Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Toxic — professional use only
☯ TCM Properties
Removes Phlegm and disperses accumulation; Kills Intestinal parasites and alleviates pain
Traditional Chinese Uses
Lang Du (Radix Euphorbiae Fischerianae) is the dried root of Euphorbia fischeriana, a HIGHLY TOXIC herb. Pungent and bitter with a warm, strongly toxic nature (entering Lung, Heart, Liver and Spleen), it dissolves Phlegm and disperses hard accumulations, kills parasites and worms, and relieves pain. Historically it treated scrofula (cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis) and skin tuberculosis, phlegm nodules and abdominal masses, chronic cough and dyspnea with copious Phlegm, food stagnation, edema, and intestinal parasites, and it served as an external insecticide/parasiticide.
Because of its toxicity it is used mainly externally (pounded or powdered onto scabies, ringworm, tinea and ulcers). Internal use is exceptional, in tiny controlled doses (roughly 0.5-1 g, usually processed). It is contraindicated in pregnancy and in weak or deficient patients, incompatible with Mi Tuo Seng, and should be handled only by qualified practitioners.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Lang Du is the dried root of Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. (Euphorbiaceae) and, in some regional pharmacopoeias, the root of Stellera chamaejasme L. (Thymelaeaceae); both are HIGHLY TOXIC perennial herbs of dry steppe, grassland, and montane slopes in northern and northwestern China, Mongolia, and Siberia. Euphorbia fischeriana forms a stout, fleshy, branched taproot with pale yellow to reddish-brown bark that exudes copious milky white latex when cut; the erect annual stems 20–50 cm tall bear whorls of narrowly oblong leaves and terminal cyathial inflorescences. Stellera chamaejasme has a stout woody rootstock supporting a cushion of erect stems clothed in lance-shaped leaves and topped with dense heads of fragrant pink-and-white flowers. Roots of either species are dug in autumn, washed, and dried; their irritant diterpene esters and lignans make them powerfully purgative and historically used to expel parasites and reduce masses. WARNING: severely toxic, banned or restricted in several jurisdictions; absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy, debility, and routine outpatient use.
Active Constituents
Jolkinolide B
ent-Abietane diterpenoid lactoneConcentration: one of the principal diterpenoids of the dried root; content is not fixed by any monograph and varies widely with provenance and with which of the three drugs sold as Lang Du is supplied
The most studied single compound of the root. It induces apoptosis in tumour cell lines through PI3K/Akt and XIAP-dependent pathways and accounts for much of the antitumour activity attributed to Lang Du in laboratory work. Nothing about this in vitro activity establishes a safe systemic dose in humans.
17-Hydroxyjolkinolide B
ent-Abietane diterpenoid lactoneA close congener of jolkinolide B carrying an additional hydroxyl at C-17, reported from the roots alongside jolkinolide A, 17-hydroxyjolkinolide A and 17-acetoxyjolkinolide A. It is among the cytotoxic ent-abietanes that dominate the diterpenoid profile of this species.
Prostratin (12-deoxyphorbol 13-acetate)
Tigliane (phorbol ester) diterpeneA protein kinase C activator; E. fischeriana root is one of the recognised natural sources and the biosynthetic pathway has been traced in its root transcriptome. Pharmacologically it is best known as an HIV latency-reversing agent, but as a phorbol ester its immediate biological signature is potent irritancy of skin and mucosa. Phorbol and daphnane esters of this class are what make the fresh root and its exudate a vesicant.
Daphnane-type diterpenoids
Daphnane diterpene orthoestersReported from the roots along with tigliane, ingenane, ent-atisane, lathyrane and dimeric skeletons; ninety diterpenoids across thirteen skeletal subtypes have been catalogued from this one species. Daphnane orthoesters are the most aggressively irritant and tumour-promoting class in the Euphorbiaceae and Thymelaeaceae and should be assumed to be present in any raw root preparation.
Langduin B
Diterpene lactoneOne of the species-characteristic diterpene lactones described from E. fischeriana roots, isolated together with 17-acetoxyjolkinolide A. It is of chemotaxonomic rather than therapeutic interest.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Mi Tuo Seng (Lithargyrum, lead(II) oxide)
Lang Du fears Mi Tuo Seng is one of the Nineteen Antagonisms (shi jiu wei) of classical Chinese pharmacy, and Lang Du and Mi Tuo Seng are named as a forbidden pair. The traditional prohibition is categorical rather than mechanistically explained. Separately from the classical rule, Mi Tuo Seng is litharge, lead(II) oxide, and carries an unavoidable risk of lead poisoning at any dose; combining it with a drastic irritant purgative that damages the gut mucosa can only increase absorption of the metal.
Clinical note: Do not combine. Where a formula appears to contain both, treat it as a compounding error and do not dispense.
Stellera chamaejasme (Rui Xiang Lang Du) supplied as Lang Du
The name Lang Du is applied in commerce to at least three unrelated drugs: Euphorbia fischeriana Steud., Euphorbia ebracteolata Hayata (the two species covered by the 2020 Chinese Pharmacopoeia monograph Euphorbiae Ebracteolatae Radix), and Stellera chamaejasme L., a Thymelaeaceae herb properly called Rui Xiang Lang Du. Stellera carries daphnane orthoesters and biflavonoids such as chamaejasmine rather than the ent-abietane lactones of Euphorbia, and the three roots have been shown by simultaneous quantification of their diterpenoids and flavonoids to differ in both constituent profile and antitumour potency. The latin_name string carried on this record compounds the problem further by also naming Radix Alocasiae, the aroid Alocasia macrorrhizos, whose toxicity is due to insoluble calcium oxalate raphides and proteolytic irritants and has nothing in common with either genus.
