Eupatorium chinense
StarEupatorium chinense
Synonyms: Eupatorium makinoi var. oppositifolium, Eupatorium sachalinense var. oppositifolia, Eupatorium japonicum f. angustatum, Eupatorium album, Eupatorium sinense, Eupatorium tripartitum f. angustatum, Eupatorium tripartitum, Eupatorium fortunei var. glandulosum, Eupatorium japonicum var. dissectum, Eupatorium chinense var. oppositifolium, Eupatorium melanadenium, Eupatorium makinoi, Eupatorium japonicum var. tripartitum
Safety at a glance
- Caution · 3 recorded drug interactions, 1 major or contraindicated
- Note · Botanical genus — Eupatorium includes species reported to contain hepatotoxic unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids; the content of this species or preparation is not verified here
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
- Pain & joints
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Eupatorium chinense is a perennial herb of the daisy family (Asteraceae) native to China, Japan, Korea and parts of Southeast Asia, where it grows in thickets, grassy slopes, woodland margins and along streams in hilly country. It develops erect, branching stems up to about a metre or more tall arising from a woody rootstock, bearing opposite, ovate to lanceolate leaves with toothed margins that may be undivided or shallowly three-lobed and are roughened with short hairs. The small flower heads are crowded into flat-topped to rounded terminal clusters (corymbs); each head contains only a few tubular disc florets, white to pinkish or pale purple, with conspicuously protruding styles giving the inflorescence a soft, feathery look, as is characteristic of the boneset and thoroughwort group. The fruits are small ribbed achenes topped by a pappus of fine bristles for wind dispersal. It flowers from late summer into autumn and is one of several Asian Eupatorium species valued in regional herbal medicine.
Active Constituents
Dieupachinins A to M
Benzofuran dimersConcentration: The dominant class of the root, the part used as the drug; twenty-six benzofuran oligomers have been reported from this species
The chemical signature of the root. Several of these dimers inhibited nitric oxide production in stimulated macrophages with IC50 values of 6.42, 6.29 and 16.03 micromolar, which is the most direct laboratory correlate of the herb's traditional use for throat inflammation. Dieupachinins A to E occur as racemates and were resolved into enantiomers by chiral chromatography.
Trieupachinin A
Benzofuran trimerConcentration: A minor root constituent, isolated with the dieupachinins from a 70 per cent ethanol reflux extract
An unusual benzofuran trimer, reported from the roots in the same study that screened this class against respiratory syncytial virus. It is a chemotaxonomic marker of the root rather than a demonstrated active principle.
8R-Hydroxy-9-isobutyryloxythymol
Thymol derivativeConcentration: One of five thymol derivatives reported, all from the roots
The most cytotoxic of the root thymol esters, with IC50 values of 4.2, 11.9 and 7.3 micromolar against nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2, cervical Caski and gastric HGC-27 cells. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a Guangdong-endemic tumour, which is why this line is repeatedly used with this southern drug.
Eupalinin A
Germacranolide sesquiterpene lactoneConcentration: A sesquiterpene lactone of the aerial parts, not of the root drug
Killed human leukaemia HL60 cells mainly by autophagy rather than apoptosis: cell death was caspase-independent, no mitochondrial death factor was released, autophagosomes formed and LC3-II rose after reactive oxygen species accumulated and mitochondrial membrane potential fell. Class III PI3K inhibitors did not block it, pointing to a Beclin-1-independent mitophagy.
Germacrane-type sesquiterpenoids of the aerial parts
Germacranolide sesquiterpene lactonesConcentration: Twenty-five sesquiterpenoids are known, concentrated in the aboveground parts rather than the root
The most potent cytotoxins in the plant, with IC50 values between 0.8 and 9.3 micromolar against MDA-MB-231 breast and HepG2 liver cancer cells. Nine of these lactones also suppressed IgE-mediated degranulation of RBL-2H3 basophils by cutting calcium influx, and a lactone-rich extract suppressed passive cutaneous anaphylaxis in mice dose-dependently. All of this is aerial-part chemistry and should not be credited to root material.
