Traditionally used for
- Digestion
- Menstrual & women's health
- Pain & joints
☯ TCM Properties
Promotes the flow of Qi , alleviates pain, dissipates Stasis and dredges the channels
Traditional Chinese Uses
Hei Lao Hu Gen is the root of Kadsura coccinea (Schisandraceae), an evergreen woody vine of southern China (the related K. heteroclita is also used). Pungent and warm, it promotes the flow of Qi, alleviates pain, dissipates Blood Stasis and dredges the channels. It is used for Qi-and-Blood stagnation patterns: epigastric and abdominal pain, gastric and duodenal ulcer pain, chronic gastritis, dysmenorrhea and post-partum abdominal pain from stasis, hernial pain, and traumatic injury.
It also dispels Wind-Dampness for rheumatic joint and low-back pain, and is a favored remedy of the Tujia and other southern peoples, taken in decoction (about 9-15 g), as powder, or soaked in wine. As a mainly ethnomedical herb it should be used under professional guidance and cautiously in pregnancy.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Kadsura coccinea (with the related K. heteroclita also used) is an evergreen woody climbing vine of the Schisandraceae family native to southern China, Vietnam, and adjacent Southeast Asia, where it scrambles through subtropical and tropical forest. The plant produces robust glabrous twining stems with smooth dark grey to reddish-brown bark that develops a corky texture with age, and the wood and root have a faintly aromatic quality. Leaves are alternate, leathery, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, ten to fifteen centimeters long, with entire or sparsely toothed margins and a glossy dark-green upper surface. Solitary unisexual pinkish-red to crimson flowers are borne on slender pedicels in the leaf axils, followed by the genus's striking compound fruit — a globular aggregate of many fleshy bright-red berries on an enlarged spherical receptacle, suspended on a long stalk.
Active Constituents
Dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, including kadsuralignans, schisantherins and binankadsurin A
Dibenzocyclooctadiene lignansConcentration: One of the two dominant constituent classes; 36 lignans were profiled by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS in a single root extract, and 202 compounds have been reported from the species overall
The characteristic skeleton of Schisandraceae and the class proposed as the quality marker for the genus. Kadsuralignan H inhibited proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synovial cells with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 19.09 micromolar, and kadsuralignan I and schisantherin M were among the compounds linked by network analysis to MAPK14, matrix metalloproteinases and Janus kinases.
This is the same structural class as the schisandrins and gomisins of Wu Wei Zi, which is why the cytochrome P450 question below has to be asked even though no one has asked it of this species.
3,4-seco-lanostane and seco-cycloartane triterpenoids (heilaohuacids A to F, heilaohumethylesters A to C, heilaohutriterpenes A to D)
Highly rearranged nortriterpenoids and seco-triterpenoidsConcentration: The second dominant class; 29 triterpenoids were profiled in a single root extract and new skeletons continue to be described from this drug
Structurally the most unusual chemistry in the drug, and named after it: heilaohuacids A and B carry an unprecedented migration of the C-18 methyl from C-13 to C-17 or from C-14 to C-18. Heilaohuacid D and a known analogue inhibited interleukin 6 release from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 8.15 and 9.86 micromolar.
Heilaohutriterpene B inhibited rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast proliferation at 9.57 micromolar and drove apoptosis by downregulating phosphorylated NF-kappa-B p65 and upregulating Bax and I-kappa-B-alpha; coccinone B was the most potent of the isolates tested at 3.08 micromolar.
Volatile oil, principally alpha-pinene and beta-pinene
Monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbonsConcentration: Root oil composition: alpha-pinene 16.60 to 42.02 percent, beta-pinene 10.03 to 18.82 percent, camphene 1.56 to 10.95 percent, borneol 0.50 to 7.71 percent, delta-cadinene 1.52 to 7.06 percent, beta-elemene 1.86 to 4.45 percent across leaf, stem and root
Forty-seven components were identified in the root oil, accounting for 92.72 percent of it. Antioxidant and cholinesterase-inhibitory activity were weak. Antimicrobial activity was modest and best against Staphylococcus aureus, where the root oil gave a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.78 mg/mL, the strongest of the three plant parts tested.
The volatile fraction is the source of the drug's aroma and is a practical aid to recognising genuine root, but it is not where the anti-inflammatory activity sits.
