Traditionally used for
- Urinary & fluids
- Fertility & vitality
☯ TCM Properties
Tonifies the Kidneys, strengthens Yang and treats impotence; Resolves edema, disperses stagnant Blood, reduces swelling, dissipates nodules and resolves masses
Traditional Chinese Uses
Hai Long is the dried body of the pipefish Syngnathoides biaculeatus and related members of the family Syngnathidae, classified among the yang-tonifying substances. Sweet and salty in flavour and warm in nature, it enters the Kidney channel, where it warms and tonifies Kidney yang for impotence, sexual debility and general weakness, acting much like its relative Hai Ma (seahorse) but somewhat more gently. It also moves stagnant Blood, reduces swelling, and dissipates nodules and masses, and was applied to scrofula (luoli) and hard lumps. It is typically decocted at 3–9 g or taken as powder at 1–1.5 g, and is often steeped in wine.
As an animal-derived marine substance from the seahorse family, syngnathid populations face collection pressure; practitioners should observe conservation and legal restrictions and prefer sustainable or substitute materials.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Hai Long refers to the dried bodies of pipefishes in the genus Syngnathus and related members of the family Syngnathidae, and is therefore an animal-derived rather than botanical substance. The pipefish has a slender, elongated, snake-like body 10 to 30 centimetres long, encased in articulated bony rings rather than scales, with a long tubular snout terminating in a small toothless mouth used to suck in small planktonic prey. The dorsal fin is the primary means of propulsion, the body is otherwise nearly rigid, and males brood the eggs in a specialised ventral pouch. The species used inhabit shallow coastal waters and seagrass beds along the coasts of China and adjacent seas, where they are collected, gutted, dried, and bundled for medicinal trade.
Active Constituents
Glycoprotein SYB-1
GlycoproteinConcentration: purified fraction of the crude glycoprotein SYB; 8.46% carbohydrate, mean molecular weight 9.423 kDa, total amino acid content 88.81%
The first well-characterised functional constituent of this species. Its carbohydrate portion comprises mannose, glucose and galactose. In macrophage culture it increased cell viability and promoted release of nitric oxide, TNF-alpha and IL-6, and metabolomics linked the effect to arachidonic acid metabolism, with CYP450 family members and PTGS2 proposed as regulatory targets. It is an immunostimulant profile, which matters clinically because it runs opposite to immunosuppressive therapy.
Free and protein-bound amino acids (glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, proline predominant)
Amino acidsThe dried drug is overwhelmingly protein. In the purified SYB-1 glycoprotein the total amino acid content is 88.81%, dominated by glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and proline, a profile consistent with the collagenous dermal armour of a syngnathid. This is the bulk of what a patient actually ingests and it is nutritional rather than pharmacologically specific.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Solegnathus hardwickii and Syngnathus acus, the other two official Hai Long species
Hai Long is not a single-species drug. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia admits three: Solegnathus hardwickii (Gray), Syngnathoides biaculeatus (Bloch) and Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, and it treats them differently in processing, the first two having the skin membrane and viscera removed before drying while Syngnathus acus is simply washed and dried. All three are sold under the single trade name. A multiplex PCR method built on 12S allele-specific primers separates authentic Syngnathoides biaculeatus, Solegnathus hardwickii and Syngnathus acus at 240 bp, 318 bp and 139 bp respectively, and was designed explicitly to exclude common adulterants beyond those three. Almost all the published chemistry, including the SYB-1 glycoprotein work, is on Syngnathoides biaculeatus, so extrapolating it to material that is actually Solegnathus or Syngnathus is unsupported. Note also that this record's own Latin drug name, Syngnathus Syngnathus Acus, names a different official species from its binomial; that is a naming artefact of the three-species drug, and the binomial governs.
Clinical note: When the chemistry or a study matters, require the supplier to state which of the three species the batch is. Molecular identification is available and morphological inspection of dried, skinned specimens is not reliable.
