Mosla dianthera
StarMosla dianthera
Synonyms: Cunila buchananii, Orthodon grosseserratus var. nanus, Mosla remotiflora, Orthodon tenuicaulis, Orthodon grosseserratus, Orthodon fomosanus, Mosla formosana, Orthodon diantherus, Mosla grosseserrata, Orthodon punctatus var. tetrantherus, Orthodon hirtus, Calamintha clinopodium var. nepalensis, Lycopus diantherus, Melissa nepalensis, Mosla ocymoides, Ocimum congestum, Mosla lysimachiiflora, Moschosma ocymoides, Orthodon lysimachiiflorus, Orthodon mayebaranus, Hedeoma nepalensis, Lumnitzera ocimoides, Cunila nepalensis, Orthodon hirtus f. nanus, Mosla dianthera var. nana, Lumnitzera ocymoides, Mosla hirta
Traditionally used for
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Young children
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Mosla dianthera is an annual aromatic herb of the Lamiaceae family widely distributed across East and Southeast Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Himalayas. It typically grows 20 to 100 cm tall, with erect, branched, quadrangular stems clothed in retrorse pubescence and emitting a strong minty fragrance when crushed. Leaves are opposite, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 1.5 to 3.5 cm long, sharply serrate, with conspicuous translucent glandular dots and short petioles. The inflorescence is a slender terminal raceme of dense, secund verticillasters subtended by small bracts; the small bilabiate flowers are pale pink to purplish with a two-lipped corolla and four didynamous stamens. Nutlets are subglobose, reticulate and brown. The species is common in moist roadsides, ditches, fields and disturbed habitats. Like its congeners, the plant yields essential oils rich in monoterpenes such as carvacrol and thymol.
Active Constituents
Elemicin
Alkenylbenzene (phenylpropene)Concentration: 16.51 percent of the essential oil of Chinese material analysed by GC-MS; not reported in Indian material
The single largest component of the Chinese-sourced volatile oil. Elemicin is an alkenylbenzene of the class that is bioactivated to a 1-hydroxy metabolite with genotoxic potential, the same structural family as safrole and myristicin. Its dominance here means the oil of this species should not be assumed to have the benign profile of a thymol-type oil, and total alkenylbenzene content of this material approaches a third of the oil once iso-elemicin and asarone are added.
Iso-elemicin
Alkenylbenzene (phenylpropene)Concentration: 9.22 percent of the essential oil of Chinese material
The propenyl isomer of elemicin and part of the same alkenylbenzene burden. It is reported alongside elemicin in the Chinese chemotype and is one reason the total alkenylbenzene fraction of that oil is substantial.
Asarone
Alkenylbenzene (phenylpropene)Concentration: 6.09 percent of the essential oil of Chinese material; the source publication reports asarone without specifying the alpha or beta isomer
The most safety-relevant constituent identified in this species. Beta-asarone is genotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic in rodents and is subject to regulatory exposure limits in European herbal medicines; alpha-asarone is less studied but is not considered benign. Because the analysis did not distinguish the isomers, a precautionary reading is appropriate for material of this chemotype. Note that asarone was not reported in the Indian carvone-type oil, so this is a provenance-dependent hazard rather than a fixed property of the species.
Thymol
Monoterpene phenolConcentration: 14.77 percent of the oil of Chinese material and 10.8 percent of Indian material
The one major constituent common to both reported chemotypes, and the compound that links this species to the aromatic Lamiaceae used for summer-heat and damp conditions. Thymol is the usual explanation for the antibacterial and antifungal activity of Mosla oils, and it is also the marker class that dominates the official Xiang Ru drug, in which thymol and carvacrol exceed half the oil.
beta-Caryophyllene
Sesquiterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 14.49 percent of the oil of Chinese material, with alpha-caryophyllene (humulene) at 5.26 percent
A dietary sesquiterpene and selective CB2 cannabinoid receptor agonist, widely credited with anti-inflammatory activity across many aromatic plants. Its presence at this level is unremarkable for the family and is not specific to this species.
