Ju Ye
StarCitrus reticulata Blanco
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Menstrual & women's health
☯ TCM Properties
Soothes the Liver and Regulates Qi; Transforms Phlegm and Dissipates Nodules; Resolves Toxicity and Reduces Swelling
Traditional Chinese Uses
Ju Ye (tangerine leaf) is a neutral, bitter herb used in Chinese medicine to move Liver Qi and disperse accumulations in the Liver channel. Its primary indications are painful swellings of the breast and chest from Liver Qi stagnation — including mastitis, rib-side pain, and hypochondriac distension. It is gentler in action than other Liver-Qi-moving herbs and particularly well suited for addressing the painful nodules and distension of the chest that accompany emotional tension and Liver stagnation patterns.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Citrus reticulata, the mandarin orange, is a small evergreen tree or large shrub in the Rutaceae growing 3-8 m tall with slender, often slightly thorny branches forming a rounded crown. The alternate leaves are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 4-8 cm long, with a slightly winged petiole much narrower than that of the sweet orange, glossy dark green above, paler beneath, and dotted with translucent oil glands that release a fragrant citrus aroma when crushed. Solitary or small clusters of white, fragrant five-petalled flowers are borne in leaf axils. The fruit is a flattened-globose hesperidium 4-8 cm across with a loose, easily peeled, bright orange rind and sweet segmented pulp. The dried mature leaves, collected at any time of year, are Ju Ye.
Active Constituents
Methyl N-methylanthranilate (dimethyl anthranilate)
Anthranilate esterConcentration: one of the five principal components of the leaf volatile oil across mandarin cultivars; it is the marker that separates mandarin leaf oil from mandarin peel oil
This is the single compound that identifies the drug as leaf rather than peel. Methyl N-methylanthranilate is the signature of mandarin leaf oil, the material sold in perfumery as petitgrain mandarine, and it is not a component of the peel oil that characterises Ju Hong or Chen Pi. Its presence is the practical way to confirm that Ju Ye has not been made up from peel trimmings.
beta-Pinene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: part of the monoterpene hydrocarbon fraction, which made up 36.38 to 86.45 percent of the leaf essential oil across six mandarin cultivars
One of the dominant hydrocarbons of the leaf oil. The very wide cultivar range means the aromatic strength of Ju Ye is not consistent between sources, which matters for a drug conventionally added late in decoction for its aroma.
D-Limonene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: a principal component of the leaf essential oil, though the leaf oil is less limonene-dominated than the peel oil
Shared with the peel drugs, and part of the mild carminative and smooth-muscle-relaxant character common to the whole citrus group.
Linalool
Oxygenated monoterpeneConcentration: among the five main components of the leaf oil; oxygenated monoterpenes are a minor fraction relative to the hydrocarbons
Contributes to the leaf oil's aroma and was among the compounds most active in the enzyme-inhibition assays run on mandarin leaf oil.
Thymol
Monoterpene phenolConcentration: a minor component of the leaf oil, detected among the thirty-nine volatiles identified across mandarin cultivars
Minor by quantity but among the most active constituents in the hyaluronidase, collagenase and elastase inhibition assays performed on Citrus reticulata leaf oil, and the compound showing the strongest binding in the accompanying docking work.
Hesperidin
Flavanone glycosideConcentration: not quantified for Citrus reticulata Blanco leaf specifically; leaf of the related satsuma mandarin Citrus unshiu has been measured at 39.17 mg/g
Citrus leaves carry the same flavanone glycosides as the fruit, and hesperidin is the main one. The published figure comes from Citrus unshiu leaf, not from Citrus reticulata Blanco leaf, and is quoted here only to indicate order of magnitude. The leaf is chemically an essential-oil drug with a flavanone-glycoside background, not a polymethoxyflavone drug like the outer peel.
⚠ Drug Interactions
OATP substrates (e.g. fexofenadine, aliskiren)
No interaction study has been done on Citrus reticulata leaf. The reasoning is entirely by extrapolation: citrus flavanone glycosides, hesperidin in particular, inhibit intestinal OATP1A2 and reduced fexofenadine exposure to about a third of control when given as orange juice, and citrus leaves contain hesperidin. Whether a leaf decoction delivers enough hesperidin to reproduce that effect has not been tested, and the leaf is used at 6 to 15 g dried, which is a smaller flavonoid load than a glass of juice.
Clinical note: Treat as a low-priority caution. If a patient depends on an orally absorbed OATP substrate, separate the herb from the drug by a few hours; there is no basis for avoiding Ju Ye on this ground alone.
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
Citrus reticulata Leaves Essential Oil as an Antiaging Agent: A Comparative Study between Different Cultivars and Correlation with Their Chemical Compositions
Leaf essential oils from six mandarin cultivars were profiled by GC-MS, giving thirty-nine compounds with beta-pinene, D-limonene, gamma-terpinene, linalool and dimethyl anthranilate as the main components and monoterpene hydrocarbons at 36.38 to 86.45 percent. Kishu, Cara and Willow leaf cultivars inhibited hyaluronidase, collagenase and elastase; thymol, dimethyl anthranilate and linalool were the most active compounds, with docking supporting thymol's binding. This is a cosmetic-science endpoint and says nothing about the traditional indications, but it is one of the few studies performed on the leaf itself rather than on the peel.
Historical Texts
Dan Xi Xin Fa
Yuan dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynastyReferences
- Wanling Yang, Mengshi Liu, Baizhong Chen, Jinrong Ning, Kanghui Wang, Yi Cai, Depo Yang, Guodong Zheng. Comparative analysis of chemical constituents in Citri Exocarpium Rubrum, Citri Reticulatae Endocarpium Alba, and Citri Fructus Retinervus . Food Science & Nutrition (2022) [DOI]
- David G. Bailey. Fruit juice inhibition of uptake transport: a new type of food–drug interaction . British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2010) [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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