Lian Qian Cao
StarGlechoma longituba (Nakai) Kuprian.
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
- Liver & jaundice
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Liver conditions
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat, promotes urination, alleviates cough, eliminates Stasis, reduces swellings and resolves toxicity
Traditional Chinese Uses
Lian Qian Cao, the herb of Glechoma longituba (Herba Glechomae), is a creeping mint-family plant that is (mildly bitter to) sweet and cold, entering the liver, kidney and bladder channels. It clears heat and drains damp-heat from the urinary tract and gallbladder, promotes urination, reduces swelling and resolves toxicity, and disperses blood stasis. Its best-known application is dredging stones: it is used to relieve painful, difficult urination (lin syndrome) and to help pass urinary and biliary calculi, and for damp-heat jaundice, nephritic edema, cholecystitis and cholelithiasis. It also alleviates cough. Applied topically or taken internally, it treats sores, abscesses and traumatic swellings by moving stagnant blood and reducing toxic swelling. It is commonly decocted, often in substantial doses for stone-dissolving formulas.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Lian Qian Cao (连钱草), also called Jin Qian Cao in some regions, is Glechoma longituba (Nakai) Kuprian. (Lamiaceae), a low, creeping perennial herb closely related to and sometimes treated as Glechoma hederacea. The plant produces slender, square, rooting stems 10–30 cm long that trail along damp ground and woodland edges, bearing opposite, kidney-shaped to broadly cordate leaves with rounded-crenate margins that release a faintly minty, balsamic scent when crushed. Two-lipped tubular flowers in pale violet-blue with darker markings appear in axillary whorls in spring. The entire flowering plant is collected, washed of soil, and either used fresh or sun-dried. It is widely employed in southern China for urinary calculi, jaundice, and damp-heat conditions of the lower burner.
Active Constituents
Rosmarinic acid
Caffeic acid ester (phenylpropanoid)Concentration: 0.830 to 0.896 percent of the dried herb across three commercial batches from Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu
By an order of magnitude the most abundant of the four quantified marker compounds and the constituent that persists as a major component across sample origins. Rosmarinic acid analogues isolated from this plant inhibited NF-kappaB reporter activity and suppressed COX-2 and iNOS mRNA induction in HepG2 cells, which is the mechanistic basis usually offered for the herb's anti-inflammatory use.
Caffeic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acidConcentration: 0.0238 to 0.0242 percent of the dried herb in the same three batches
A quantified quality-control marker and a proposed quality marker for Glechomae Herba. Present at roughly a thirtieth of the rosmarinic acid content.
Chlorogenic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acid esterConcentration: 0.00225 to 0.00234 percent of the dried herb
A minor marker constituent, present at about a four-hundredth of the rosmarinic acid content. Its low and stable level makes it useful for identity work rather than for attributing activity.
Apigenin-7-O-glucoside
Flavone glycosideConcentration: 0.00271 to 0.00313 percent of the dried herb
One of the four HPLC quality markers. Apigenin and luteolin glycosides are the characteristic flavonoids of the herb.
Apigenin-7-O-diglucuronide
Flavone glucuronide conjugateConcentration: One of the dominant polyphenols of hot-water extracts; ratios varied dramatically between 22 samples from different Korean provinces
Glucuronide conjugates, not the free aglycones, are what actually ends up in a decoction of this herb, and their proportions swing widely with growing region. That variability is the main practical obstacle to standardising the drug.
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoidConcentration: Reported as a principal triterpenoid and a proposed quality marker; content not quantified in the marker-panel work
Contributes to the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity attributed to the herb in cell models. It is not distinctive to this species and also occurs in Dichondra micrantha, another of the money grass herbs.
Glechomenes A-G
Abietane-type and labdane-type diterpenoidsConcentration: Seven previously undescribed diterpenoids isolated from the aerial part; not quantified
The most species-specific chemistry described for the drug so far. Glechomene B inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide release in RAW264.7 macrophages with an IC50 of 29.08 plus or minus 1.40 micromolar, against 21.84 micromolar for the aminoguanidine control.
Glechomafuran
Sesquiterpene lactoneConcentration: Reported among the terpenoid constituents of Glechomae Herba; not quantified
A genus-characteristic sesquiterpene. No pharmacology has been established for it in this species.