Clinical note: Insist on a botanically identified source and reject material described only as Lang Du. If the supplier cannot state the binomial, do not use it, and never carry a dose across from one of these roots to another.
Digoxin and other cardiac glycosides; potassium-wasting diuretics
Lang Du acts, in the classical framing, by driving out water accumulation, and pharmacologically it does this through severe diterpene-ester irritation of the gut, producing vomiting and watery diarrhoea. Sustained loss of fluid and potassium by that route is the standard mechanism by which any drastic purgative sensitises the myocardium to digoxin and compounds diuretic-induced hypokalaemia. This is inference from the drug class and from the documented irritant action rather than from reported cases with this species.
Clinical note: Avoid in patients on digoxin or loop or thiazide diuretics. If used at all, keep courses short and check electrolytes.
Topical and ophthalmic exposure to the raw root, latex or resin
The tigliane and daphnane diterpene esters present in the root are direct protein kinase C activators and are the reference class of skin irritants and tumour promoters. Euphorbiaceae diterpene esters are documented mucosal irritants and contact allergens, and sap contact produces vesication of skin and inflammatory injury to the eye; oral ingestion of raw material produces vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions and coma. The whole plant of E. fischeriana is toxic, and the drug is graded a toxic medicinal in Chinese practice for this reason.
Clinical note: Handle only with gloves; never let the powder or a poultice reach the eye, broken skin or mucosa. Warn the patient that a plaster containing it will blister if left on too long. Not for internal use outside specialist supervision, and contraindicated in pregnancy and in the debilitated.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| topical | Appropriate amount | — | — | — | ChP 2025 (yaobw.cn mirror; cross-validated against db.ouryao.com). 熬膏外敷 — EXTERNAL USE ONLY, decocted down to a paste and applied. The Pharmacopoeia gives no internal dose. 不宜与密陀僧同用 — not combined with Mi Tuo Seng (litharge). *Euphorbia fischeriana*: the latex is a severe irritant and co-carcinogen. Replaces a generic filler value generated from tcm_category, which had been cleared to blank. |
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
0 verified · 2 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
Jolkinolide B from Euphorbia fischeriana Steud Induces Apoptosis in Human Leukemic U937 Cells through PI3K/Akt and XIAP Pathways
Jolkinolide B isolated from E. fischeriana root inhibited proliferation of the human leukaemic U937 line and induced apoptosis, with suppression of PI3K/Akt signalling and downregulation of XIAP. This is cell-line work on a purified constituent and says nothing about the safety or efficacy of the crude root in patients.
Daphnane-type diterpenoids from Euphorbia fischeriana Steud and their cytotoxic activities
Isolation and structure elucidation of daphnane-type diterpenoids from the roots of E. fischeriana, with cytotoxicity screening against tumour cell lines. Confirms that the highly irritant daphnane orthoester class is a genuine constituent of this species and not merely a genus-level assumption.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Toxic — professional use only
Contraindications
Contraindicated in pregnancy and in the weak or depleted.
Safety Warnings
- Used chiefly externally; internal use is small-dose and short-term.
- The name Lang Du covers more than one botanical source — confirm the species before use.
⚠ Rule-Based Cautions
These entries come from the deterministic rule tables that gate Verscienta's formula tools — classical pair prohibitions, pregnancy and lactation contraindications, and dose ceilings.
Incompatibilities (十八反 / 十九畏)
- 十九畏: Lang Du × Mi Tuo Seng — avoid combining with Mi Tuo Seng / Litharge
⚠ Toxicity Information
Purgation with abdominal pain and vomiting; the latex is a strong skin and mucous-membrane irritant.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynastyZhen Zhu Nang Bu Yi Yao Xing Fu
Ming dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynastyReferences
- Li YN, He J, Zhang J, Shi YX, Guo LB, Peng ZC, Yang T, Ding K, Zhang WK, Xu JK. Existing knowledge on Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. (Euphorbiaceae): Traditional uses, clinical applications, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2021) [DOI]
- Jian B, Zhang H, Liu J. Structural Diversity and Biological Activities of Diterpenoids Derived from Euphorbia fischeriana Steud . Molecules (2018) [DOI]
- Jian B, Zhang H, Han C, Liu J. Anti-Cancer Activities of Diterpenoids Derived from Euphorbia fischeriana Steud . Molecules (2018) [DOI]
- Barrero RA, Chapman B, Yang Y, Moolhuijzen P, Keeble-Gagnere G, Zhang N, Tang Q, Bellgard MI, Qiu D. De novo assembly of Euphorbia fischeriana root transcriptome identifies prostratin pathway related genes . BMC Genomics (2011) [DOI]
- Chen G, Ma T, Ma Y, Han C, Zhang J, Sun Y. Chemical Composition, Anti-Breast Cancer Activity and Extraction Techniques of Ent-Abietane Diterpenoids from Euphorbia fischeriana Steud . Molecules (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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