Fruit epicarp phenolics
Phenolic acids and flavonoidsConcentration: A constituent of the fruit, which is eaten as food in southern China, not of the root drug
Recorded to keep the parts apart. Kadsura coccinea fruit is a local food crop and a substantial part of the published chemistry of this species concerns fruit and epicarp rather than root. Fruit-derived findings, including the hepatoprotective work on binankadsurin A, should not be read across to Radix Kadsurae Cocciniae without saying so.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Kadsura heteroclita and Kadsura longipedunculata (confused Kadsura crude drugs)
Kadsura coccinea, Kadsura heteroclita and Kadsura longipedunculata are the three most widely distributed Kadsura species in south and southwest China, their stems and roots look alike, and the crude drugs are confused in use by folk practitioners and, on the authors' account, by some pharmaceutical manufacturers.
A comparative authentication study using chloroplast DNA haplotypes and ITS found that the existing molecular fragments did not resolve Kadsura longipedunculata from Kadsura heteroclita. Morphological identification works only on flower, fruit and leaf, which collectors of root material usually do not have. Chemometric analysis of chemical composition gave the highest discriminating power of the three approaches, and the authors recommend an integrated molecular, morphological and chemical method rather than any one of them.
Practically, this means a root sample of this genus cannot be authenticated by barcoding alone.
Clinical note: Buy from suppliers who authenticate by chemical profile as well as by sequence, and prefer material traceable to a named collection site with voucher specimens. The confused species share the general lignan and triterpenoid chemistry but not the specific compounds, and none of the three has a modern safety dossier.
Piper kadsura (Hai Feng Teng) and the Kadsura naming collision
Kadsura coccinea belongs to Kadsura in Schisandraceae, order Austrobaileyales, one of the earliest-diverging lineages of flowering plants. Piper kadsura, the source of Hai Feng Teng, belongs to Piperaceae in the order Piperales, among the magnoliids. The shared word comes from a Japanese term for a climbing vine and marks no relationship whatever. Older literature compounds the problem by placing Kadsura in the Schisandroideae of Magnoliaceae, a superseded treatment that puts the two genera in adjacent-sounding families.
The confusion is real rather than merely nominal in one direction: Kadsura heteroclita is used as a regional substitute for Hai Feng Teng in Guangdong. The chemistries are entirely different. Piper kadsura carries benzofuranoid neolignans such as kadsurenone, a platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist; Kadsura coccinea carries dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans and seco-lanostane triterpenoids and has no reported platelet-activating factor antagonism.
Clinical note: Never accept Kadsura in a trade name as evidence of botanical identity. If a prescription calls for Hai Feng Teng, a Kadsura species is the wrong drug even though the market sometimes supplies it, and if it calls for Hei Lao Hu, Piper kadsura is equally wrong.
CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein substrates, particularly tacrolimus and ciclosporin
This is a class-based extrapolation and is flagged as such. Kadsura coccinea's principal lignans are dibenzocyclooctadienes, the same structural class as the schisandrins and gomisins of Schisandra chinensis and Schisandra sphenanthera. Those lignans are established inhibitors of cytochrome P450 enzymes and P-glycoprotein, and the interaction is clinically real: in healthy volunteers, Wuzhi capsule, a Schisandra sphenanthera extract preparation, significantly increased the time to maximum concentration of tacrolimus and decreased its apparent oral clearance, in a dose-dependent way across one to eight capsules daily and modulated by CYP3A5 genotype.
No study has measured cytochrome P450 or P-glycoprotein inhibition by Kadsura coccinea or by any of its isolated lignans. The extrapolation rests on chemical class alone, so the magnitude, and indeed the existence, of any effect for this species is unknown.
Clinical note: Do not combine this herb with tacrolimus, ciclosporin, sirolimus or another narrow-therapeutic-index CYP3A4 substrate in a transplant or oncology patient. If a patient is already taking both, check drug levels rather than assuming either an interaction or its absence. For ordinary drugs with wide therapeutic margins the concern is largely academic.
Ethanol, given the traditional medicinal wine preparation
The traditional Yao, Dong and Tujia preparation of this root is a medicinal wine, and the ethanol extract is what has been studied pharmacologically. A patient taking the traditional preparation is taking a daily alcohol dose that nobody has quantified, alongside whatever else they are prescribed.
