Traditionally used for
- Digestion
- Fertility & vitality
- Pain & joints
Cautions & contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Regulates Qi, soothes the Liver and stops pain; Replenishes Kidney Yang; Replenishes Spleen Yang
Traditional Chinese Uses
Jiu Xiang Chong, the dried body of the aromatic stink bug Aspongopus chinensis, is a salty, warm herb entering the Spleen, Liver and Kidney channels. It regulates Qi, soothes the Liver and relieves pain, warms the Middle and reinforces Yang, and tonifies Kidney and Spleen Yang.
It is used for epigastric and abdominal distension and pain from Cold in the Stomach or Liver-Stomach Qi stagnation — combined with Chuan Lian Zi, Mu Xiang and Yan Hu Suo — and for Kidney-Yang deficiency with sore, weak lower back and knees and impotence, paired with Bu Gu Zhi and other yang tonics. It is usually ground into powder or taken in pills. Being warm and yang-supporting, it is contraindicated where there is Yin-deficient internal Heat.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Jiu Xiang Chong (九香蟲) is the dried adult body of the brown stink bug Aspongopus chinensis Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae, also referred to in older literature as Coridius chinensis), a hemipteran insect native to southern China, where it feeds on cucurbitaceous and other cultivated plants. The insects are collected in autumn and winter, typically killed by brief immersion in hot water or wine, then dried. The dried insect is dark brown to nearly black, about 1.5–2 cm long, oval and somewhat flattened, with a strong characteristic odor from defensive secretions. In TCM, Jiu Xiang Chong is classified as salty and warm, entering the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney channels, and is used to regulate qi and relieve pain, warm the middle, and tonify Kidney yang for epigastric and chest pain from qi stagnation and cold, lumbar pain, and impotence. As an animal substance, plant fields do not apply.
Active Constituents
Oleic acid
Monounsaturated fatty acidConcentration: fatty acids are the dominant class of the ethanol extract, with 34 fatty acids identified in one profiling study
Oleic acid is one of the two most abundant fatty acids in the dried insect and has been named among the constituents responsible for the antiproliferative activity of methanol extracts in cell work. It is a ubiquitous fatty acid rather than a species-specific marker and should not be used to authenticate the drug.
Palmitic acid
Saturated fatty acidConcentration: one of the two most abundant fatty acids of the drug alongside oleic acid
A major bulk lipid of the dried insect. Like oleic acid it is reported in the antiproliferative fraction of methanol extracts, but it carries no specific pharmacology attributable to this species.
1,4-Dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-2-carboxylic acid
Quinolinone alkaloidIsolated from the anticoagulant fraction and proposed as the reference substance for content determination of Jiu Xiang Chong, making it the most useful quality marker currently available for the drug.
6-Hydroxykynurenic acid
Quinoline alkaloidReported for the first time from this species in the anticoagulant substance-basis study, alongside kynurenic acid. Kynurenine-pathway metabolites are characteristic of insect drugs and help distinguish this material from plant substitutes.
Adenosine
Purine nucleosideOne of six nucleosides detected exclusively in the aqueous extract, alongside uridine, thymidine, deoxyadenosine and xanthine. Adenosine has recognised antiplatelet and vasodilatory activity in its own right and is a plausible contributor to the drug's anticoagulant profile, though this has not been demonstrated directly for Jiu Xiang Chong.
N-acetyldopamine derivatives
Catecholamine amidesConcentration: a new oxazole and three known N-acetyldopamine derivatives have been reported from this insect
N-acetyldopamine dimers and related catecholamine amides are characteristic of medicinal insects and arise from cuticular sclerotisation chemistry. They are reported as part of the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant fraction, but no isolated-compound pharmacology in humans exists.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants, heparin, aspirin and clopidogrel
A 2025 study covering in vitro, cell and animal work found that Aspongopus chinensis extract significantly extended APTT in rats, indicating an effect on the intrinsic coagulation pathway, while leaving PT and TT unaffected. In mice it prolonged clotting time and bleeding time dose-dependently. On rabbit platelets it matched aspirin's inhibition at 1.25 mg/mL and reached 69.22% inhibition at 2.5 mg/mL, exceeding aspirin, and the extract also showed fibrinolytic activity on agarose-fibrinogen plates. The traditional use for blood stasis pain and for hepatic and gastric masses means the drug is regularly given to exactly the patient group most likely to be on an anticoagulant.
Clinical note: Ask specifically about anticoagulants and antiplatelets before prescribing. Monitor INR more closely for the first month in warfarinised patients, watch for bruising and gum bleeding, and stop the herb at least a week before elective surgery, endoscopic biopsy or dental extraction.
