Traditionally used for
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
- Liver & jaundice
☯ TCM Properties
Traditional Chinese Uses
Di Dan Tou (Ku Di Dan), the whole plant of Elephantopus scaber, is a bitter, cold heat-clearing and detoxifying herb entering the Lung, Liver and, in some sources, Kidney and Stomach channels. It clears Heat and resolves toxicity, cools the Blood, drains Dampness and promotes urination, and reduces swelling.
It is used for wind-heat and summer-heat febrile complaints, sore swollen throat and mouth sores, damp-heat jaundice and hepatitis, edema and nephritis, painful stony urinary dribbling, and dysentery, and topically for sores, boils, snakebite and swellings. In southern China and Southeast Asia the fresh plant is commonly simmered in cooling summer soups. It is decocted, with larger doses of the fresh herb, and used with care in Cold or deficiency patterns.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Di Dan Tou (地膽頭) is a Pinyin name that translates as 'earth-gallbladder head.' The name does not correspond to any standardized entry in Bensky & Gamble, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, or other mainstream TCM materia medica with a clear single Linnaean identity, although it may be a regional folk variant of Di Dan Cao (地膽草), which refers to Elephantopus scaber L. (Asteraceae) and is used in southern China for heat-clearing and detoxification. Because the precise referent of 'Di Dan Tou' cannot be confirmed with confidence, all substantive fields except tradition are left null. The entry is flagged for further research; verified identification is needed before assigning parts, properties, or plant type.
Active Constituents
Deoxyelephantopin
Germacrane-type sesquiterpene lactone (germacranolide)The best-characterised active compound of the plant, isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the leaves by bioassay-guided fractionation. It causes dose- and time-dependent growth inhibition of HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells with S-phase arrest and dose-dependent upregulation of p21 and phosphorylated p53. All of this evidence is from cell culture.
Isodeoxyelephantopin
Germacrane-type sesquiterpene lactone (germacranolide)Co-occurs with deoxyelephantopin in the leaf ethyl acetate fraction. It induces cell cycle arrest and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in T47D breast carcinoma and A549 lung carcinoma cells in vitro.
Scabertopin
Germacrane-type sesquiterpene lactone (germacranolide)Named in the 2026 review, alongside deoxyelephantopin, isodeoxyelephantopin and isoscabertopin, as one of the dominant contributors to the plant's measured bioactivity.
Elephantopin
Germacrane-type sesquiterpene lactone (germacranolide)The compound the genus is named for and one of the earliest sesquiterpene lactones isolated from it; chemically interrelated with deoxyelephantopin.
Isoscabertopin
Germacrane-type sesquiterpene lactone (germacranolide)Listed with scabertopin among the prominent cytotoxic sesquiterpene lactones of the plant. The 2026 review counts 131 secondary metabolites in the species overall, spanning sesquiterpene lactones, phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, triterpenoids, phytosterols, aliphatic compounds and nitrogenous derivatives.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Immunosuppressants (e.g. ciclosporin, tacrolimus, azathioprine, mycophenolate)
Sesquiterpene lactones isolated from this plant inhibited mitogen-stimulated proliferation of human peripheral blood lymphocytes and induced apoptosis in vitro. Sesquiterpene lactones as a class act largely by alkylating cysteine residues, including in NF-kB signalling components, and NF-kB inhibition is among the mechanisms attributed to this species. There is no human pharmacokinetic or interaction study, and no case report, so this is a mechanistic prediction only.
Clinical note: Be cautious about adding this herb for transplant recipients or patients on immunosuppressive therapy for autoimmune disease, where an unmeasured additive effect is unwelcome; there is no data to titrate against.
Systemic and topical medicines in patients with Asteraceae (Compositae) sensitivity
The plant is an Asteraceae whose characteristic actives are alpha-methylene-gamma-lactone sesquiterpene lactones, the structural motif responsible for Compositae contact allergy through covalent haptenation of skin proteins. Patients already sensitised to other Asteraceae sesquiterpene lactones may cross-react to topical preparations of this herb. This is inferred from the compound class present in the plant, not from published case reports on this species.
