Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Pain & joints
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Toxic — professional use only
☯ TCM Properties
Removes Wind-Dampness; Disperses swelling, dispels abdominal lumps and resolves Phlegm
Traditional Chinese Uses
Liang Tou Jian, the dried rhizome of Anemone raddeana (Rhizoma Anemones Raddeanae), is acrid, hot and toxic. As a wind-damp-dispelling herb it dispels wind-dampness, reduces swelling and disperses abdominal lumps and phlegm accumulations, and stops pain. It is used for wind-damp painful obstruction with rheumatic and arthritic joint pain, muscular constriction and spasm, and applied to sores, boils and abscesses. Because of its warm, pungent, dispersing nature it is also employed for cold-damp patterns and localized swellings.
Safety: this herb is genuinely toxic, with documented hemolytic effects, so it is used in small internal doses (roughly 1–3 g), often preferentially by external application, and it is contraindicated in pregnancy. It should only be used under qualified supervision.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Liang Tou Jian (两头尖) is the dried rhizome of Anemone raddeana Regel (Ranunculaceae), a small perennial wildflower native to woodlands of northeastern China, Korea, the Russian Far East, and Japan. The plant arises from a slender, fusiform rhizome 1–3 cm long, pointed at both ends — the form that gives rise to the Chinese name meaning "both ends pointed." Above ground it produces a single ternately divided basal leaf and a slender flowering stalk 10–25 cm tall topped by a solitary white-petaled flower 2–4 cm across in early spring. Rhizomes are dug in late spring, washed, and sun-dried. The substance contains anemonin-type lactones and is considered toxic in excess; it is used cautiously for wind-damp painful obstruction (rheumatic and arthritic pain).
Active Constituents
Triterpenoid saponins of the raddeanin and raddeanoside series (raddeanin A, raddeanosides R6 to R18, leonloside D, hederasaponin B, saponin PE)
Oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins and bisglycosidesConcentration: The principal constituent class of the rhizome; at least eighteen individual saponins are quantifiable and shift measurably with vinegar processing
These saponins carry both the activity and much of the toxicity of the drug. Raddeanin A is the most studied member and shows cytotoxic and antiangiogenic activity across tumour cell lines, while the total secondary saponin fraction was cytotoxic to breast cancer cells through reactive oxygen species generation and PI3K/AKT/mTOR inactivation. Oleanane saponins of this type are haemolytic and mucosally irritant, which is why the crude drug is unsuitable for injection and why the oral dose is kept small.
Ranunculin
Glucosylated lactone, the storage precursor of protoanemoninConcentration: Present in the fresh rhizome; largely consumed during drying and processing, so the level in the finished drug is low and preparation-dependent
Ranunculin is itself inert. When the tissue is crushed or chewed, plant beta-glucosidase hydrolyses it and releases protoanemonin, which is the hazard.
Protoanemonin
Unsaturated lactone, vesicantConcentration: Transient; formed enzymatically on tissue damage in fresh material and lost on drying
Protoanemonin is the acrid vesicant common to the Ranunculaceae. It blisters skin and mucosa and causes burning oral pain, vomiting and gastrointestinal irritation on ingestion, and it is the compound behind the classical description of overdose. It is chemically unstable and does not persist, so the hazard belongs to fresh, damp or badly dried material rather than to the finished drug.
Anemonin
Cyclodimer of protoanemonin, bis-lactoneConcentration: The end point of the ranunculin conversion in properly dried rhizome
Protoanemonin cyclodimerises to anemonin on drying, and anemonin is not a vesicant. This is the established reason the toxicity of a Ranunculaceae drug is a function of its preparation rather than a fixed property of the species: correctly dried Liang Tou Jian is not the same hazard as the fresh rhizome, and the classical insistence on drying and vinegar processing is doing real chemical work. The residual toxicity of the dried drug that keeps it a controlled-dose herb comes from the saponins, not from this pathway.
Oleanolic acid and hederagenin
Triterpenoid saponin aglyconesConcentration: Present as the aglycone cores of the raddeanosides and free in small amounts
The sapogenin backbones released on hydrolysis of the saponins; anti-inflammatory in their own right and shared with many other saponin drugs, so of no diagnostic value.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Cyperus rotundus (Xiang Fu)
Liang Tou Jian's standard alternative name is Zhu Jie Xiang Fu, jointed Xiang Fu, given because the rhizome is bamboo-jointed and smells like Xiang Fu. Xiang Fu proper is Cyperus rotundus, a mild Cyperaceae qi-regulating drug given at 6 to 10 grams. Liang Tou Jian is a toxic Ranunculaceae rhizome given at roughly 1 to 3 grams. A prescription or a shelf label reading Xiang Fu that is filled with Zhu Jie Xiang Fu delivers a toxic drug at several times its own maximum dose.
Clinical note: Never abbreviate Zhu Jie Xiang Fu to Xiang Fu on a prescription, and query any Xiang Fu delivery whose material is jointed and pungent-hot rather than the expected Cyperus tuber. Check the dose against the correct drug before dispensing.
Aconitum kusnezoffii and Aconitum carmichaelii (Cao Wu, Chuan Wu)
Liang Tou Jian also circulates under the old name Cao Wu Hui, which belongs by rights to the aconite tuber. Both drugs are toxic Ranunculaceae with pungent-hot pungency used for wind-damp bi pain, and both appear in the same formulae, but their toxicology is entirely different: aconitine is a cardiac and neuronal sodium channel toxin with a narrow margin and a history of fatal poisonings, whereas Liang Tou Jian's toxicity is saponin and, in fresh material, protoanemonin based. Confusing them in either direction misdirects both the dose and the antidote.
