Li Zhi Cao
StarSalvia plebeia R.Br.
Also known as: Li Chih Ts'ao · Wade–Giles
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
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Urinary & fluids
- Menstrual & women's health
☯ TCM Properties
Cools the Blood, stops bleeding and removes toxicity; Promotes diuresis; Kills parasites
Traditional Chinese Uses
Li Zhi Cao is the aerial part of Salvia plebeia, a heat-clearing herb that cools the Blood, stops bleeding, resolves toxicity, and promotes urination. Sweet and pungent with a cool nature, it enters the Lung and Stomach channels. It is widely used for Lung and throat heat-toxin patterns—sore, swollen throat, cough, and bronchitis—often as a decoction or gargle. By cooling the Blood it addresses reckless bleeding such as blood in the urine, coughing or vomiting of blood, hemorrhoidal bleeding, and abnormal uterine bleeding.
Its toxicity-resolving and diuretic actions make it a folk remedy for carbuncles, abscesses and mastitis (the fresh herb pounded for topical use), and for nephritic edema and painful urinary dysfunction. It is commonly decocted at generous doses or expressed as fresh juice.
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Botanical Description
This record carries only the single character "L" as its title, which is not a recognizable Pinyin name for any Chinese medicinal herb. The entry appears to be a data-entry artifact or import error rather than a substantive material. No identification can be made from the supplied information and no botanical description can responsibly be provided. The record is retained in the dataset under the unidentifiable null-pattern pending correction or removal at source; any reviewer encountering this entry should consult the original import to recover the intended species or remove the record entirely.
Active Constituents
6-Hydroxyluteolin 7-O-glucoside
Flavone glycosideThe most abundant flavonoid measured in the aerial parts by HPLC-UV, reported at 100.63 mg/g in the 2022 profiling study. Its dominance is the clearest chemical marker separating Salvia plebeia from the tanshinone-bearing Salvia miltiorrhiza, with which the pinyin-level literature is sometimes conflated.
Rosmarinic acid
Caffeic acid ester (phenolic acid)The most abundant phenolic acid of the herb, reported at 47.73 mg/g in the same HPLC-UV analysis. It is a general Lamiaceae marker with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in vitro.
Homoplantaginin
Flavone 7-O-glucoside (hispidulin 7-O-glucoside)One of the two flavonoids usually named as the main bioactive principles of this species. It suppressed inflammatory signalling in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages in vitro. All published activity is preclinical.
Hispidulin
6-MethoxyflavoneThe aglycone of homoplantaginin and the other principal bioactive flavonoid. Hispidulin is a benzodiazepine receptor ligand with positive allosteric properties that crosses the blood-brain barrier and is anticonvulsive in animal models, which is the one constituent-level pharmacology in this herb with a clear central nervous system implication.
Nepitrin (nepetin 7-O-glucoside)
Flavone glycosideIsolated from the aerial parts and reported to have stronger antioxidant capacity in vitro than either homoplantaginin or hispidulin.
Luteolin
FlavoneA widely distributed flavone present in the herb, contributing to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of crude extracts.
Jaceosidin
Methoxylated flavoneOne of the methoxylated flavones isolated from Salvia plebeia in the phytochemical profiling of the aerial parts.
Caffeic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acidA phenolic acid isolated alongside rosmarinic acid; the biosynthetic precursor of the rosmarinic acid that dominates the phenolic fraction.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Benzodiazepines and other GABA-A modulating sedatives (diazepam, zolpidem, alcohol)
Hispidulin, one of the two flavonoids usually named as the main active principles of Salvia plebeia, is a benzodiazepine receptor ligand with positive allosteric properties that crosses the blood-brain barrier and shows anticonvulsive effects in animals. That work used isolated hispidulin at pharmacological doses, not the herb, and no interaction has been observed in humans; the entry is recorded so a practitioner is not surprised by drowsiness rather than as an established interaction.
Clinical note: No action is required on current evidence. Ask about unexpected daytime sedation if the herb is combined with sedatives.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Li Zhi Cao. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
3 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
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Anti-inflammatory effects of Salvia plebeia R. Br extract in vitro and in ovalbumin-induced mouse model
- Phenolic acids and flavonoids from Salvia plebeia and HPLC-UV profiling of four Salvia species
- The flavone hispidulin, a benzodiazepine receptor ligand with positive allosteric properties, traverses the blood–brain barrier and exhibits anticonvulsive effects
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
Anti-inflammatory effects of Salvia plebeia R. Br extract in vitro and in ovalbumin-induced mouse model
An 80 percent ethanol extract of Salvia plebeia inhibited TNF-alpha, IL-6 and nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, with the aerial-part extract more active than the root extract. In ovalbumin-sensitised BALB/c mice the aerial-part extract significantly reduced airway eosinophils, IL-4 and IL-13, mucus production and inflammatory infiltration, with effects similar to dexamethasone. This is a preclinical study; no human trial of Salvia plebeia was found.
Phenolic acids and flavonoids from Salvia plebeia and HPLC-UV profiling of four Salvia species
Isolation and structure determination of caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, hispidulin, luteolin, jaceosidin, nepitrin, homoplantaginin, 6-hydroxyluteolin 7-O-glucoside, 6-methoxynaringenin 7-O-glucoside, naasanone and cosmosiin from Salvia plebeia, with HPLC-UV quantification across four Salvia species. 6-Hydroxyluteolin 7-O-glucoside was the major flavonoid at 100.63 mg/g and rosmarinic acid the most abundant phenolic acid at 47.73 mg/g. The four-species comparison is what makes this useful for distinguishing Salvia plebeia from its better-studied congeners.
The flavone hispidulin, a benzodiazepine receptor ligand with positive allosteric properties, traverses the blood–brain barrier and exhibits anticonvulsive effects
Hispidulin was shown to bind the benzodiazepine site with positive allosteric modulation of GABA-A receptors, to cross the blood-brain barrier and to exert anticonvulsive effects in an animal seizure model. The study used isolated hispidulin and not Salvia plebeia; it is cited here because hispidulin is one of the two principal flavonoids of this herb and is the basis for the theoretical sedative interaction.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Yi-yu Liang, Xin-huan Wan, Feng-jv Niu, Shi-min Xie, Hao Guo, Ying-ying Yang, Ling-yan Guo, Chang-zheng Zhou. Salvia plebeia R. Br.: an overview about its traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacology and modern applications . Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2020) [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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