 to the 4th to 1.04 x 10 to the 5th, but at a lower content: the ranking across the sclerotium's parts is White Poria, then Poria cum Radix Pini, then Rubra Poria, then Poriae Cutis
This is the single most useful chemical fact for telling Chi Fu Ling apart from the drugs cut from the same sclerotium. The polysaccharide is not a different molecule in the red layer, only a scarcer one, which is consistent with the traditional position that the red portion does not carry the supplementing action of the white. The polysaccharide fraction is the part of the sclerotium associated with immune modulation.
Poricoic acid D
Lanostane-type triterpene acidConcentration: One of 51 triterpenes profiled across the four botanical parts of the sclerotium; determined absolutely in a comparative UHPLC-MS study
One of four triterpenes that a four-part comparative metabolomic analysis of the sclerotium singled out as likely contributors to the diuretic effect, which is the action Chi Fu Ling is dispensed for. Attribution to a diuretic mechanism is inferential from the metabolomic comparison rather than from a diuresis assay on the isolated compound.
16alpha-Hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid
Lanostane-type triterpene acidConcentration: Quantified among the eight triterpenes measured absolutely across the four parts of the sclerotium
A second of the four triterpenes linked in that comparison to the diuretic effect of the drug. Along with the other three it forms the chemical rationale for using triterpene rather than polysaccharide markers when the intended action is drainage rather than supplementation.
3-Epidehydrotumulosic acid
Lanostane-type triterpene acidConcentration: Among the triterpenes distinguishing the botanical parts in comparative UHPLC-MS profiling
Third of the four diuresis-associated triterpenes identified in the four-part comparison. It is an epimer of a compound also present elsewhere in the sclerotium, which is why chromatographic rather than gross-morphological identification matters when the pieces have already been cut.
25-Hydroxypolyporenic acid C
Lanostane-type triterpene acidConcentration: Among the triterpenes distinguishing the botanical parts in comparative UHPLC-MS profiling
The fourth compound in that diuresis-associated group. Taken together these four are the most specific published chemical handle on why the parts of this sclerotium are dispensed for different purposes.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Fu Ling (white Poria), Fu Ling Pi (Poriae Cutis) or Fu Shen (Poria cum Radix Pini) supplied in place of Chi Fu Ling
All four are cut from the same Wolfiporia sclerotium, so no species test can separate them and the substitution passes any identity check based on the organism. They are nonetheless chemically distinct: the four parts carry different triterpene profiles, with Poriae Cutis and Poria cum Radix Pini separating cleanly from the others on principal component and OPLS-DA analysis of 51 triterpenes, and beta-(1→3)-D-glucan content falls in the order White Poria, Poria cum Radix Pini, Rubra Poria, Poriae Cutis. Chi Fu Ling is the reddish layer immediately under the peel, dispensed for draining damp-heat, and it is not a source of the supplementing or spirit-calming actions for which the white portion and Fu Shen are prescribed.
Clinical note: Specify the dispensing piece by name on the prescription and check the colour of the cut material on receipt; once sliced, red and white pieces are the only practical visual cue. If a formula was written for Chi Fu Ling to drain damp-heat, substituting white Poria weakens that intent rather than causing harm, but the prescription no longer does what was written.
Diuretics (furosemide, thiazides, spironolactone)
Comparative metabolomic profiling of the sclerotium's four parts attributed the diuretic effect to poricoic acid D, 16alpha-hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid, 3-epidehydrotumulosic acid and 25-hydroxypolyporenic acid C, all of which are present in the red layer. There is no controlled human diuresis study of Chi Fu Ling, so the size of any additive effect on top of a loop or thiazide diuretic is unknown.
Clinical note: Not a contraindication. In an elderly patient or one on a loop diuretic, check electrolytes and volume status as you would when adding any drainage herb, and stop the herb if the patient becomes orthostatic or hyponatraemic.
Immunosuppressants (ciclosporin, tacrolimus, azathioprine)
The immunomodulating activity of this sclerotium sits in its beta-(1→3)-D-glucan fraction. That fraction is chemically the same polymer in the red layer as in the white but is present at lower content, so a theoretical opposition to immunosuppressive therapy is weaker for Chi Fu Ling than for the white portion. No interaction has been demonstrated in animals or humans for any part of the sclerotium.