Clinical note: Ask about chrysanthemum, feverfew, arnica or ragweed sensitivity before prescribing topical or poultice use, which is a common traditional route for this herb.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 6 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
6
0 verified · 6 unverified
Show 6 studies
- Sesquiterpene Lactones Isolated from Elephantopus scaber L. Inhibits Human Lymphocyte Proliferation and the Growth of Tumour Cell Lines and Induces Apoptosis In Vitro
- Isodeoxyelephantopin from Elephantopus scaber (Didancao) induces cell cycle arrest and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in breast carcinoma T47D cells and lung carcinoma A549 cells
- Deoxyelephantopin from Elephantopus scaber Inhibits HCT116 Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cell Growth through Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest
- Elephantopus scaber induces apoptosis through ROS-dependent mitochondrial signaling pathway in HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cells
- Hepatoprotective Activity of Elephantopus scaber on Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage in Mice
- Anti-neuroinflammatory Activity of Elephantopus scaber L. via Activation of Nrf2/HO-1 Signaling and Inhibition of p38 MAPK Pathway in LPS-Induced Microglia BV-2 Cells
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
Sesquiterpene Lactones Isolated from Elephantopus scaber L. Inhibits Human Lymphocyte Proliferation and the Growth of Tumour Cell Lines and Induces Apoptosis In Vitro
Sesquiterpene lactones isolated from the plant inhibited proliferation of mitogen-stimulated human peripheral blood lymphocytes and of several tumour cell lines, and induced apoptosis in culture. This is the main published basis for describing the herb as immunomodulatory; it is cell-culture work with no animal or human confirmation of the immune effect.
Isodeoxyelephantopin from Elephantopus scaber (Didancao) induces cell cycle arrest and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in breast carcinoma T47D cells and lung carcinoma A549 cells
Isodeoxyelephantopin arrested the cell cycle and triggered caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in T47D breast carcinoma and A549 lung carcinoma cell lines. In vitro only; it says nothing about oral bioavailability or achievable plasma concentrations in patients.
Deoxyelephantopin from Elephantopus scaber Inhibits HCT116 Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cell Growth through Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest
Deoxyelephantopin, isolated from the leaf ethyl acetate fraction by bioassay-guided fractionation, inhibited HCT116 colorectal carcinoma growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner, arrested cells in S phase, and upregulated p21 and phosphorylated p53 dose-dependently.
Elephantopus scaber induces apoptosis through ROS-dependent mitochondrial signaling pathway in HCT116 human colorectal carcinoma cells
A whole-plant extract killed HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells through a reactive-oxygen-species-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, linking the extract-level activity to the isolated sesquiterpene lactone data.
Hepatoprotective Activity of Elephantopus scaber on Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage in Mice
In alcohol-fed mice the extract reduced serum liver-injury markers and hepatic fat accumulation, with the higher dose returning liver appearance close to untreated controls. The same work reported no acute oral toxicity at the doses tested. This is the strongest support for the traditional use of the herb in jaundice and hepatitis, and it remains animal-level evidence.
Anti-neuroinflammatory Activity of Elephantopus scaber L. via Activation of Nrf2/HO-1 Signaling and Inhibition of p38 MAPK Pathway in LPS-Induced Microglia BV-2 Cells
In lipopolysaccharide-stimulated BV-2 microglia the extract suppressed inflammatory signalling, acting through Nrf2/HO-1 activation and p38 MAPK inhibition. Cell-culture evidence for the anti-inflammatory half of the traditional heat-clearing, toxin-resolving indication.
Historical Texts
Sheng Cao Yao Xing Bei Yao (Essentials of the Properties of Fresh Medicinal Herbs)
Qing dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi (Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica)
Qing dynastyReferences
- Dinh Vu Huy; Huynh Thi Ngoc Ni; Thuy Tran Thi Thanh; Thanh Nguyen Thi Kim; Pham Ty Viet; Son Ninh The. Elephantopus scaber L.: phytochemistry, pharmacology, nanoformulation, and synthetic modification – a review . Natural Product Research (2026) [DOI]
- Hiradeve Sachin M.; Rangari Vinod D.. Elephantopus scaber Linn.: A review on its ethnomedical, phytochemical and pharmacological profile . Journal of Applied Biomedicine (2014) [DOI]
- Ren Hui; Zhang Yang-Yang; Li Ya-Ling; Bai Ming; Yan Qiu-Lin; Huang Xiao-Xiao; Cui Wei; Zhao Hongwei; Gu Liwei; Liu Qingbo; Yao Guo-Dong; Song Shao-Jiang. Semisynthesis and Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cytotoxicity Evaluation of Germacrane-Type Sesquiterpene Lactones from Elephantopus scaber . Journal of Natural Products (2022) [DOI]
- Lin Ding-Chai; Tang Qing; Zhuo Xue-Fang; Wang Wen-Zhi; Li Can-Jie; Kuang Guang-Kai; Wu Zhong-Nan; Zhang Yu-Bo; Wang Guo-Cai; Li Yao-Lan. Three new sesquiterpene lactones from the whole plants of Elephantopus scaber . Natural Product Research (2021) [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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