Fu Shen
StarWolfiporia cocos (F.A.Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb.
Traditionally used for
- Urinary & fluids
- Sleep
- Mood & calm
- Heart & circulation
- Energy & fatigue
☯ TCM Properties
Calms the Heart and Quiets the Spirit; Promotes Urination and Drains Dampness; Strengthens the Spleen
Traditional Chinese Uses
Fu Shen (poria with pine root, spirit-calming poria) is the portion of the fu ling (poria mushroom) that grows around a pine root, and is used in Chinese medicine specifically for calming the Heart-Shen. While regular Fu Ling broadly tonifies the Spleen and drains Dampness, Fu Shen has a stronger Spirit-calming focus and is preferred in formulas specifically targeting insomnia, palpitations, anxiety, and forgetfulness from Heart Qi and Blood deficiency.
Western Herbalism Properties
Used In Formulas (5)
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Wolfiporia cocos (synonym Poria cocos) is a wood-decay polypore fungus in the family Polyporaceae, distributed across temperate forests of East Asia and North America, where it parasitizes and saprophytically colonizes the roots of pines (Pinus spp.). The fungus forms large, irregularly subterranean sclerotia attached to or surrounding decayed pine roots; these sclerotia are dense, rounded to elongated masses 10-30 cm or more across, with a thin, wrinkled, dark-brown outer rind and a firm, white to pinkish, somewhat starchy interior. Above-ground basidiocarps are rarely seen, appearing as resupinate, pale, poroid crusts on infected wood. Fu Shen refers specifically to sclerotia harvested with the embedded pine root core intact, which is regarded as guiding the medicine to the heart.
Active Constituents
Pachyman (beta-(1->3)-D-glucan)
Fungal polysaccharide (beta-glucan)Concentration: polysaccharides make up as much as 84% w/w of the sclerotium; reported molecular weights range from 2.0 to 186,209 Da depending on extraction and modification
The dominant mass constituent of the sclerotium, a (1->3)-linked glucose backbone with some (1->6)-linked side chains. It carries the immunomodulatory activity attributed to the drug, activating macrophages and increasing nitric oxide and cytokine output through the Ca2+/PKC/p38/NF-kB pathway in cell culture. Native pachyman is poorly water-soluble, which is why much of the published activity is for chemically modified derivatives rather than the decocted herb.
Pachymic acid
Lanostane-type triterpene acidConcentration: one of the principal triterpenes of the sclerotium and its usual quality marker
The characteristic triterpene of this fungus, reported not to occur in other Chinese materia medica, which makes it the marker used for identity and quality control. It reverses P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in resistant cancer cell lines by inhibiting P-gp function, and it is the compound the authors of a clinical sleep study proposed as a candidate marker for sleep-aid development.
Tumulosic acid, eburicoic acid and the poricoic acids
Lanostane and secolanostane triterpenesConcentration: part of the 91 triterpenes catalogued from the sclerotium
The wider triterpene family of the drug, built on lanostane or secolanostane skeletons. Reported activities are anti-inflammatory (inhibition of iNOS, nitric oxide and PGE2 in stimulated macrophages) and renoprotective in fibrosis models, mediated in part through Gas6/Axl-NF-kB/Nrf2 signalling. All of this is cell-culture and rodent work.
Ergosterol
Fungal sterolA minor sterol constituent typical of fungal sclerotia, reported alongside steroids, amino acids and proteins in the drug. It is not the basis of any of the drug's traditional actions.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Loop and thiazide diuretics (furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide) and spironolactone
An extract of cultured mycelium increased urinary volume and electrolyte excretion in rats, and diuresis is the drug's principal documented pharmacological action. Fu Shen is the milder of the Poria drugs for this purpose, since it is the portion of the sclerotium grown around the pine root and is selected for its calming rather than its draining effect, so the additive risk is smaller than with Fu Ling proper. No human interaction study exists.
Clinical note: In patients on a diuretic, especially the elderly, monitor for dizziness and check potassium and sodium if the herb is used at higher doses or for long courses.
Lithium
Any agent that alters urinary volume and electrolyte excretion can in principle alter lithium clearance, and diuresis is documented for this fungus in rats. There is no report of this happening with Poria in a patient, so this is an extrapolation from the known behaviour of diuretics rather than an observed interaction.
Clinical note: No specific action needed at customary doses, but if the herb is used long-term alongside lithium, keep the existing lithium monitoring schedule rather than relaxing it.
P-glycoprotein substrates (digoxin, ciclosporin, some cytotoxics)
Pachymic acid reverses P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in resistant cell lines by inhibiting P-gp, which in principle could raise the absorption of a P-gp substrate drug. Against this, a pharmacokinetic study of a Poria cocos and Morus alba extract mixture found no significant inhibition of CYP or UGT enzyme activities, and no human P-gp interaction has been demonstrated for the whole drug.
Clinical note: No routine restriction. Where a narrow-index P-gp substrate such as digoxin is involved, prefer to keep the herb dose stable rather than escalating it mid-course.
Oral hypoglycaemic agents and insulin
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors have been identified in Poria by spectrum-effect and molecular docking work, which would in principle blunt post-prandial glucose. This is in vitro screening; there is no human glycaemic trial of the drug, and no reported hypoglycaemic event.
Clinical note: No change to diabetic therapy is warranted on this evidence. Routine self-monitoring is sufficient.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 2 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
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
In vitro / animal
0
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
Efficacy of Poria Cocos Extract on Sleep Quality Enhancement: A Clinical Perspective with Implications for Functional Foods
Twenty-one people with poor sleep, mean age 55, took 800 mg of a 75% ethanol Poria cocos extract nightly and were assessed by sleep questionnaire and polysomnography. Total sleep time rose from 327.4 to 356.5 minutes (p = 0.014), arousal time during sleep fell from 76.3 to 48.0 minutes (p = 0.009), and the sleep severity index improved. This is a small single-arm before-and-after study with no control group, so it cannot separate drug effect from regression to the mean; it also used the general Poria sclerotium, not specifically the pine-root portion sold as Fu Shen.
Effects of a combination of Poria Cocos, Ziziphus spinose, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on sleep quality and skin health: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial
Seventy people with sleep disorders took either placebo or a 10 mL daily supplement of Poria cocos, Ziziphus spinosa and GABA for four weeks, with sleep duration measured by wrist actigraphy and quality by PSQI. The active group gained 12.96% in total sleep duration (p = 0.006) and dropped 59.94% in PSQI score (p = 0.000) from baseline, and beat placebo on sleep duration, PSQI, skin hydration, wrinkle severity and roughness, with no adverse effects. Because it is a three-ingredient product containing GABA, the effect cannot be attributed to Poria, and the study was run by the manufacturer.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynastyReferences
- Nie A, Chao Y, Zhang X, Jia W, Zhou Z, Zhu C. Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activities of Wolfiporia cocos (F.A. Wolf) Ryvarden & Gilb . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2020) [DOI]
- Wang YZ, Zhang J, Zhao YL, Li T, Shen T, Li JQ, Li WY, Liu HG. Mycology, cultivation, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Wolfiporia cocos (Schwein.) Ryvarden et Gilb.: A review . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2013) [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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