Hu Yao Huang
StarLeucas mollissima Wall. var. chinensis Benth.
Synonyms: Leucas mollissima Wall., Leucas chinensis (Retz.) Sm., Phlomis chinensis Retz.
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Bowel health
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and eliminates Toxins; Invigorates the blood and promotes urination
Traditional Chinese Uses
Bitter and cool, entering the Large Intestine, Small Intestine and Lung channels, Hu Yao Huang is used to clear Heat and resolve toxicity while invigorating the Blood and promoting urination. Its main applications are Heat-toxin and Damp-Heat patterns of the gut and skin: it is decocted for acute enteritis, bacillary dysentery, appendicitis (intestinal abscess), and for Heat-type painful or scanty urination. By moving Blood and reducing toxic swelling it is also given for traumatic injury, sores, boils and snakebite, and the fresh herb is pounded for external application to abscesses and inflamed wounds. A folk remedy of southern China rather than a Pharmacopoeia herb, it is typically decocted 15–30 g (fresh herb higher); avoid in pregnancy and in cold-deficiency patterns without Heat.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Hu Yao Huang is the dried aerial parts of Leucas mollissima Wall. var. chinensis Benth., a soft-hairy annual or short-lived perennial of the mint family (Lamiaceae). The plant is 30–80 cm tall with a quadrangular, densely villous stem, opposite ovate to lanceolate leaves that are toothed and covered in soft hairs, and small white two-lipped flowers borne in dense axillary whorls (verticillasters) subtended by bristly bracts. The calyx is tubular and ribbed; the whole plant is aromatic when crushed. It grows as a weed of roadsides, grassy slopes, thickets and waste ground. The stems, leaves and flowering tops are cut in summer to autumn and dried for medicinal use.
Sunny grassy slopes, roadsides, thickets, forest margins and disturbed waste ground at low to middle elevations.
Active Constituents
Anisofolin A
Acylated flavone glycosideThe most active compound recovered in the only dedicated phytochemical study of this species, isolated from the methanol extract of the aerial parts. It inhibited Plasmodium falciparum with an IC50 of 4.39 +/- 0.25 micromolar and Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra with an IC50 of 4.50 +/- 0.75 micromolar, and gave 55.6 percent inhibition of Mycobacterium bovis at 100 micrograms per millilitre.
Apigenin 7-O-beta-D-(6''-p-E-coumaroyl)-glucoside
Acylated flavone glycosideA coumaroylated apigenin glucoside from the methanol extract of the aerial parts. It gave only moderate antiplasmodial activity (35 percent inhibition of P. falciparum at 10 micromolar) but 67.4 percent inhibition of M. bovis at 100 micrograms per millilitre.
(+)-Syringaresinol
Furofuran lignanA widely distributed dimeric lignan recovered from the methanol extract of the aerial parts. It was isolated but not reported as one of the antimalarial or antimycobacterial actives in that study.
(-)-epi-Marmelo lactone [(2S,4R,6S)-2,6-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-7-ene-4-olide]
Monoterpene lactoneA compound new to science when it was described from the acetone extract of the aerial parts of this species in 2015. No pharmacology has been published for it.
Lanost-9(11),25-diene-3beta,24beta-diol
Lanostane triterpenoidOne of two lanostane-type triterpene diols isolated from the acetone extract of the aerial parts. No specific activity was attributed to it.
Lanost-9(11),23E(24)-diene-3beta,25-diol
Lanostane triterpenoidThe second lanostane diol from the acetone extract of the aerial parts. No specific activity was attributed to it.
Vanillin
Phenolic aldehydeA minor phenolic recovered from the acetone extract of the aerial parts, alongside beta-hydroxypropiovanillone. It is a common plant phenol and is not a marker for this species.
Evidence Tier
Limited evidence · 1 studyRecorded 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
1
0 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
Leucas mollissima, a Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antimalarial and Antimycobacterium Activities
Nine compounds were isolated from the acetone and methanol extracts of Leucas mollissima aerial parts, including one new monoterpene lactone. Anisofolin A was the most active, with an IC50 of 4.39 micromolar against Plasmodium falciparum and 4.50 micromolar against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra; the coumaroylated apigenin glucoside was weaker against the parasite (35 percent inhibition at 10 micromolar) but inhibited M. bovis by 67.4 percent at 100 micrograms per millilitre. This is essentially the only primary phytochemical work available on the species, and the material was collected in India with the infraspecific rank not stated, so it is not certain that it was var. chinensis, the taxon used in southern China.
References
- Kumar, Sachin; Singh, Neha; Mittal, Amit; Kharkwal, Harsha; Jain, Shreyans K.; Goel, Bharat. The genus Leucas: A review on phytochemistry and pharmacological activities . Fitoterapia (2023) [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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