Pepperweed
StarLepidium apetalum
Synonyms: Crucifera apetala, Thlaspi apetalum, Lepidium micranthum, Lepidium gobicum, Lepidium chitungense, Nasturtium incisum
Safety at a glance
No rule in our tables for this herb: pregnancy, breastfeeding, incompatible pairs (十八反 / 十九畏), herb–drug, dose ceiling. This is not a safety clearance.
Not graded — No toxicity grade is recorded. Most herbs in the catalogue carry none.
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Urinary & fluids
Cautions & contraindications
- Heart conditions
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
In traditional Chinese medicine the seeds of Lepidium apetalum are one of the botanical sources of the drug Ting Li Zi (tinglizi), used alongside Descurainia sophia; the seeds are employed to relieve cough and reduce phlegm and to promote urination and reduce edema, particularly in disorders of the lungs (Chinese Pharmacopoeia; Bensky et al., 2004).
Gallery
Botanical Description
Lepidium apetalum is an annual or biennial herb of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), growing 5-30 cm tall with erect, branching stems. The basal leaves are pinnately lobed to pinnatifid and form a rosette, while the stem leaves are smaller, narrow and entire to few-toothed. The tiny flowers are borne in elongating racemes and are inconspicuous, with the petals greatly reduced or absent (hence the epithet apetalum) and only two stamens. The fruit is a small, flattened, rounded to obovate silicle that is slightly notched at the tip and contains tiny reddish-brown seeds. A weedy plant of fields, roadsides, waste ground and disturbed soils, it is native to temperate and central Asia, including China and Mongolia, and is closely related to the cosmopolitan pepperweeds (Lepidium).
Active Constituents
Helveticoside
Cardenolide (cardiac glycoside)Concentration: Minor constituent of the seed; not quantified as a percentage in the available assays
Digitalis-like cardenolide identified as the principal cardiotonic constituent of the seed. In isolated beating rabbit atria it raised stroke volume and pulse pressure without altering cAMP efflux, a profile consistent with sodium-potassium ATPase inhibition rather than adrenergic or calcium-channel signalling.
Evomonoside
Cardenolide (cardiac glycoside)Concentration: Isolated as a minor seed constituent; no quantitative assay published
Cardenolide isolated from the seed and characterised as its cytotoxic cardiac glycoside. Its presence, together with helveticoside, is why this seed is treated pharmacologically as a cardiac-glycoside-bearing drug.
Apetalumosides A, B1 to B12 and C
Sinapoyl-acylated flavonol glycosidesConcentration: Collectively the dominant polar fraction of the seed; individual yields in the milligram-per-kilogram range
A series of rare sinapoyl-acylated quercetin and kaempferol glycosides essentially restricted to this seed. Several inhibited triglyceride accumulation in HepG2 hepatocytes in vitro, with a free 7-hydroxyl group required for activity.
Glucotropaeolin and benzyl isothiocyanate
Glucosinolate and its isothiocyanate hydrolysis productConcentration: Sulfur compounds reach 5.65 to 62.07 percent of the volatile fraction depending on plant part
The characteristic Brassicaceae sulfur chemistry of the drug. Benzyl isothiocyanate and erucin correlated most strongly with the nitric-oxide-inhibitory and antioxidant activity of the extracts in a 2025 multi-part metabolomic survey.
2-Phenylacetamide
Aromatic amideConcentration: Reported as a major low-molecular-weight seed constituent; no percentage published
Reduced blood pressure, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activity and renal collagen deposition in spontaneously hypertensive rats, acting through p38 MAPK. This is the constituent most directly tied to the traditional water-moving indication.
Seed fixed oil (unsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols)
Fatty oil and sterolsConcentration: The bulk of the seed by mass
The seed is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and sterols. This fraction carries no cardiotonic activity and is not the basis of the drug's actions, but it dominates crude extract yield and should not be mistaken for active material.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Digoxin and other cardiac glycosides
The seed contains genuine cardenolides, chiefly helveticoside and evomonoside. In isolated beating rabbit atria an ethanol seed extract produced a positive inotropic response that was not blocked by staurosporine, diltiazem or verapamil, and the authors attributed it to the digitalis-like action of helveticoside. Cardenolides inhibit sodium-potassium ATPase by the same mechanism as digoxin, so the effects are additive and the therapeutic window of digoxin is narrow. No human pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interaction study has been performed; the inference is from the seed's confirmed cardenolide content and demonstrated digitalis-like activity.
Clinical note: Do not combine with digoxin, digitoxin or other cardiac glycosides without cardiology supervision. Watch for nausea, vomiting, anorexia, visual disturbance and bradyarrhythmia, which are also the reported overdose symptoms of the herb itself.
Loop and thiazide diuretics (furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide)
Two separate concerns run together here. The drug is used traditionally to move water and reduce oedema, and 2-phenylacetamide from the seed increased urine volume in spontaneously hypertensive rats, so diuresis may be additive. More importantly, potassium-wasting diuretics lower serum potassium, and hypokalaemia is the classical potentiator of sodium-potassium ATPase-inhibiting cardenolides. No interaction study exists for this herb; the mechanism is inferred from established cardiac glycoside pharmacology.
Clinical note: Check serum potassium in patients on loop or thiazide diuretics before prolonged courses, and reconsider the herb in anyone already hypokalaemic.
