Duchesnea chrysantha
StarDuchesnea chrysantha
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
- Nose & throat
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
In traditional Chinese medicine the whole plant of mock strawberry is used for "clearing heat" and "cooling the blood," applied to swellings, abscesses, snakebite and sore throat (Chinese Materia Medica; cf. Potentilla indica). The fresh fruit is edible but bland.
Botanical Description
Duchesnea chrysantha, a mock or false strawberry of the family Rosaceae, is a low, creeping perennial herb native to East and South Asia. It is closely allied to (and often treated within) Duchesnea/Potentilla indica, spreading by slender stolons that root at the nodes to form mats. The leaves are trifoliate with toothed, ovate leaflets borne on long petioles. Solitary yellow flowers arise on axillary stalks, each with five petals subtended by a conspicuous leafy epicalyx whose lobes are usually larger and toothed at the tip. After flowering the receptacle swells into a small, red, strawberry-like aggregate fruit studded with tiny achenes; though edible the fruit is nearly tasteless and dry compared with true strawberries. It grows in grassy places, roadsides, woodland edges and disturbed ground, flowering in spring and summer, and is widely naturalized beyond its native range.
Active Constituents
Ellagic acid
Ellagitannin-derived phenolicConcentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate and butanol soluble fractions of a methanol extract of the whole plant
The principal simple phenolic of the whole plant. In vitro it moderately inhibited rat lens aldose reductase and was one of the constituents with excellent inhibitory activity against the formation of advanced glycation end products.
3,3'-Di-O-methylellagic acid
Methylated ellagic acid derivativeConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
A methylated ellagic acid of the whole plant that showed moderate inhibition of rat lens aldose reductase in the same screen.
Isovitexin
Flavone C-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
A flavone C-glycoside reported from this plant for the first time as an inhibitor of both aldose reductase and advanced glycation end product formation.
Kaempferol 3-O-glucuronide methyl ester
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
One of the flavonoid constituents showing excellent inhibition of advanced glycation end product formation in vitro, alongside moderate aldose reductase inhibition.
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoidConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
A widely distributed pentacyclic triterpene present in this plant. It is one of six triterpenoids recovered alongside pomolic, tormentic, euscaphic and maslinic acids, and it accounts for part of the lipophilic fraction of the herb.
Tormentic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoidConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
A hydroxylated ursane triterpene characteristic of Rosaceae herbs of this group, recovered from the whole plant extract.
Euscaphic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoidConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant, both free and as the 28-O-glucopyranoside
Present in the plant both as the free acid and as its 28-O-glucopyranoside, indicating that the triterpene fraction occurs partly in glycosidic form.
Maslinic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoidConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant
An oleanane triterpene of the whole plant, one of the triterpenoids isolated in the survey of aldose reductase and glycation inhibitors.
Pedunculagin
EllagitanninConcentration: Isolated from an 80% aqueous acetone extract
A hydrolysable tannin of the plant. In a colorimetric assay it mildly inhibited the survival of PC14 and MKN45 human cancer cells.
Brevifolin carboxylic acid
Ellagitannin-derived phenolicConcentration: Isolated from an 80% aqueous acetone extract
Of five phenolics isolated from this plant, brevifolin carboxylic acid was the only one with strong cytotoxic activity against the human cancer cell lines tested, the others being only mildly active.
Gallic acid
Phenolic acidConcentration: Isolated from an 80% aqueous acetone extract
One of the simple phenolics of the plant, mildly inhibitory to PC14 and MKN45 cell survival in vitro and contributing to the herb's antioxidant capacity.
Protocatechuic acid
Phenolic acidConcentration: Isolated from an 80% aqueous acetone extract
A dihydroxybenzoic acid of the plant with mild cytotoxicity in the same screen, isolated together with gallic acid and methyl caffeate.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Duchesnea indica (She Mei) supplied as the same drug
This is a naming rather than a pharmacological hazard, but it is the most likely error in practice. Duchesnea chrysantha and Duchesnea indica are separate taxa: Duchesnea chrysantha is a diploid East Asian plant with tuberculate achenes, whereas the widely naturalised Duchesnea indica, the source of the Chinese drug She Mei, is a dodecaploid with smooth achenes and is now placed as Potentilla indica. The two are treated interchangeably in much East Asian and horticultural literature, so material sold as mock strawberry may be either. Almost all published pharmacology under the name Duchesnea chrysantha is Korean work on the whole plant, and it should not be read across to She Mei or the reverse.
Clinical note: Check which species the supplier means, since the common names are shared. Do not transfer dosing or indications between this plant and She Mei on the strength of the shared common name.