Pulegone
Monoterpene ketone (volatile oil constituent)Concentration: Listed among the volatile oil components of Glechomae Herba; no percentage of the oil or of the herb has been published for Glechoma longituba
Pulegone is the constituent that makes pennyroyal hepatotoxic, through CYP-mediated bioactivation to menthofuran and reactive metabolites, and it is a recognised abortifacient. It is reported qualitatively in the Glechomae Herba volatile oil alongside menthone, menthol and pinocamphone, but its content in this species is unquantified and a water decoction transfers volatiles poorly. Absence of an assay is not evidence of absence.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Lysimachia christinae (Jin Qian Cao)
The conflation is textual and old. In the Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi of 1765 Zhao Xuemin recorded Glechoma under the Lysimachia name, and the systematic review of Glechomae Herba states plainly that in Shanghai and Jiangsu the herb still circulates under the name Lysimachiae Herba, so that the two are locally spoken of as the same medicine. They are not: Lysimachia christinae is a Primulaceae drug of the whole plant, while Glechomae Herba is the dried aerial part of a Lamiaceae species whose principal constituent is rosmarinic acid at nearly one percent. Both are used for calculi and the review notes Glechoma is regarded as the more effective of the two for kidney stones, so the substitution is not therapeutically neutral even within the shared indication.
Clinical note: Specify Glechoma longituba, dried aerial part, on the prescription and on the purchase order, and check what the supplier actually shipped. A packet labelled Jin Qian Cao is not evidence of either species.
Dichondra micrantha (Ma Ti Jin) and Desmodium styracifolium (Guang Jin Qian Cao)
Four unrelated plants circulate under money grass names, all of them used for stones. Lian Qian Cao is Glechoma longituba (Lamiaceae); Jin Qian Cao is Lysimachia christinae (Primulaceae); Guang Jin Qian Cao is Desmodium styracifolium (Fabaceae); Ma Ti Jin, also called Xiao Jin Qian Cao, is Dichondra micrantha (Convolvulaceae). Their chemistry has almost nothing in common: rosmarinic acid and diterpenoids here, flavonoid glycosides in Lysimachia, flavonoids and alkaloids in Desmodium, phenylalanine dipeptides and resin glycosides in Dichondra. The shared leaf shape that gave them their names is the only thing they share.
Clinical note: Treat the money grass name as unusable for identification. Order by binomial and by plant part, and do not carry dosing from one of these herbs across to another.
Centella asiatica (Ji Xue Cao)
The earliest note of this herb, in the Xin Xiu Ben Cao of 659, records it as a heteronym of Centella asiatica, and the Ben Cao Gang Mu illustration under Ji Xue Cao appears to depict a Lamiaceae plant rather than Centella. Classical citations for Lian Qian Cao therefore cannot be assumed to concern Glechoma longituba. The modern identity dates only from the 1977 Chinese Pharmacopoeia, which fixed Glechomae Herba as the dried aerial part of the Labiatae species.
Clinical note: Do not import indications for Centella asiatica into this herb on the strength of a shared classical name, or the reverse. Where a classical citation matters clinically, check which plant the text was describing.
Potassium citrate and other urinary alkalinisers
In the rat calcium oxalate model, Glechoma longituba extract significantly raised urinary citrate and lowered urinary oxalate, creatinine and urea, and did so in a study whose positive control was potassium citrate itself. The herb is therefore acting on the same handle as the prescribed drug. No study has looked at the two together, and persistent over-alkalinisation of urine favours calcium phosphate stone formation.
Clinical note: In a patient already taking potassium citrate for stone prophylaxis, monitor urine pH rather than assuming the two are simply additive in the desired direction.
Warfarin and antiplatelet agents
Antithrombotic activity is among the effects catalogued for Glechomae Herba in the Chinese review literature, and the herb is rich in polyphenols. No coagulation study in humans or animals on anticoagulant therapy has been published, and no mechanism has been identified. This entry records an untested combination, not a demonstrated interaction.
Clinical note: Where a patient is anticoagulated, treat concurrent use as unmonitored and check INR after starting or stopping the herb rather than assuming no effect.
Hepatotoxic drugs and CYP2E1 inducers
Pulegone, menthone and pinocamphone are listed among the volatile oil constituents of Glechomae Herba. Pulegone is bioactivated by cytochrome P450 to menthofuran and reactive metabolites and is the recognised cause of pennyroyal hepatotoxicity. Neither the pulegone content of Glechoma longituba nor the amount transferred into a water decoction has been quantified, and the herb has an unblemished record at pharmacopoeial doses of 15 to 30 grams. This is a class-based caution about concentrated preparations, particularly essential oil or alcoholic extracts, not about the decoction.
