Hu Ci
StarDamnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn.
Synonyms: Damnacanthus esquirolii H.Lév.
Also known as: Hu Tz'ŭ · Wade–Giles
Safety at a glance
No rule in our tables for this herb: pregnancy, breastfeeding, incompatible pairs (十八反 / 十九畏), herb–drug, dose ceiling. This is not a safety clearance.
Not graded — No toxicity grade is recorded. Most herbs in the catalogue carry none.
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Pain & joints
- Energy & fatigue
- Liver & jaundice
☯ TCM Properties
Expels Wind, eliminates Dampness, invigorates the Blood and resolves swelling
Traditional Chinese Uses
Herba/Radix Damnacanthi (Hu Ci) is the root and whole plant of Damnacanthus indicus (Rubiaceae, 虎刺), a spiny shrub whose beaded fleshy roots are used medicinally. Bitter and sweet in taste and neutral in nature, it belongs to the wind-damp-dispelling group and expels wind, drains dampness, invigorates the Blood, and relieves pain and swelling. It is used mainly for wind-damp painful obstruction with rheumatic joint and muscle pain, and for traumatic injury with swelling; folk sources also employ it for jaundice and hepatitis and for cough. A traditional preparation decocts about 30-90 g in equal parts wine and water, taken in divided doses, for rheumatic joint and muscle pain. This corrects both earlier errors in the record, where the scientific name pointed to Elaeagnus pungens (Hu Tui Zi) and the prose to Lycium.
Western Herbalism Properties
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Botanical Description
Damnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn. (Rubiaceae) is the source of Hu Ci, Herba seu Radix Damnacanthi. It is a small, densely branched evergreen shrub 0.3-1 m tall whose stems bear paired, stout, needle-like spines (modified stipules) at the leaf nodes, giving the plant its name. The opposite leaves are small, ovate to elliptic, 1-3 cm long, leathery and glossy dark green, with entire margins and a short apical point. Small white, funnel-shaped 4-lobed flowers hang in the leaf axils and are followed by rounded red drupes. The whole plant, often with its yellowish root, is harvested and dried as the drug. Acrid and slightly bitter, it expels Wind, eliminates Dampness, invigorates the Blood and resolves swelling, used for Wind-Damp painful obstruction and traumatic injury.
Shaded understory of forests, thickets and ravines on hills and mountain slopes.
Active Constituents
1-Hydroxy-2-hydroxymethylanthraquinone
Anthraquinone aglyconeConcentration: Isolated from the chloroform extract of the root
One of five anthraquinones assigned to the root of this species in the 1992 isolation study that examined it alongside Morinda officinalis. No pharmacological activity has been reported for it from this plant.
1,4-Dihydroxy-2-methylanthraquinone
Anthraquinone aglyconeConcentration: Isolated from the chloroform extract of the root
A root anthraquinone of the species. As with the rest of the anthraquinone fraction here, its presence is documented and its pharmacology in this plant is not.
1,4-Dimethoxy-2-hydroxyanthraquinone
Anthraquinone aglyconeConcentration: Isolated from the chloroform extract of the root and reported as a new compound at the time
Described as a new compound when isolated from the root of this species. No activity data accompany it.
Oleanolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpene acidConcentration: Quantified by RP-HPLC in material from several Chinese production areas, with recovery 97.6 per cent
One of two triterpene acids used as a quality-control handle for this herb. It is a widely distributed plant acid rather than anything characteristic of this species, and the work that measured it was a method paper, not a pharmacology study.
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpene acidConcentration: Quantified by RP-HPLC in material from several Chinese production areas, with recovery 102.4 per cent
Measured together with oleanolic acid for quality control of the crude drug. Content varied between production areas, which is the only quality signal published for this herb apart from the later anthraquinone metabolomics work.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Hu Ci. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
3 studies on recordRecorded 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
0
Other / unclassified
3
0 verified · 3 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Comprehensive characterization of anthraquinones in Damnacanthus indicus using mass spectrometry molecular networking and metabolomics-based herb discrimination
- Determination of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in Damnacanthus indicus from different places by RP-hPLC
- Network Pharmacology Analysis of Damnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn in Gene-Phenotype
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Comprehensive characterization of anthraquinones in Damnacanthus indicus using mass spectrometry molecular networking and metabolomics-based herb discrimination
UHPLC-MS with mass spectrometry molecular networking identified 112 anthraquinones and 66 non-anthraquinone compounds in the herb, and proposed a biosynthetic scheme for them. Principal component analysis of fifteen batches from different origins produced three clusters corresponding to the climate types of the growing regions, and partial least squares discriminant analysis screened markers to tell the origins apart. This is chemistry and quality control; it contains no pharmacology and no dosing information.
Determination of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in Damnacanthus indicus from different places by RP-hPLC
An RP-HPLC method with detection at 210 nm was validated for oleanolic and ursolic acid in the herb, with recoveries of 97.6 and 102.4 per cent and relative standard deviations of 2.2 and 1.9 per cent, and applied to material from several production areas. A quality-control method paper offered as a basis for future work on the herb.
Network Pharmacology Analysis of Damnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn in Gene-Phenotype
Sixteen compounds attributed to the herb were run through a target-prediction tool, yielding 62 predicted direct protein targets, and the resulting network was analysed for pathway enrichment and cross-referenced against cancer genomics databases; the authors highlight the Rap1 pathway and a breast cancer association. Every step is computational. Nothing was measured in a cell, an animal or a patient, and the compound list itself is drawn from prediction software rather than from an assay of the herb, so this supports no clinical inference at all.
References
- Yang YJ; Shu HY; Min ZD. Anthraquinones isolated from Morinda officinalis and Damnacanthus indicus . Yao Xue Xue Bao (Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica) (1992)
- Lou SM; Li H; Qin XM; Huang ZP; Jiang SY; Huang XY. The complete chloroplast genome of Damnacanthus indicus C.F.Gaertn. (Rubiaceae) . Mitochondrial DNA Part B (2021) [DOI]
- Asamenew G; Kim HW; Cho SM; Kim JB; Kehraus S; Crüsemann M; König GM. Analysis of flavonoid glucosides from Ardisia and Damnacanthus spp. using UPLC-DAD-QToF/mS . Natural Product Research (2025) [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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