Descurainia sophia seed (Nan Ting Li Zi)
This is a substitution rather than a pharmacological interaction, and it matters for identity. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists one drug, Ting Li Zi, with two botanical sources: Lepidium apetalum Willd. (Bei Ting Li Zi, the bitter type) and Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl (Nan Ting Li Zi, the sweet type). They are dispensed interchangeably under the same name. A 2025 review found their compound profiles broadly similar but concluded that the difference in clinical application between the two has still not been explained, and that the cardiotonic steroidal constituents in particular are under-studied. Cardenolide content is the point of divergence that carries clinical weight.
Clinical note: Confirm which botanical source has been dispensed when the cardiotonic effect matters, and record it. Do not assume evidence generated on Descurainia sophia applies to Lepidium apetalum or the reverse.
Digoxin immunoassays (serum digoxin monitoring)
Cardenolide-bearing herbal drugs are a documented cause of interference in digoxin immunoassays, because the antibodies cross-react with structurally related cardiac glycosides. This seed contains cardenolides, but it has not itself been tested against any digoxin assay platform. Absence of an assay is not evidence that it does not interfere.
Clinical note: If a patient taking this herb has a digoxin level drawn, tell the laboratory. Interpret an unexpected result against clinical state and ECG rather than the number alone.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Pepperweed. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
4 studies on recordRecorded 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
4
1 verified · 3 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Ethanol Extract of Lepidium apetalum Seed Elicits Contractile Response and Attenuates Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Secretion in Beating Rabbit Atria
- 2-phenylacetamide Separated from the seed of Lepidium apetalum Willd. inhibited renal fibrosis via MAPK pathway mediated RAAS and oxidative stress in SHR Rats
- Hydroethanolic Extract of Lepidium apetalum Willdenow Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis by Enhancing Intestinal Barrier Integrity and Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Inflammasome Activation
- Evomonoside: The Cytotoxic Cardiac Glycoside from Lepidium apetalum
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
Ethanol Extract of Lepidium apetalum Seed Elicits Contractile Response and Attenuates Atrial Natriuretic Peptide Secretion in Beating Rabbit Atria
Ex vivo study in perfused beating rabbit atria. The seed ethanol extract dose-dependently raised atrial stroke volume and pulse pressure while suppressing atrial natriuretic peptide secretion, and the response survived pretreatment with staurosporine, diltiazem and verapamil. Purified helveticoside reproduced the inotropic effect without changing cAMP efflux, so the authors ascribed the extract's action to digitalis-like cardenolide activity. This is preclinical: no controlled human trial of Lepidii Semen as a single herb has been published, and the clinical evidence base for Ting Li Zi rests on multi-herb formulas in which this seed is one component.
2-phenylacetamide Separated from the seed of Lepidium apetalum Willd. inhibited renal fibrosis via MAPK pathway mediated RAAS and oxidative stress in SHR Rats
Spontaneously hypertensive rats treated for four weeks with 2-phenylacetamide isolated from the seed showed lower blood pressure, increased urine output, reduced renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system markers and less renal collagen deposition, with downregulation of NOX4, TGF-beta, SMAD3 and p38 MAPK. The p38 inhibitor SB203580 abolished the effect in NRK52e cells. Animal and cell work only; it supports the traditional oedema indication mechanistically but is not clinical evidence.
Hydroethanolic Extract of Lepidium apetalum Willdenow Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis by Enhancing Intestinal Barrier Integrity and Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Inflammasome Activation
In dextran sulfate sodium colitis in mice the hydroethanolic seed extract reduced disease activity, restored colon length and raised ZO-1 and occludin expression, while suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation and shifting the Nrf2/Keap1 axis. Eleven constituents were identified by UPLC-MS/MS, including catechin, vicenin-2 and quercetin. Mouse and Caco-2 cell data on an indication with no traditional or clinical precedent for this drug.
Evomonoside: The Cytotoxic Cardiac Glycoside from Lepidium apetalum
Bioassay-guided isolation identifying evomonoside as the cytotoxic cardiac glycoside of the seed. The value of this paper is identity, not therapy: it is the primary documentation that the drug carries cardenolides, which is what drives the digoxin interaction. Cell-line cytotoxicity of a cardiac glycoside is not evidence of anticancer usefulness.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynasty, compiled by the 2nd century CEJin Gui Yao Lue, by Zhang Zhongjing
Eastern Han dynasty, c. 200 to 220 CEBen Cao Gang Mu, by Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1578References
- Xu Z, Zhang S, Zhang C, Xing R, Xing H, Han Q, Yin Y, Xu L, Wang X, Shen T. Descurainia sophia L. and Lepidium apetalum Willd.: A comprehensive review of botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, actual and potential applications . Fitoterapia (2025) [DOI]
- Wang S, Shi P, Qu L, Ruan J, Yang S, Yu H, Zhang Y, Wang T. Bioactive Constituents Obtained from the Seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd . Molecules (2017) [DOI]
- Han L, Shi P, Dong Y, Wang T, Li X, Hao J, Zhang Y, Wang T. New Rare Sinapoyl Acylated Flavonoid Glycosides Obtained from the Seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd . Molecules (2015) [DOI]
- Shi P, Chao L, Wang T, Liu E, Han L, Zong Q, Li X, Zhang Y, Wang T. New bioactive flavonoid glycosides isolated from the seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd . Fitoterapia (2015) [DOI]
- Wei Z, Wang Y, Lu Y, Yang C, Wen K, Feng C, Yi J, Liu Q. From the Literature on Mining to Computational Verification: A Review of the Anti-Radiation Mechanisms of Sulfur Compounds in the Seeds of Lepidium apetalum Willd and Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl . International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2026) [DOI]
- Hussain W, Bussmann RW, Paniagua-Zambrana NY. Lepidium apetalum Willd. Lepidium sativum L. Brassicaceae . Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions (2021) [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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