Clinical note: Use the decoction at pharmacopoeial dose rather than essential oil or high-strength alcoholic extracts, and avoid the concentrated forms in pregnancy and in patients with liver disease or on hepatotoxic drugs.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 15–30 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 monograph 【连钱草】【用法与用量】15～30g。外用适量，煎汤洗。 【性味与归经】辛、微苦，微寒。归肝、肾、膀胱经。 — Matched to ChP by romanised drug name (pinyin 'Lian Qian Cao' → 连钱草); 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
2 verified · 3 unverified
Show 5 studies
- An Explanation of the Underlying Mechanisms for the In Vitro and In Vivo Antiurolithic Activity of Glechoma longituba
- Glechoma longituba (Lamiaceae) alleviates apoptosis in calcium oxalate-induced oxidative stress in kidney proximal tubule epithelial cell line, HK-2
- Glechomenes A-G, diterpenoids with anti-inflammatory activities from the aerial part of Glechoma longituba
- Anti-inflammatory activity of constituents from Glechoma hederacea var. longituba
- Simultaneous determination of four bioactive compounds in Glechoma longituba extracts by high performance liquid chromatography
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
An Explanation of the Underlying Mechanisms for the In Vitro and In Vivo Antiurolithic Activity of Glechoma longituba
Cell and rat models of calcium oxalate urolithiasis with potassium citrate as the positive control. Glechoma longituba extract significantly reduced calcium oxalate-induced osteopontin and KIM-1 expression and oxidative stress markers, reduced renal crystal deposits and histological damage, lowered urinary oxalate, creatinine and urea, and raised urinary citrate. This is the strongest efficacy evidence the herb has for its main traditional indication, and it is preclinical; no controlled human trial of the single herb was found.
Glechoma longituba (Lamiaceae) alleviates apoptosis in calcium oxalate-induced oxidative stress in kidney proximal tubule epithelial cell line, HK-2
In human HK-2 proximal tubule cells exposed to calcium oxalate, extract of the herb reduced oxidative stress and apoptosis. A single-cell-line study supporting the same antiurolithic mechanism as the rat work; it establishes nothing about dose or outcome in patients.
Glechomenes A-G, diterpenoids with anti-inflammatory activities from the aerial part of Glechoma longituba
Ten diterpenoids, seven of them previously undescribed, were isolated from the aerial part and assayed against LPS-induced nitric oxide release in RAW264.7 macrophages. One compound reached an IC50 of 29.08 plus or minus 1.40 micromolar, close to the aminoguanidine control at 21.84 micromolar. Structural and preclinical work on isolated compounds.
Anti-inflammatory activity of constituents from Glechoma hederacea var. longituba
Six compounds including two new ones were isolated from the plant and tested in an NF-kappaB luciferase assay; three rosmarinic acid analogues inhibited NF-kappaB activity and the induction of COX-2 and iNOS mRNA in HepG2 cells. Note the material is published under the varietal name Glechoma hederacea var. longituba, which much of the Korean literature on this drug uses.
Simultaneous determination of four bioactive compounds in Glechoma longituba extracts by high performance liquid chromatography
An HPLC assay applied to three commercial batches from Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu. Rosmarinic acid was present at 0.830 to 0.896 percent, caffeic acid at 0.0238 to 0.0242 percent, apigenin-7-O-glucoside at 0.00271 to 0.00313 percent and chlorogenic acid at 0.00225 to 0.00234 percent. These are the only quantified constituent figures available for the drug as traded.
Historical Texts
Xin Xiu Ben Cao (Newly Revised Materia Medica), Tang imperial commission
Tang dynasty, 659 CEBen Cao Tu Jing (Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica), Su Song
Northern Song dynasty, 1061Ben Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi (Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica), Zhao Xuemin
Qing dynasty, 1765Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao (An Illustrated Book of Plants), Wu Qijun
Qing dynasty, 1848Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China
Modern; Glechomae Herba first collected in the 1977 edition, current in the 2020 editionReferences
- Zhou Y, He YJ, Wang ZJ, Hu BY, Xie TZ, Xiao X, Zhou ZS, Sang XY, Luo XD. A review of plant characteristics, phytochemistry and bioactivities of the genus Glechoma . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2021) [DOI]
- Yang L, Zhang J, Zheng S, Hou A, Wang S, Yu H, Wang X, Xu Y, Kuang H, Jiang H. The phytochemistry, pharmacology and traditional medicinal use of Glechomae Herba – a systematic review . RSC Advances (2021) [DOI]
- Zhang Q, Han ZZ, Gu LH, Wang ZT. [Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Glechomae Herba and prediction of its Q-markers]. . China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica (Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi) (2023) [DOI]
- Hahm YH, Cho K, Ahn YH. Compositional Characteristics of Glucuronide Conjugates in Regional Glechoma hederacea var. longituba Herbal Extracts Using a Set of Polyphenolic Marker Compounds . Plants (2021) [DOI]
- Cho K, Choi YJ, Ahn YH. Identification of Polyphenol Glucuronide Conjugates in Glechoma hederacea var. longituba Hot Water Extracts by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) . Molecules (2020) [DOI]
- Pacheco-Hernández B, Ayora-Talavera T, Cano-Sosa J, Noriega LG, et al.. Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Traditional Medicinal Plants for Urolithiasis: A Scoping Review . Plants (2025) [DOI]
- Jiang C, Wang L, Wang Y, Xu R, Yang H, Peng J. Therapeutic effects of Chinese herbal medicines for treatment of urolithiasis: A review . Chinese Herbal Medicines (2023) [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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