Cyclopelta parva, Aspongopus nigriventris, Erthesina fullo, Tessaratoma papillosa and Megymenum inerme sold as Jiu Xiang Chong
Substitution with related Heteroptera is the standard adulteration route for this drug and has been documented repeatedly by microscopic and DNA barcoding studies. The commonest confusion is with the small wrinkled shield bug Cyclopelta parva, which differs from the genuine article only in being smaller, having a semicircular rather than triangular head, and an elliptical rather than hexagonal body. Erthesina fullo, Tessaratoma papillosa, Aspongopus nigriventris and Megymenum inerme are also reported in trade under the same name. Authentic material is 1.8 to 2.2 cm long and 1.0 to 1.2 cm wide, hexagonal and flattened, brown to dark brown, with two pairs of membranous semi-transparent wings and white pointed projections at the margin of each of five to six abdominal segments. Note also that the accepted name for the medicinal species is Coridius chinensis (Dallas); Aspongopus chinensis Dallas is the synonym under which the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and most of the pharmacological literature list it, so a supplier's use of either name is not itself a red flag.
Clinical note: Inspect the material against the size, head shape and body outline criteria rather than relying on the odour, which several adulterant species share. Buy whole insects, never pre-powdered material, since morphology is the only practical field authentication.
Shellfish and house dust mite allergy (cross-reactive arthropod allergens)
This is an extrapolation from the general edible-insect allergen literature, in which tropomyosin and arginine kinase from insects cross-react with the homologous crustacean and dust mite allergens, and not from any study of Aspongopus chinensis specifically. It is flagged because the drug is a whole dried insect given internally and because the same species is eaten as food in Guizhou and Sichuan, so exposure is not confined to therapeutic doses.
Clinical note: Screen for shellfish and dust mite allergy before prescribing any whole-insect drug. If either is present, choose a different qi-regulating and Kidney-yang-supporting herb rather than trialling a small dose.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–9 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 monograph 【九香虫】【用法与用量】3～9g。 【性味与归经】咸，温。归肝、脾、肾经。 — Matched to ChP by romanised drug name (pinyin 'Jiu Xiang Chong' → 九香虫); 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
Moderate evidence · 5 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
5
1 verified · 4 unverified
Show 5 studies
- Anticoagulant effects, substance basis, and quality assessment approach of Aspongopus chinensis Dallas
- An integrated strategy for the comprehensive profiling of the chemical constituents of Aspongopus chinensis using UPLC-QTOF-MS combined with molecular networking
- Isolation of Peptide Inhibiting SGC-7901 Cell Proliferation from Aspongopus chinensis Dallas
- Aspongopus chinensis Dallas induces pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arresting effects in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by modulating miRNA and mRNA expression
- Ethno-entomotherapeutic and metabolite profiling of Coridius chinensis (Dallas), a traditional edible insect species of North-East India
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
Anticoagulant effects, substance basis, and quality assessment approach of Aspongopus chinensis Dallas
Combined in vitro coagulation assays, fibrinolytic plate testing, RAW264.7 macrophage work and animal experiments in mice, rats and rabbits. The extract significantly extended APTT in rats without affecting PT or TT, prolonged clotting and bleeding time dose-dependently in mice, and inhibited rabbit platelet aggregation by 69.22% at 2.5 mg/mL, exceeding aspirin. Four compounds were isolated, including 6-hydroxykynurenic acid and delicatuline B as first reports from this species, and 1,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinoline-2-carboxylic acid was proposed as a content-determination reference substance.
An integrated strategy for the comprehensive profiling of the chemical constituents of Aspongopus chinensis using UPLC-QTOF-MS combined with molecular networking
Analytical profiling identified 124 compounds in total, 49 targeted and 75 untargeted, of which 74 were reported from the species for the first time. Fatty acids (34) dominated the ethanol extract, while nucleosides (6) and amino acids (12) were detected only in the aqueous extract, along with 18 peptides. This is the most complete chemical inventory available for the drug and shows that extraction solvent, and therefore decoction versus tincture, materially changes what the patient receives.
Isolation of Peptide Inhibiting SGC-7901 Cell Proliferation from Aspongopus chinensis Dallas
A peptide fraction isolated from the insect inhibited proliferation of the SGC-7901 human gastric carcinoma line. This is cell-line work only and provides no basis for the traditional claim of activity in gastric cancer in patients.
Aspongopus chinensis Dallas induces pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arresting effects in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by modulating miRNA and mRNA expression
Extract treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma cells produced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest with accompanying changes in miRNA and mRNA expression. As with the gastric line work this is in vitro only, and there are no human trials of Jiu Xiang Chong for any indication.
Ethno-entomotherapeutic and metabolite profiling of Coridius chinensis (Dallas), a traditional edible insect species of North-East India
Documents the ethnomedicinal use and metabolite profile of the same species under its currently accepted name Coridius chinensis in North-East India, where it is both eaten and used medicinally. Useful confirmation that the medicinal insect of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the North-East Indian food insect are one taxon.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynastyPharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China
Modern, 2020 editionReferences
- Fu J, Zhang G, Peng H, Xu Z, Liu Y, Chen K, Li J. Anticoagulant effects, substance basis, and quality assessment approach of Aspongopus chinensis Dallas . PLOS One (2025) [DOI]
- Zhang F, Li B, Wen Y, Liu Y, Liu R, Liu J, Liu S, Jiang Y. An integrated strategy for the comprehensive profiling of the chemical constituents of Aspongopus chinensis using UPLC-QTOF-MS combined with molecular networking . Pharmaceutical Biology (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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