Mi Meng Hua
StarBuddleja officinalis Maxim.
Traditionally used for
- Eye health
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Liver Heat; Brightens the Eyes; Brightens the Eyes and Removes Visual Obstructions; Tonifies the Liver; Disperses Wind; Cools the Blood
Traditional Chinese Uses
Mi Meng Hua (buddleia flower bud) is a cool herb used exclusively in Chinese medicine for eye conditions. It clears Liver Heat and brightens the eyes, addressing red, swollen, painful eyes from Liver Heat or Wind-Heat, excessive tearing, light sensitivity, blurred vision, and corneal cloudiness. Unique among eye herbs, it can be applied for both excess Heat-type eye conditions and deficiency-type visual decline — making it one of the most versatile ophthalmologic herbs in the TCM materia medica.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Buddleja officinalis, the pale butterfly bush or Mi Meng Hua, is a semi-evergreen shrub in the Scrophulariaceae (formerly Loganiaceae or Buddlejaceae) family, native to central and southwestern China. It grows to 1-4 m with quadrangular young branches densely covered in stellate gray-white tomentum. Leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elliptic, 5-20 cm long, with grayish hairy undersides. Fragrant pale lilac to violet tubular flowers with orange throats are borne in dense terminal panicles in late winter and early spring. Unopened flower buds are harvested in early spring before opening, then sun-dried for medicinal use.
Active Constituents
Linarin (acacetin 7-O-rutinoside)
Flavone glycosideConcentration: the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 assay requires not less than 0.50% linarin in the dried flower bud
The single official quality marker for this drug, and the compound the Pharmacopoeia identity of Mi Meng Hua is built on. Isolated linarin suppressed nitric oxide, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta production in stimulated cells, which is the mechanistic basis usually offered for the traditional heat-clearing action.
Acteoside (verbascoside)
Phenylethanoid glycosideHPLC-DAD profiling of B. officinalis flowers found acteoside present in the greatest amount of any single constituent, more abundant than the official marker linarin, and the authors argued it should be added as a second quality index. It shares linarin's inhibition of nitric oxide, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta.
Acacetin
Flavone aglyconeThe aglycone of linarin and, with luteolin and apigenin, one of the three flavone monomers of the total Buddleja officinalis flavonoid fraction. That fraction reduced hydrogen-peroxide-induced injury in cultured lens cells by modulating oxidative stress and autophagy, the strand of work behind the herb's eye indications.
Luteolin
FlavonePresent both free and as luteolin 7-O-glucoside and luteolin 7-O-rutinoside. One of the three main monomers of the flavonoid fraction studied in lens cell oxidative injury.
Apigenin
FlavoneOccurs free and as cosmosiin (apigenin 7-O-glucoside), apigenin 7-O-glucuronide and isorhoifolin. Contributes to the antioxidant activity of the total flavonoid fraction.
Echinacoside
Phenylethanoid glycosideA second major phenylethanoid of the flower bud alongside acteoside. It is a widely distributed compound and is not diagnostic for this species.
Mimengoside A and mimengoside B
Triterpenoid (saponin) glycosideSaponins characterised from the flower buds of B. officinalis. Their presence means the crude drug carries a saponin load, which is the usual explanation for gastric irritation with large decoction doses; no specific toxicity data for these compounds in humans has been published.
Crocin I, crocin II and crocin III
Carotenoid (crocetin) glycosideThe water-soluble yellow pigments of the flower bud, the same class of compound that colours saffron. They are why Mi Meng Hua has a parallel history as a yellow food and textile dye, and they are useful chromatographic markers for the genuine drug.
Methylcatalpol and 6-O-vanilloyl ajugol
Iridoid glycosideIridoids detected in the comprehensive HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS profile of the flowers. They are minor components and are not used for quality control.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Daphne genkwa (Yuan Hua) supplied as Mi Meng Hua
Chinese herbological review work on the origins of Mi Meng Hua records that, through regional habit, Thymelaeaceae flower buds including Edgeworthia chrysantha and Daphne genkwa, and even Syringa oblata buds, have all been sold as the source of this drug, muddling its botanical origin. Daphne genkwa is a different drug entirely: a toxic, drastically purgative flower bud that contains daphnane diterpene orthoesters, is dose-restricted, and is one of the classical eighteen incompatibilities with Gan Cao (licorice). A patient given it in place of Buddleja gets a cathartic instead of an eye herb.
Clinical note: Buy Mi Meng Hua only against a Pharmacopoeia linarin assay and reject material that is not the grey-brown to yellow-brown, densely star-hairy panicle of small buds. Never accept flower buds in tight silky-haired heads.