Clinical note: Treat the name Cao Wu Hui as ambiguous and resolve it to a binomial before dispensing. In a suspected poisoning, do not assume an aconite picture: look for the oral burning and vomiting of protoanemonin or saponin irritation rather than for the paraesthesia and ventricular arrhythmia of aconitine, and identify the actual material.
Anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs (warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants, aspirin, clopidogrel)
The drug is used to disperse swelling and break up abdominal masses, and raddeanin A has documented antiangiogenic activity in tumour models. No coagulation or platelet study has been done on this herb, and no bleeding case has been reported. This entry records the absence of an assay, not a demonstrated effect.
Clinical note: There is nothing to act on beyond ordinary vigilance. Do not tell a patient the combination is safe on the strength of the missing data; note the co-prescription and ask about bruising or bleeding at review.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other gastric irritants
Triterpenoid saponins irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa directly, and classical sources record burning oral pain and vomiting as the overdose picture for this drug. A patient taking this herb for joint pain is likely to be taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the same complaint, so the two mucosal insults land together. The additive effect is inferred from the known irritancy of both agents rather than measured.
Clinical note: Give after food and at the lower end of the range, and avoid the combination in anyone with a history of peptic ulcer or on high-dose or long-term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory therapy. Stop the herb for epigastric pain or nausea rather than pushing through it.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 1–3 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 monograph 【两头尖】【用法与用量】1～3g。外用适量。 【注意】孕妇禁用。 【性味与归经】辛，热；有毒。归脾经。 — Matched to ChP by romanised drug name (pinyin 'Liang Tou Jian' → 两头尖); 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 · 4 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
4
1 verified · 3 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Comparison of the acute toxicity, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities and chemical composition changes in Rhizoma anemones Raddeanae caused by vinegar processing
- Anti-breast cancer and toxicity studies of total secondary saponin from Anemone raddeana Rhizome on MCF-7 cells via ROS generation and PI3K/AKT/mTOR inactivation
- Pharmacokinetic studies of active triterpenoid saponins and the total secondary saponin from Anemone raddeana Regel
- Study on the extraction process, chemical compositions, and anti-inflammatory activity of total saponins extract from Anemone raddeana Regel
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
Comparison of the acute toxicity, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities and chemical composition changes in Rhizoma anemones Raddeanae caused by vinegar processing
Directly compares raw and vinegar-processed rhizome in mice. Vinegar processing lengthened writhing latency and cut writhing frequency, reduced ear and paw swelling and cotton granuloma formation, and suppressed interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha, while the acute toxicity of the processed drug was low, with an oral LD50 of 112.64 grams of crude drug per kilogram. Twelve saponins fell and six rose with processing, so the processed drug is chemically a different preparation from the raw one and its data should not be read onto raw material. An erratum was published for this paper in the same journal later in 2020.
Anti-breast cancer and toxicity studies of total secondary saponin from Anemone raddeana Rhizome on MCF-7 cells via ROS generation and PI3K/AKT/mTOR inactivation
The total secondary saponin fraction of the rhizome killed MCF-7 breast cancer cells through reactive oxygen species generation and inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling, with parallel toxicity assessment. Cell-line work on an isolated fraction; it supports the traditional swelling-and-mass indication in mechanistic terms but is not evidence that the decoction treats cancer.
Pharmacokinetic studies of active triterpenoid saponins and the total secondary saponin from Anemone raddeana Regel
Characterises the disposition of individual triterpenoid saponins and of the total secondary saponin fraction in rats, which is the only quantitative handle available on how much of the active fraction is actually absorbed from an oral dose. Rodent pharmacokinetics; no human data exist.
Study on the extraction process, chemical compositions, and anti-inflammatory activity of total saponins extract from Anemone raddeana Regel
Optimises extraction of the total saponin fraction, profiles its composition and confirms anti-inflammatory activity, tying the drug's traditional wind-damp indication to the saponins rather than to the lactone constituents. Extract-level laboratory work.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Toxic — professional use only
Contraindications
Its use is prohibited in pregnant women.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 113–114.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Pin Hui Jing Yao
Ming dynasty, 1505Traditional Chinese materia medica characterisation carried into the Chinese Pharmacopoeia
Ming dynasty to presentVinegar processing tradition for Liang Tou Jian
Traditional processing method, still specified in modern practiceReferences
- Sun YX, Liu JC, Liu DY. Phytochemicals and bioactivities of Anemone raddeana Regel: a review . Die Pharmazie (2011) [DOI]
- Wang SL, Zhao ZK, Sun JF, Sun YT, Pang XQ, Zeng ZW, Xie T. Review of Anemone raddeana Rhizome and its pharmacological effects . Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine (2017) [DOI]
- Sirak B, Aragaw M, Tadesse S. Ranunculin, Protoanemonin, and Anemonin: Pharmacological and Chemical Perspectives . Current Medicinal Chemistry (2025) [DOI]
- Naz I, Ramchandani S, Khan MR, Yang MH, Ahn KS. Anticancer Potential of Raddeanin A, a Natural Triterpenoid Isolated from Anemone raddeana Regel . Molecules (2020) [DOI]
- Fan L, Lu J, Xu B, Gao S, Zhang H, Liu R. Oleanane Saponins from Rhizome of Anemone raddeana . Helvetica Chimica Acta (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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