Kui Shu Zi
StarLivistona chinensis (Jacq.) R.Br. ex Mart.
Synonyms: Latania chinensis Jacq., Livistona subglobosa (Hassk.) Mart., Saribus chinensis (Jacq.) Blume
Also known as: K'uei Shu Tzŭ · 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
- Digestion
- Liver & jaundice
☯ TCM Properties
Cools Blood and stops bleeding
Traditional Chinese Uses
Kui Shu Zi (also Pu Kui Zi) is the seed of the Chinese fan palm, Livistona chinensis. Bitter and cold, it is classified among substances that regulate the Blood, cooling the Blood to stop bleeding while also invigorating Blood, dispelling stasis, and softening and dispersing hardened masses and nodules. Its most prominent traditional and folk use, especially in Guangdong and southern China, is for abdominal accumulations and lumps (zheng jia), chronic hepatitis, and as a folk anti-cancer remedy, where it is often decocted alone or combined with other blood-moving and toxicity-resolving herbs.
This anti-tumor reputation rests largely on folk practice and preliminary laboratory studies of antiproliferative and anti-angiogenic activity; it is not an evidence-based cancer treatment and should not replace conventional oncological care.
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Botanical Description
Kui Shu Zi is the mature seed of Livistona chinensis (Arecaceae), the Chinese fan palm. This solitary evergreen palm reaches 10 to 15 metres, with a grey, closely ringed trunk crowned by large, glossy, costapalmate (fan-shaped) leaves up to 1.5 metres across, their many segments splitting and drooping gracefully at the tips; the petioles are armed with recurved spines toward the base. Branched inflorescences emerge among the leaves, bearing small bisexual yellowish flowers. The fruit is an ellipsoid to ovoid drupe about 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres long, blue-green ripening to blue-black, each containing a single hard seed. The dried seeds are the part used medicinally.
Occurs in and around subtropical broadleaf forests, hillsides and villages in southern China and neighbouring regions; extensively cultivated as an ornamental and street palm.
Active Constituents
E-[6'-(5''-hydroxypentyl)tricosyl]-4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamate (EHHM)
Long-chain hydroxycinnamate ester (phenolic)Concentration: isolated from the fruit; no assay of its content in the dried drug has been published
One of four new phenolics isolated from L. chinensis fruit by Zeng and colleagues, active against HepG2, HL-60, K562 and CNE-1 cells within a reported 5-150 uM IC50 range for the active set. A separate group showed the same compound induces autophagy-related, mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and that blocking autophagy increased its cytotoxicity.
5-O-Caffeoylshikimic acid
Caffeoyl shikimate ester (hydroxycinnamic acid derivative)Concentration: reported from the fruit; not quantified in the dried drug
Among the most potent antioxidants isolated from the fruit, and antiproliferative against the liver, myeloid leukaemia and nasopharyngeal carcinoma lines tested by Zeng and colleagues.
3-O-Caffeoylshikimic acid
Caffeoyl shikimate ester (hydroxycinnamic acid derivative)Concentration: reported from the fruit; not quantified in the dried drug
The positional isomer of the 5-O compound, with the same antioxidant and antiproliferative profile in the Fitoterapia screen.
Caffeic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acidConcentration: detected in fruit and leaf; not quantified in the dried drug
A free phenolic acid of the fruit that accounted for part of the extract's radical-scavenging activity. It is ubiquitous in plants and is not specific to this drug.
Livischinol
Phenolic (polyphenol, new compound)Concentration: isolated from the fruit; not quantified
One of two new compounds among the 45 polyphenols and 5 alkaloids characterised from the fruit by Wang and colleagues. It was one of three isolates inhibiting protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B with IC50 values in the 9.41-22.19 uM band.
Livischinine A
AlkaloidConcentration: isolated from the fruit; not quantified
A new alkaloid from the fruit. No pharmacology has been reported for the isolated compound beyond the screening panel it was tested in.
Orientin and vitexin
C-glycosyl flavonesConcentration: detected by LC-MS in leaf and fruit; not quantified
Part of the 32-flavonoid profile detected across L. chinensis leaf and fruit in a comparative metabolomic study with L. australis. They are markers of the species rather than compounds with established activity in this drug.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Bevacizumab and other VEGF/VEGFR-targeted antiangiogenic drugs
An ethanol extract of L. chinensis seed suppressed HUVEC proliferation, migration and tube formation and reduced VEGF-A and VEGFR-2 at both mRNA and protein level, and cut vessel sprouting in the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. In hepatocellular carcinoma xenografts the same extract lowered microvessel density and VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 while suppressing Notch, Dll4 and Jagged1. All of this is cell-culture and rodent work; there is no human pharmacokinetic study, no dose-finding, and no controlled trial of this drug in any cancer, despite its wide folk use in Guangdong for hepatoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and leukaemia.
Clinical note: Do not add Kui Shu Zi to a VEGF-inhibitor regimen outside a trial. If a patient is already taking it, tell the treating oncologist rather than assuming it is inert.