Edgeworthia chrysantha flower bud (Jie Xiang Hua, sold as Xin Meng Hua or Ye Meng Hua)
Edgeworthia chrysantha buds are a documented adulterant of Mi Meng Hua and have been used in its place in Guizhou and Fujian; the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine regulatory authority publishes a formal differentiation study of the two. Edgeworthia is not in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and does not contain the acacetin and linarin flavonoids to which the capillary and ocular effects of Mi Meng Hua are attributed. Macroscopically the genuine drug is a panicle of buds under grey-white to yellow-brown stellate hairs, while the adulterant is a compact head with pale silky hairs on stout three-forked twigs.
Clinical note: Inspect for the branched panicle and stellate (not silky) indumentum, and require the linarin assay. Do not accept material invoiced as Xin Meng Hua or Ye Meng Hua.
Topical ophthalmic preparations and eye drops
The modern evidence for this herb in dry eye is a rabbit and rat model of castration-induced dry eye treated with a manufactured, standardised B. officinalis eye drop, not a decoction. Extrapolating that to a home-made herbal eye wash is unwarranted: the animal work says nothing about sterility, tonicity, pH or preservative safety on the ocular surface, and none of these has been characterised for the crude drug.
Clinical note: Use Mi Meng Hua orally. Do not compound decoctions or infusions of it into eye drops or eye washes, and do not present the animal dry-eye data as support for topical ocular use in humans.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–9 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】3～9g。 【性味与归经】甘，微寒。归肝经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 3 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
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- The Effect of Buddleja officinalis Maxim Eye Drops on Morphology and Apoptosis in Lacrimal Gland of Experimental Dry Eye Rabbit Model
- Extraction and Purification of Flavonoids from Buddleja officinalis Maxim and Their Attenuation of H2O2-Induced Cell Injury by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Autophagy
- The extract of buddleja officinalis maxim. alleviates UVB-induced oxidative damage via the NRF2 pathway in HaCaT cells
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
The Effect of Buddleja officinalis Maxim Eye Drops on Morphology and Apoptosis in Lacrimal Gland of Experimental Dry Eye Rabbit Model
Thirty-six male rabbits were made dry-eyed by bilateral testiculectomy and epididymectomy, then treated with B. officinalis eye drops at several concentrations, with testosterone and untreated model animals as comparators. The Buddleja drops improved lacrimal gland morphology and reduced acinar cell apoptosis relative to untreated model animals. This is an androgen-deficiency dry eye model in rabbits, not a human trial, and it used a manufactured eye drop rather than the crude drug.
Extraction and Purification of Flavonoids from Buddleja officinalis Maxim and Their Attenuation of H2O2-Induced Cell Injury by Modulating Oxidative Stress and Autophagy
The authors optimised extraction of the total flavonoid fraction of B. officinalis, identifying luteolin, apigenin and acacetin as its main monomers, and showed that the fraction protected cultured lens cells against hydrogen-peroxide-induced oxidative damage by modulating antioxidant defences and autophagy. This is a cell-culture result relevant to the herb's cataract indication; it is not evidence of clinical benefit.
The extract of buddleja officinalis maxim. alleviates UVB-induced oxidative damage via the NRF2 pathway in HaCaT cells
In UVB-irradiated HaCaT human keratinocytes the extract reduced reactive oxygen species and cell death through NRF2-mediated antioxidant signalling. A keratinocyte model supporting a cosmetic photoprotection claim rather than any traditional indication of the drug.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
Contraindications
No special contraindications.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 37–43.
Historical Texts
Kai Bao Ben Cao
Northern Song dynasty, 973 CEBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596 CEReferences
- Xie G, Xu Q, Li R, Shi L, Han Y, Zhu Y, Wu G, Qin M. Chemical profiles and quality evaluation of Buddleja officinalis flowers by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS . Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (2019) [DOI]
- Guo H, Koike K, Li W, Satou T, Guo D, Nikaido T. Saponins from the Flower Buds of Buddleja officinalis . Journal of Natural Products (2003) [DOI]
- Xie G, Yang J, Wei X, Xu Q, Qin M. Separation of acteoside and linarin from Buddlejae Flos by high-speed countercurrent chromatography and their anti-inflammatory activities . Journal of Separation Science (2020) [DOI]
- Huang FB, Liang N, Hussain N, Zhou XD, Ismail M, Xie QL, Yu HH, Jian YQ, Peng CY, Li B, Liu B, Chen SH, Peng QH, Wang W. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of chemical constituents from the flower buds of Buddleja officinalis . Natural Product Research (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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