The irony is that the root has been studied as a treatment for alcohol-induced liver injury: in mice given alcohol intragastrically over eight weeks, the root ethanol extract lowered aspartate and alanine aminotransferase, raised glutathione, lowered malondialdehyde, and raised superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase 4, acting through MAPK and Nrf2 signalling. That is a mouse study of the extract, not a licence to take the wine.
Clinical note: Ask specifically whether the patient is taking the root as a wine and estimate the ethanol dose. The alcohol matters for patients on metronidazole, sedatives, opioids, methotrexate or any hepatotoxic drug, for patients with liver disease, and in pregnancy, irrespective of anything the herb itself does.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 7 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
7
2 verified · 5 unverified
Show 7 studies
- Targeted isolation of lignans and triterpenoids from kadsura coccinea by molecular networking and anti-RA-FLS activity
- Triterpenoids From Kadsura coccinea With Their Anti-inflammatory and Inhibited Proliferation of Rheumatoid Arthritis-Fibroblastoid Synovial Cells Activities
- Kadsua coccinea Extract Alleviates Rheumatoid Arthritis via TNF-α Suppression and Gut Microbiota Modulation
- Kadsura coccinea Roots Ameliorated Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury by Modulating Oxidative Stress Through the Regulation of the Nrf2/MAPK Signaling Pathway
- UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and Network Pharmacology Approaches to Explore the Active Compounds and Mechanisms of Kadsura coccinea for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from the Leaves, Stems, and Roots of Kadsura coccinea
- Binankadsurin A from Kadsura coccinea Fruits Ameliorates Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury Through Inhibiting Oxidative Stress by Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway
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
Targeted isolation of lignans and triterpenoids from kadsura coccinea by molecular networking and anti-RA-FLS activity
Molecular-networking-guided isolation from the roots gave four new triterpenoids, heilaohutriterpenes A to D, two new lignans, heilaohusuins F and G, and 21 known compounds. Against rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synovial cells, coccinone B was most potent at a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 3.08 micromolar, followed by heilaohutriterpene B at 9.57, heilaohutriterpene D at 16.22 and kadsuralignan H at 19.09 micromolar. Western blotting showed heilaohutriterpene B lowered phosphorylated NF-kappa-B p65 and raised Bax and I-kappa-B-alpha.
Phytochemistry with a single cell-based assay. It is the best-characterised activity of this drug and it is entirely in vitro.
Triterpenoids From Kadsura coccinea With Their Anti-inflammatory and Inhibited Proliferation of Rheumatoid Arthritis-Fibroblastoid Synovial Cells Activities
Ten new triterpenoids, including the rearranged heilaohuacids A and B, were isolated from heilaohu along with 22 known analogues. Two compounds inhibited interleukin 6 release from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages at half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 8.15 and 9.86 micromolar, and three inhibited rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast proliferation at 7.52, 8.85 and 7.97 micromolar.
Isolation chemistry with macrophage and synoviocyte assays. No animal or human data.
Kadsua coccinea Extract Alleviates Rheumatoid Arthritis via TNF-α Suppression and Gut Microbiota Modulation
Root ethanol extract suppressed tumour necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1 beta and interleukin 6 in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts and RAW 264.7 macrophages, and in adjuvant-induced arthritic rats inhibited paw swelling, synovial hyperplasia and bone destruction while shifting gut microbiota. At 3000 mg/kg no significant histopathological or haematological toxicity was seen.
The closest thing to an in vivo efficacy and safety signal this drug has. It is a rat arthritis model, and the acute tolerability observation at a single high dose is not a toxicology study. Note that the journal registered the title with the species name misspelled.
Kadsura coccinea Roots Ameliorated Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury by Modulating Oxidative Stress Through the Regulation of the Nrf2/MAPK Signaling Pathway
Ethanol extract of the root in male Balb/c mice given escalating intragastric alcohol over eight weeks. It lowered aspartate and alanine aminotransferase, raised hepatic glutathione, lowered malondialdehyde, raised superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase 4, reduced phosphorylation of p38, JNK and ERK, and raised Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1.
A mouse model. Uses the root, which is the drug part in this record.
UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and Network Pharmacology Approaches to Explore the Active Compounds and Mechanisms of Kadsura coccinea for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
Chemical profiling of the root extract identified 90 compounds, chiefly 36 lignans and 29 triterpenoids. Target prediction and network analysis found 145 overlapping targets with rheumatoid arthritis, associated with 65 of the compounds, with kadcoccinone F, kadsuralignan I and schisantherin M linked to MAPK14, matrix metalloproteinases and Janus kinases. Docking gave binding energies below minus 5.0 kcal/mol against MMP1, MMP2, JAK2 and JAK3.
The chemical profiling is the solid part. The network pharmacology and docking are computational hypothesis generation with no experimental validation in this paper, and should be weighed accordingly.
Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from the Leaves, Stems, and Roots of Kadsura coccinea
Hydrodistilled oils from leaf, stem and root analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry and flame ionisation detection: 46, 44 and 47 components respectively, accounting for 95.66, 97.35 and 92.72 percent of each oil. Alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, camphene, borneol, delta-cadinene and beta-elemene dominated. Antioxidant and cholinesterase inhibition were weak; the root oil was the most antimicrobial, best against Staphylococcus aureus at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.78 mg/mL.
Analytical chemistry with routine bioassays. It separates the three plant parts, which most of this literature does not.
Binankadsurin A from Kadsura coccinea Fruits Ameliorates Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury Through Inhibiting Oxidative Stress by Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway
Binankadsurin A, a dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan, was isolated from the fruits and its single-crystal structure reported. Pretreatment at 50 and 100 mg/kg reduced aspartate and alanine aminotransferase and preserved hepatic glutathione in mice given 400 mg/kg acetaminophen, with bicyclol as the positive control, and altered hepatic CYP2E1 expression.
This is fruit-derived, not root-derived, and is included to mark the boundary: it is evidence about a compound from a different part of the same plant, not about Radix Kadsurae Cocciniae.
Historical Texts
Ethnomedical practice of the Dong (Kam), Yao and Tujia peoples of Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan
Oral and local tradition, entering the written record through twentieth and twenty-first century ethnobotanical surveyModern review literature on the genus Kadsura
Published from 2020 onward, synthesising the earlier ethnobotanical recordReferences
- Yang YP, Hussain N, Zhang L, Jia YZ, Jian YQ, Li B, Iqbal Choudhary M, Rahman AU, Wang W. Kadsura coccinea: A rich source of structurally diverse and biologically important compounds . Chinese Herbal Medicines (2020) [DOI]
- Xu N, Li X, Zhang Y, Qu L, Li H, Wang Y, Song M, Duan B, Zhang Z. A review on the genus Kadsura: ethnobotany, pharmacology, and molecular pharmacognosy . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2026) [DOI]
- Zhang L, Jia YZ, Li B, Peng CY, Yang YP, Wang W, Liu CX. A review of lignans from genus Kadsura and their spectrum characteristics . Chinese Herbal Medicines (2021) [DOI]
- Liu J, Wei X, Zhang X, Qi Y, Zhang B, Liu H, Xiao P. A Comprehensive Comparative Study for the Authentication of the Kadsura Crude Drug . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2019) [DOI]
- Ouyang F, Xi X, Liang Y, Wang M, Liu M, Jin X, Li H, Liu J, Hu X. The Application Prospects and Future Outlook of Kadsura coccinea (Lem). A.C.Sm. in Rheumatoid Arthritis . Drug Design, Development and Therapy (2026) [DOI]
- Zhang F, Zhai J, Weng N, Gao J, Yin J, Chen W. A Comprehensive Review of the Main Lignan Components of Schisandra chinensis (North Wu Wei Zi) and Schisandra sphenanthera (South Wu Wei Zi) and the Lignan-Induced Drug-Drug Interactions Based on the Inhibition of Cytochrome P450 and P-Glycoprotein Activities . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2022) [DOI]
- Teng F, Wang W, Zhang W, Qu J, Liu B, Chen J, Liu S, Li M, Chen W, Wei H. Effect of hepar-protecting Wuzhi capsule on pharmacokinetics and dose-effect character of tacrolimus in healthy volunteers . Biopharmaceutics and Drug Disposition (2022) [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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