Hippocampus spp. (Hai Ma, seahorse) present as substitute or contaminant
The asymmetry here is the point. All Hippocampus species are on CITES Appendix II, whereas Syngnathoides biaculeatus is not listed on any CITES appendix. Seahorses and pipefish are close relatives in the same family, are dried and traded through the same channels, and market surveys of Chinese and other Asian outlets have repeatedly had to use molecular methods because morphological sorting of dried syngnathids fails. A batch of Hai Long that includes seahorse material therefore becomes a CITES consignment without anything on the label changing, and the practitioner, not the supplier, is the one holding it.
Clinical note: Do not assume that because Hai Long is unlisted the consignment is unregulated. Buy pipefish and seahorse from suppliers who identify species, and keep the two drugs physically separate in the dispensary.
Ciclosporin, tacrolimus, corticosteroids and biologic immunosuppressants
The only characterised constituent of this species is an immunostimulant. SYB-1 raised macrophage viability and drove release of nitric oxide, TNF-alpha and IL-6 in culture, and the authors propose it as a supplement for immunocompromised populations. Pharmacologically that is the opposite of what an immunosuppressed patient needs, and the same TNF-alpha and IL-6 axis is the target of several biologics. This is an in vitro observation with no oral bioavailability or human data behind it, so the concern is directional rather than quantified.
Clinical note: Reasonable to avoid in transplant recipients, in patients on TNF or IL-6 inhibitors and in active autoimmune disease, on the grounds of the demonstrated direction of effect.
Anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents
The drug's classical indications include dispersing stagnant blood and resolving masses, and it is used in that register. There is no coagulation study on Syngnathoides biaculeatus in any model, so there is nothing beyond the traditional indication to support or refute an interaction.
Clinical note: Flag rather than act on. No monitoring change is justified by the current evidence.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction, or powder/pills | 3–9 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 monograph 【海龙】【用法与用量】3～9g。外用适量，研末敷患处。 【性味与归经】甘、咸，温。归肝、肾经。 — Matched to ChP by romanised drug name (pinyin 'Hai Long' → 海龙); the romanisation is unique across all 649 ChP monographs, and the match was cross-checked against this record's own TCM temperature. Quoted verbatim. |
Evidence Tier
Limited 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
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
2
1 verified · 1 unverified
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
Preparation, physicochemical properties, and immunomodulatory activity of glycoproteins from Syngnathoides biaculeatus
Optimised extraction of glycoproteins from Syngnathoides biaculeatus, yielding the crude SYB and the purified SYB-1: 8.46% carbohydrate as mannose, glucose and galactose, mean molecular weight 9.423 kDa, total amino acid content 88.81% dominated by glycine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and proline. SYB-1 significantly increased macrophage viability and promoted release of nitric oxide, TNF-alpha and IL-6, with metabolomics implicating arachidonic acid metabolism and naming CYP450 family members and PTGS2 as candidate targets. This is the only substantive chemistry and pharmacology published on the species; it is cell culture, with no animal or human dosing.
Identification of traditional Chinese medicinal pipefish and exclusion of common adulterants by multiplex PCR based on 12S sequences of specific alleles
Established an allele-specific multiplex PCR for medicinal pipefish. Six pipefish species resolved into separate branches on phylogenetic analysis, and authentic Syngnathoides biaculeatus, Solegnathus hardwickii and Syngnathus acus gave single clean bands at 240 bp, 318 bp and 139 bp using the HLN, HLD and HLJ primers. The authors frame the method as serving both quality control of a multi-source drug and conservation, since morphological identification of dried syngnathids is unreliable.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi
Qing dynasty, 1765References
- Barrows APW, Martin-Smith KM, Baine MSP. Population variables and life-history characteristics of the alligator pipefish Syngnathoides biaculeatus, in Papua New Guinea . Journal of Fish Biology (2009) [DOI]
- Xia X, Lin J, Yang L, Li Y, Lin W, Wang Q, Liu J, Huang R. Preparation, physicochemical properties, and immunomodulatory activity of glycoproteins from Syngnathoides biaculeatus . Natural Products and Bioprospecting (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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