Clinical note: Flag rather than avoid. For transplant recipients, keep the herbal regimen stable and monitor drug levels through any change, and prefer to document which dispensing piece is being used.
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
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
In vitro / animal
3
0 verified · 3 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Comparison of triterpene compounds of four botanical parts from Poria cocos (Schw.) wolf using simultaneous qualitative and quantitative method and metabolomics approach
- Comparative study on composition and content of beta-(1→3)-D-glucan in different medicinal parts of Poria cocos
- Spatial metabolic heterogeneity in Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (Fushen): Insights from quantitative analysis and widely targeted metabolomics
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
Comparison of triterpene compounds of four botanical parts from Poria cocos (Schw.) wolf using simultaneous qualitative and quantitative method and metabolomics approach
A UHPLC-MS and metabolomics comparison of the four parts of the sclerotium that are dispensed as separate drugs: Poriae Cutis, Rubra Poria (Chi Fu Ling), White Poria and Poria cum Radix Pini. Eight triterpenes were quantified absolutely and 51 identified in total; Poriae Cutis and Poria cum Radix Pini separated clearly on PCA and OPLS-DA with twelve differential compounds, and poricoic acid D, 16alpha-hydroxydehydrotrametenolic acid, 3-epidehydrotumulosic acid and 25-hydroxypolyporenic acid C were proposed as the compounds behind the diuretic effect. This is the principal analytical evidence that the four dispensing pieces are not interchangeable.
Comparative study on composition and content of beta-(1→3)-D-glucan in different medicinal parts of Poria cocos
High-performance gel permeation chromatography and NMR showed that the alkali-soluble polysaccharide of Rubra Poria (Chi Fu Ling) is the same beta-(1→3)-D-glucan found in White Poria, with a comparable relative molecular mass distribution of roughly 9.13 x 10 to the 4th to 1.04 x 10 to the 5th. Quantitatively the parts ranked White Poria above Poria cum Radix Pini, above Rubra Poria, above Poriae Cutis. The authors also optimised the pharmacopoeial assay, cutting acid hydrolysis from six hours to 1.5 hours after finding that harsher hydrolysis generates 5-hydroxymethylfurfural as a by-product. Analytical work; no clinical endpoint.
Characteristics, origin, and processing of Poria in Qing Dynasty Palace: evidence of both historical relics and documents
Trait identification and textual research on six surviving Poria specimens in the Palace Museum, cross-checked against Qing imperial medical records. Bai Fu Ling, Chi Fu Ling and Zhu Fu Ling (Poria processed with cinnabar) appear as separate dispensed materials in the royal records, and whole sclerotia (Fu Ling Ge) were processed into Poriae Cutis, Bai Fu Ling and the other pieces within the palace. Material for the imperial pharmacy came chiefly as tribute from Yunnan and Guizhou. This is documentary and specimen evidence that Chi Fu Ling has long been a distinct dispensing item rather than a modern trade grade.
Spatial metabolic heterogeneity in Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf (Fushen): Insights from quantitative analysis and widely targeted metabolomics
Segmenting the sclerotium into seven concentric zones and profiling 359 metabolites showed that triterpene and water-soluble polysaccharide content changes systematically with distance from the centre, while total amino acids accumulate progressively. The finding matters for Chi Fu Ling because it demonstrates that where a piece is cut from within the sclerotium, not only which species it is, determines its chemistry. The study material was Fushen, so the zone-by-zone numbers are not directly transferable to the red layer.
Historical Texts
Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Imperial Grace Formulary of the Tai Ping Era), Wu Lin San
Northern Song dynasty, 1107Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1596Qing imperial medical records and the Palace Museum Poria specimens
Qing dynasty, 1644-1912Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, Poria monograph and its decoction-piece specifications
Modern standard, 2020 and 2025 editionsReferences
- Liu Q; Tang H; Xie P; Huang J; Zuo Y; Wen M. Comparative analysis of volatile organic compounds in different parts of Poria cocos . Frontiers in Chemistry (2026) [DOI]
- Yu Y; Li TT; Deng ZY; Ma SQ; Tao JS; Sun YP; Wang GK; Wu DL; Liu JS. Unraveling the Antimelanogenic Potential of Poria cocos: Component Characterization, Spatial Distribution, and Inhibitory Mechanisms . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2026) [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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