Kinase-inhibitor and cytotoxic oncology regimens (e.g. EGFR inhibitors, cytotoxic chemotherapy)
A partially purified seed fraction (LC-X) inhibited PAK2, PKA, PKC, GSK-3alpha, CK2, MAPK and JNK1 in vitro with IC50 values of roughly 1-40 ug/mL, and selectively depleted the 170 kDa EGF receptor from the plasma membrane of A431 and NPC-TW02 cells. Broad in vitro kinase inhibition by a crude fraction is not evidence of a clinical interaction, but it does mean the herb is pharmacologically active on the same pathways many oncology drugs target, and it is taken almost exclusively by patients on active treatment.
Clinical note: Treat concurrent use as unstudied. Record it in the medication history and watch for unexplained changes in toxicity or response.
Dong Kui Zi (Malva verticillata seed) and Tian Kui Zi (Semiaquilegia adoxoides root tuber)
Kui Shu Zi is the Guangdong trade name for Pu Kui Zi, the fruit and seed of the fan palm Livistona chinensis (Arecaceae). It is not Dong Kui Zi, the seed of Malva verticillata (Malvaceae), a bland diuretic and demulcent, and it is not Tian Kui Zi, the tuber of Semiaquilegia adoxoides (Ranunculaceae), a cold heat-clearing and toxin-resolving herb. All three are shortened to something like Kui Zi in speech and in handwritten prescriptions, and Tian Kui Zi also carries an anti-cancer folk reputation, which makes the two easy to swap in an oncology context.
Clinical note: Verify the binomial on the supplier's label rather than the pinyin. If the label says only Kui Zi, do not dispense.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Kui Shu Zi. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
6 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
6
0 verified · 6 unverified
Show 6 studies
- Livistona extract inhibits angiogenesis and cancer growth
- Selective downregulation of EGF receptor and downstream MAPK pathway in human cancer cell lines by active components partially purified from the seeds of Livistona chinensis R. Brown
- Livistona chinensis seed suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth through promotion of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis
- Livistona chinensis seeds inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma angiogenesis in vivo via suppression of the Notch pathway
- EHHM, a novel phenolic natural product from Livistona chinensis, induces autophagy-related apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
- Anti-angiogenic effect of Livistona chinensis seed extract in vitro and in vivo
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
Livistona extract inhibits angiogenesis and cancer growth
An aqueous extract of L. chinensis seed inhibited endothelial cell proliferation in vitro along with mouse fibrosarcoma and human breast and colon cancer lines, and suppressed subcutaneous fibrosarcoma growth in mice. When the seed was fractionated, the shell including the seed skin was more potent than the inner kernel, which matters for anyone sourcing or preparing the drug.
Selective downregulation of EGF receptor and downstream MAPK pathway in human cancer cell lines by active components partially purified from the seeds of Livistona chinensis R. Brown
A purified ethanol-extract fraction (LC-X) inhibited several protein kinases at roughly 1-40 ug/mL, arrested nasopharyngeal carcinoma NPC-TW02 cells at G2/M and induced apoptosis, and blocked EGF-induced EGFR and MAPK activation. Membrane fractionation plus MALDI-TOF identified selective loss of EGFR from the plasma membrane. Notably, epidermoid A431 and cervical HeLa proliferation were not significantly blocked, so the effect is not a general cytotoxicity.
Livistona chinensis seed suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma growth through promotion of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis
An ethanol extract of the seed inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma growth in vitro and in a mouse model without apparent toxicity to the animals, with apoptosis induction as the reported mechanism.
Livistona chinensis seeds inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma angiogenesis in vivo via suppression of the Notch pathway
In a hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft model, the seed ethanol extract lowered intratumoural microvessel density and the expression of VEGF-A and VEGFR-2, and suppressed Notch, Dll4 and Jagged1, indicating that part of the antitumour effect is antiangiogenic rather than directly cytotoxic.
EHHM, a novel phenolic natural product from Livistona chinensis, induces autophagy-related apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
EHHM, isolated from the fruit, suppressed hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and triggered both mitochondria-dependent apoptosis and autophagy. Inhibiting autophagy increased rather than decreased the compound's cytotoxicity, which the authors read as a rationale for combination approaches.
Anti-angiogenic effect of Livistona chinensis seed extract in vitro and in vivo
The seed ethanol extract inhibited HUVEC proliferation, migration and tube formation dose-dependently over 0-0.5 mg/mL, cut vessel sprouting in the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay, and downregulated VEGF-A and VEGFR-2 at mRNA and protein level.
Historical Texts
Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu (Records of Herb Collecting in Lingnan)
Republican period, 1932References
- Zeng X, Wang Y, Qiu Q, Jiang C, Jing Y, Qiu G, He X. Bioactive phenolics from the fruits of Livistona chinensis . Fitoterapia (2012) [DOI]
- Wang Y, Zhai J, Yang D, Han N, Liu Z, Liu Z, Li S, Yin J. Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antidiabetic Activities of Bioactive Compounds from the Fruits of Livistona chinensis Based on Network Pharmacology Prediction . Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity (2021) [DOI]
- El-hawary SS, Elwekeel A, Abo El-Ela SO, Abdelmohsen UR, Owis AI. Metabolic profiling and biological activity of two Livistona species: L. chinensis and L. australis . RSC Advances (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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