Eupaditerpenoid A
Acyclic diterpenoidConcentration: The single diterpenoid reported from the species, from a room-temperature 95 per cent ethanol extract
Notable chiefly because diterpenoids are rare in this genus. It was reported with cytotoxic activity in the isolation paper and has not been followed up.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Diphtheria antitoxin and antibiotic therapy
The root is famous in Guangdong precisely as a diphtheria and throat drug, nicknamed the sacred medicine of the larynx, and is still used for tonsillitis and pharyngitis. Diphtheria kills through an exotoxin that only antitoxin neutralises, and antitoxin must be given on clinical suspicion without waiting for culture. No trial has ever shown that this herb neutralises diphtheria toxin or eradicates Corynebacterium diphtheriae; its laboratory activity is anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic. Substituting or delaying is therefore not a herb-drug pharmacokinetic problem but a lethal one.
Clinical note: Never use this herb as treatment for suspected diphtheria. Membranous pharyngitis, a bull neck, or any sore throat in an incompletely vaccinated patient is an emergency referral for antitoxin and antibiotics. The herb may be used adjunctively for ordinary sore throat only after that has been excluded.
Achyranthes aspera and Achyranthes bidentata (Tu Niu Xi and Niu Xi)
The root of this Asteraceae species is sold in Guangdong as Tu Niu Xi, while across most of China Tu Niu Xi is the Amaranthaceae root of Achyranthes aspera; a 2026 ethnobotanical survey in the same Guangdong foothills records Tu Niu Xi as Achyranthes aspera and Niu Xi as Achyranthes bidentata. Both the Eupatorium and the Achyranthes drugs are used for throat swelling and diphtheria, so a substitution produces no obvious clinical mismatch while delivering completely different chemistry: benzofuran oligomers and sesquiterpene lactones on one side, triterpenoid saponins and ecdysteroids on the other. Achyranthes bidentata is additionally a blood-moving herb avoided in pregnancy.
Clinical note: Specify Guangdong Tu Niu Xi and the binomial on the prescription, and check the material is a composite root rather than an Achyranthes root. If the source is uncertain, apply the more restrictive of the two safety profiles, including the pregnancy caution attached to Achyranthes.
Feverfew, chamomile, arnica and other Asteraceae sesquiterpene lactone herbs
The aerial parts carry twenty-five sesquiterpenoids, many of them alpha-methylene-gamma-lactones, and lactone-rich extracts of this species are potent enough to suppress mast-cell degranulation and cutaneous anaphylaxis in animals. That same reactive lactone chemistry is the hapten class behind Compositae contact allergy, and sensitisation generalises across the family.
Clinical note: Ask about Asteraceae allergy before use, particularly for topical or gargle preparations of the aerial parts.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Eupatorium chinense. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
5 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
5
1 verified · 4 unverified
Show 5 studies
- Antiviral benzofurans from Eupatorium chinense
- A novel sesquiterpene lactone fraction from Eupatorium chinense L. suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth by triggering ferritinophagy and mitochondrial damage
- Inhibitory effects of sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Eupatorium chinense L. on IgE-mediated degranulation in rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in mice
- Eupalinin A isolated from Eupatorium chinense L. induces autophagocytosis in human leukemia HL60 cells
- Germacrane-Type Sesquiterpenoids with Antiproliferative Activities from Eupatorium chinense
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
Antiviral benzofurans from Eupatorium chinense
Eleven benzofuran dimers, the dieupachinins A to F, and the trimer trieupachinin A were isolated from the roots and screened against respiratory syncytial virus in cell culture. Structures were fixed by X-ray diffraction and circular dichroism, and the racemates were resolved by chiral chromatography. Chemistry of a high standard, but the antiviral testing is a cell-based screen with no animal or human follow-up.
A novel sesquiterpene lactone fraction from Eupatorium chinense L. suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth by triggering ferritinophagy and mitochondrial damage
An electrophilic sesquiterpene fraction killed hepatocellular carcinoma cells by two routes at once: apoptosis through loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and ferroptosis through NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, confirmed by NCOA4 knockdown and by rescue with ferrostatin-1. The fraction also slowed growth of a mouse xenograft. The strongest efficacy evidence for the species, but preclinical, and it uses a purified electrophilic fraction rather than the decocted root.