Immunosuppressant and immunomodulatory therapy (corticosteroids, ciclosporin, biologic agents for atopic disease)
In mouse models the whole plant extract shifted immune balance rather than simply suppressing it: in atopic dermatitis it lowered serum IgE, reduced interleukin-5, interleukin-13, MCP-1 and eotaxin and raised interferon gamma, and in ovalbumin asthma it reduced eosinophilia and leukocyte infiltration. Whether this alters the effect of a drug given for the same conditions has never been tested in animals or people, and the doses used in mice bear no established relationship to a human dose.
Clinical note: There is no evidence of a clinical interaction. If the herb is used alongside treatment for eczema or asthma, change one thing at a time so that any change in control can be attributed, and do not let it displace prescribed therapy.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Duchesnea chrysantha. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
6 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
6
2 verified · 4 unverified
Show 6 studies
- Aldose-Reductase- and Protein-Glycation-Inhibitory Principles from the Whole Plant of Duchesnea chrysantha
- Inhibitory effects of Duchesnea chrysantha extract on ovalbumin-induced lung inflammation in a mouse model of asthma
- The Inhibitory Effect of Duchesnea chrysantha Extract on the Development of Atopic Dermatitis-like Lesions by Regulating IgE and Cytokine Production in Nc/Nga Mice
- Phenolic compounds from Duchesnea chrysantha and their cytotoxic activities in human cancer cell
- Polysaccharide-enriched fraction isolated from Duchesnea chrysantha protects against oxidative damage
- Enhanced induction of mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells by the Ganoderma lucidum and Duchesnea chrysantha extracts
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
Aldose-Reductase- and Protein-Glycation-Inhibitory Principles from the Whole Plant of Duchesnea chrysantha
Twelve compounds were isolated from a methanol extract of the whole plant, including three ellagic acid derivatives, three flavonoids and six triterpenoids. The ellagic acids and flavonoids moderately inhibited rat lens aldose reductase, while ellagic acid, isovitexin, the kaempferol glucuronide methyl ester and the quercetin diglycoside strongly inhibited advanced glycation end product formation. Enzyme and chemical assays only; aldose reductase inhibition concerns diabetic complications and does not imply any blood glucose lowering effect.
Inhibitory effects of Duchesnea chrysantha extract on ovalbumin-induced lung inflammation in a mouse model of asthma
An 80% ethanol extract of the dried whole plant was tested in BALB/c mice sensitised and nebulised with ovalbumin. It significantly reduced leukocytosis and eosinophilia in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lessened leukocyte infiltration and mucus secretion on histology. A mouse model of allergic airway disease; there is no human asthma trial of this plant.
The Inhibitory Effect of Duchesnea chrysantha Extract on the Development of Atopic Dermatitis-like Lesions by Regulating IgE and Cytokine Production in Nc/Nga Mice
The extract reduced interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and MCP-1 release from THP-1 and EoL-1 cells challenged with house dust mite extract. In Nc/Nga mice sensitised with DNCB, 50 mg/kg given orally and dorsally for three weeks lowered the skin severity score, reduced epidermal thickening and dermal inflammatory infiltrate, and markedly lowered serum IgE, while splenocyte interleukin-5, interleukin-13, MCP-1 and eotaxin fell and interferon gamma rose. Mouse and cell work only.
Phenolic compounds from Duchesnea chrysantha and their cytotoxic activities in human cancer cell
Five phenolics were isolated from an 80% aqueous acetone extract and screened by MTT assay. Gallic acid, methyl caffeate, protocatechuic acid and pedunculagin mildly inhibited survival of PC14 and MKN45 human cancer cells, while brevifolin carboxylic acid was strongly cytotoxic. A cell line screen; it is not evidence of anticancer activity in patients.
Polysaccharide-enriched fraction isolated from Duchesnea chrysantha protects against oxidative damage
A polysaccharide-enriched fraction of the plant protected against oxidative damage in laboratory assays, indicating that activity is not confined to the phenolic and triterpene fractions. In vitro only.
Enhanced induction of mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells by the Ganoderma lucidum and Duchesnea chrysantha extracts
Extracts of this plant combined with Ganoderma lucidum increased mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in HL-60 leukaemia cells beyond either alone. A combination cell line study, and the effect cannot be attributed to this plant on its own.
Historical Texts
Korean and East Asian folk medicine, whole plant of the mock strawberry
Traditional folk use, pre-modern to presentShe Mei in the Chinese materia medica, a related but distinct drug
Classical Chinese materia medica to presentReferences
- Kim JM; Jang DS; Lee YM; Yoo JL; Kim YS; Kim JH; Kim JS. Aldose-Reductase- and Protein-Glycation-Inhibitory Principles from the Whole Plant of Duchesnea chrysantha . Chemistry & Biodiversity (2008) [DOI]
- Kim KC; Jun HJ; Kim JS; Kim IG. Enhancement of radiation response with combined Ganoderma lucidum and Duchesnea chrysantha extracts in human leukemia HL-60 cells . International Journal of Molecular Medicine (2008) [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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