Carvone
Monoterpene ketoneConcentration: 41.9 percent of the essential oil of Indian material from Uttarakhand; not reported as a major component of Chinese material
The dominant component of the Indian chemotype and the clearest evidence that this species varies by provenance to the point of being effectively a different drug. Isolated carvone gave 78.0 percent inhibition in the anti-inflammatory assay at 50 micrograms/mL against 74.2 percent for the whole oil, so it carries most of that activity in this chemotype.
p-Cymene
Monoterpene hydrocarbonConcentration: 10.1 percent of the essential oil of Indian material, with gamma-terpinene at 4.9 percent
The biosynthetic precursor pair of thymol and carvacrol, and a routine marker of thymol-type Lamiaceae oils. It contributes little activity itself but its ratio to thymol is a useful indicator of how a given batch was grown and distilled.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Acorus calamus, Asarum species and other asarone- or alkenylbenzene-containing preparations
The Chinese-sourced essential oil of this species carries about 6 percent asarone plus about 26 percent elemicin and iso-elemicin, so roughly a third of the oil belongs to the alkenylbenzene class. These compounds are bioactivated to 1-hydroxy metabolites that form DNA adducts, which is the basis for the regulatory exposure limits placed on beta-asarone in herbal medicines. Exposure from separate sources adds, and a patient may already be receiving asarone from Shi Chang Pu or a related preparation without either party framing it as a shared hazard.
Clinical note: Do not combine with other asarone-rich herbs, and avoid prolonged or repeated courses of the essential oil in particular. Prefer aqueous decoction of the aerial parts over the distilled oil, and avoid entirely in pregnancy and in children. If this species is used at all, prefer material whose oil has been shown to be of the carvone or thymol type rather than the elemicin type.
Mosla chinensis (Xiang Ru), for which this species may be mistaken
The pharmacopoeial Xiang Ru drug is Mosla chinensis Maxim. and its cultivar Jiangxiangru, in which thymol and carvacrol together exceed half the volatile oil. This species is a different Mosla, is not an official source, and is not mentioned at all in the 2024 comprehensive review of Moslae Herba. Its Chinese-type oil is dominated instead by elemicin and asarone. No published case of this species being sold or dispensed as Xiang Ru was found, so this is a name-proximity risk inferred from the shared genus and overlapping folk indications, not a documented substitution.
Clinical note: When a formula calls for Xiang Ru, confirm the supplier is providing Mosla chinensis and not another Mosla. Treat this species as its own folk medicine for colds and cough, not as an interchangeable grade of Xiang Ru.
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
- Chemical compositions and anti-influenza activities of essential oils from Mosla dianthera
- Essential oil composition and biological activities determination of Mosla dianthera (Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.) Maxim. and its major isolated component, carvone
- Volatile Constituents of the Essential Oil of Orthodon dianthera Maxim.(Syn. Mosla dianthera Maxim.) from Vietnam
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
Chemical compositions and anti-influenza activities of essential oils from Mosla dianthera
The only in vivo study of this species. Hydrodistilled essential oil was given to influenza A infected ICR mice at 90 to 360 mg/kg for five consecutive days after infection. It lowered lung viral titres, reduced pneumonia, lowered serum interferon gamma and IL-4, and raised lung antioxidant markers. GC-MS found 29 components accounting for 97.74 percent of the oil, with elemicin 16.51 percent, thymol 14.77 percent, beta-caryophyllene 14.49 percent, iso-elemicin 9.22 percent, asarone 6.09 percent and alpha-caryophyllene 5.26 percent. The authors state the folk indications as cough, colds, fever, bronchitis, nasal congestion and headache. Two cautions: the doses are high for a volatile oil, and the composition they report is the alkenylbenzene-rich chemotype whose long-term safety is the concern noted under interactions.
Essential oil composition and biological activities determination of Mosla dianthera (Buch.-Ham. ex Roxb.) Maxim. and its major isolated component, carvone
Aerial parts collected near Nainital, Uttarakhand, India in September 2017 yielded an oil of 49 components covering 96.2 percent of the total, dominated by oxygenated monoterpenes at 59.3 percent. Carvone was the principal component at 41.9 percent, with thymol 10.8 percent, p-cymene 10.1 percent, (Z)-beta-bisabolene 7.0 percent and gamma-terpinene 4.9 percent. The oil gave 74.2 percent anti-inflammatory inhibition and isolated carvone 78.0 percent at 50 micrograms/mL, with moderate antioxidant activity, significant antibacterial effect against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli, complete inhibition of Alternaria alternata, strong herbicidal activity against radish, and 90.7 percent antifeedant activity at 500 ppm. Notably, no asarone or elemicin was reported in this material, making it a chemically different drug from the Chinese oil above despite the same binomial.
Volatile Constituents of the Essential Oil of Orthodon dianthera Maxim.(Syn. Mosla dianthera Maxim.) from Vietnam
An analytical characterisation of the volatile oil of Vietnamese material, published under the synonym Orthodon dianthera. Cited here as a third independent provenance in the record, which matters because the Chinese and Indian analyses of this species disagree sharply about what its oil contains.
References
- Duan ZY, Sun YP, Wang ZB, Kuang HX. Moslae Herba: Botany, Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology . Molecules (2024) [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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