Inhibitory effects of sesquiterpene lactones isolated from Eupatorium chinense L. on IgE-mediated degranulation in rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in mice
Nine sesquiterpene lactones from this species all suppressed antigen-stimulated degranulation of RBL-2H3 basophils, and the mechanism was a reduction in calcium influx rather than any effect on Syk or phospholipase C gamma. A lactone-rich extract suppressed the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in mice dose-dependently. Useful because it is one of the few studies to take the species into a live animal, though the model is allergy rather than the traditional throat indication.
Eupalinin A isolated from Eupatorium chinense L. induces autophagocytosis in human leukemia HL60 cells
Eupalinin A killed HL60 leukaemia cells predominantly by autophagy, not apoptosis: caspase-independent, no mitochondrial death factor release, visible autophagosomes, rising LC3-II and monodansylcadaverine uptake after reactive oxygen species accumulated. Class III PI3K inhibition failed to block it, implying a Beclin-1-independent mitophagy. A single-cell-line mechanistic study.
Germacrane-Type Sesquiterpenoids with Antiproliferative Activities from Eupatorium chinense
Reports the germacrane lactones of the aerial parts and their antiproliferative activity against human tumour cell lines, with the most active in the low micromolar range. Together with the 2023 hepatocellular carcinoma work it establishes that the cytotoxicity of this plant sits in the aboveground sesquiterpenoids, while the root that is actually dispensed is a benzofuran and thymol drug.
⚠ Rule-Based Cautions
These entries come from the deterministic rule tables that gate Verscienta's formula tools — classical pair prohibitions, pregnancy and lactation contraindications, dose ceilings, and drugs outside the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The botanical-genus entries are different: advisory notes are not part of the safety screen; the Aristolochia genus check is.
From the botanical genus
Eupatorium includes species reported to contain hepatotoxic unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids; the content of this species or preparation is not verified here.
Pyrrolizidine-alkaloid genera — advisory note — recorded as Eupatorium chinense. Botanical names: WCVP
- Roeder E. Medicinal plants in China containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pharmazie 2000;55(10):711–726 — “These alkaloids are only slightly toxic.”
- Roeder E. Medicinal plants in China containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Pharmazie 2000;55(10):711–726 — “The plant contains the toxic alkaloids amabiline (11), echinatine (18)”
- Colegate SM et al. Potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium perfoliatum and three related species. Phytochem Anal 2018;29:613–626 — “Forty-nine samples of Eupatorium perfoliatum were shown to contain dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (0.0002-0.07% w/w)”
- Zan K et al. Simultaneous determination of eight pyrrolizidine alkaloids in various parts of Eupatorium lindleyanum by ultra high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and risk assessments based on a real-life exposure scenario. J Sep Sci 2021;44:3237–3247 — “the total levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Eupatorium lindleyanum followed the order of root > flower > stem > leaf”
Historical Texts
Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu (Records of Herb Collecting in Lingnan), Xiao Budan
Republican era, 1932Guangdong Provincial Standard for Chinese Medicinal Materials, volume 1
Modern provincial standardGuangxi Standard for Chinese Medicinal Materials, volume 2
Modern provincial standardReferences
- Liao PY, Zhang YJ, Wang YF, Wang D, Yang CR. Chemical Constituents of Guangdong Tu-Niu-Xi (Eupatorium chinense, Compositae) . Acta Botanica Yunnanica (2010) [DOI]
- Geng H. Chemical Constituents and Their Bioactivities of Plants from the Genus Eupatorium (2015-Present) . Biology (2024) [DOI]
- Zhang QQ, Sun ZY, Feng XY, Chen RJ, Deng W, Tang YL, Guo ZY, Liu CX, Chen JF, Zou K. Thymol derivatives from the roots of Eupatorium chinense and their cytotoxic activities . Phytochemistry Letters (2019) [DOI]
- Yu N, Wang JQ, Yu XQ, Deng R, Chen ZY, Liu ZX, Liu CX, He HB, Zou K. Chemical constituents of the roots of Eupatorium chinense and their anti-inflammatory activities . Phytochemistry Letters (2022) [DOI]
- Khadka D, Chen B, Xie Y, Shui K, Zhang X, Liu Z, Song L, Zhang C, Li Y, Lee TM, Liao W, Shi S. Ethnomedicinal plants used by Guoshan Yao minority communities in the foothills of Nanling Mountain, Guangdong, China . Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (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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