Mosla scabra
StarMosla scabra
Synonyms: Perilla lanceolata, Mosla lanceolata, Mosla punctulata, Mosla punctata, Orthodon lanceolatus, Orthodon scaber, Orthodon punctulatus, Orthodon punctatus, Ocimum punctulatum
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
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
Cautions & contraindications
- Heart conditions
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Mosla scabra is an aromatic annual herb in the Lamiaceae native to eastern Asia, including China (where it is widespread south of the Yellow River), Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Plants grow 30-90 cm tall with erect, square stems clothed in downward-pointing scabrid hairs that give the species its epithet. The leaves are opposite, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-4 cm long, with coarsely serrate margins, abundant glandular dots on the lower surface, and a strong pungent mint-like scent when crushed. Small purplish-pink to pale-violet flowers about 4-5 mm long are densely arranged in terminal racemes 3-8 cm long; the calyx is bilabiate with the upper lip three-toothed and the lower two-toothed, and the corolla is two-lipped with four short stamens. The fruit consists of four small reticulate nutlets. It grows in mountain slopes, forest edges, grassy hillsides, and disturbed ground from low elevations to about 1100 m.
Active Constituents
Total flavonoids of Mosla scabra leaf
Flavonoid fraction (flavones and flavone aglycones)Concentration: The fraction on which essentially all of the published pharmacology of this species rests; dosed at 30-90 mg/kg in murine acute lung injury work and 120-360 mg/kg in murine influenza work
The flavonoid fraction, not a single compound, is what the Zhejiang group tested. In mice it lowered lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, myeloperoxidase activity and bronchoalveolar protein after lipopolysaccharide challenge, and cut serum nitric oxide, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6, with inhibition of p38 MAPK phosphorylation and NF-kappaB p65 translocation. All of this is animal data; no human study of this fraction has been published.
Apigenin
Flavone (5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavone)Concentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the ethanolic extract of the whole herb
One of four flavones from Mosla scabra that showed significant activity against influenza virus in the isolation study. Apigenin is ubiquitous across the Lamiaceae and is not distinctive to this species, so its presence does not by itself distinguish Mosla scabra from Mosla chinensis or from Elsholtzia.
Acacetin
Flavone (4'-methoxy derivative of apigenin)Concentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the ethanolic extract of the whole herb
Reported as one of the anti-influenza flavones of the ethyl acetate fraction. Acacetin is also a known inhibitor of the ultrarapid delayed rectifier potassium current in atrial myocytes, which is the pharmacological basis for the theoretical caution about combining concentrated flavonoid extracts of this herb with antiarrhythmic drugs.
5-Hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone
Polymethoxylated flavoneConcentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the whole herb
One of the two dimethoxyflavones reported from this species with significant anti-influenza activity in the original isolation paper. Polymethoxyflavones of this type are generally more lipophilic and better absorbed than their unmethylated counterparts.
5-Hydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavone
Polymethoxylated flavoneConcentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the whole herb
The positional isomer of the 6,7-dimethoxy compound, also reported as active against influenza virus in the same isolation study.
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpenoid (ursane type)Concentration: Isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the whole herb, alongside the four flavones
Isolated from Mosla scabra but, unlike the four flavones in the same paper, it was not among the compounds reported as significantly antiviral there. Ursolic acid is a common Lamiaceae triterpenoid and carries the usual caveat that a compound found in a plant is not thereby the plant's active principle.
Moslolignan A
Cyclobutane-type lignanConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant; reported as a new compound in 2000
One of two new asymmetrically substituted cyclobutane lignans described from this species. The 2000 report describes it as the first record of naturally occurring cyclobutane-type lignans with asymmetrical substitution, which makes the moslolignans chemotaxonomically distinctive for Mosla scabra rather than shared genus-wide markers.
Moslolignan B
Cyclobutane-type lignanConcentration: Isolated from the whole plant; reported as a new compound in 2000
The second new cyclobutane lignan from the whole plant, differing from moslolignan A in the substitution pattern of one aryl ring. No pharmacological characterisation of the isolated compound was reported at the time of its description.
Andamanicin
Cyclobutane-type lignanConcentration: Known lignan co-isolated with the moslolignans from the whole plant
A previously known cyclobutane lignan recovered from Mosla scabra alongside the two new moslolignans, establishing that this lignan class is a real feature of the herb rather than an isolated curiosity.
Magnosalin
Cyclobutane-type lignanConcentration: Known lignan co-isolated from the whole plant
The fourth cyclobutane lignan of the 2000 isolation, first described from Magnolia. Its occurrence here places Mosla scabra among the small group of species producing this uncommon dimethyl-cyclobutane skeleton.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Xiang Ru (Moslae Herba, Mosla chinensis Maxim. cv. Jiangxiangru) and Elsholtzia ciliata sold under the same name
Mosla scabra is not the official Xiang Ru. The pharmacopoeial drug of that name is Mosla chinensis (the Jiangxiangru cultivar), and in older Chinese usage Xiang Ru also covers Elsholtzia ciliata, which is why the trade Latin for the drug is written Herba Elsholtziae seu Moslae. Mosla scabra is a congeneric species that grows as a weed alongside Mosla chinensis in the same regions of southeastern China, and the two are similar enough in habit and aroma that field collection of one for the other is easy. Their chemistry is not interchangeable: the cyclobutane lignans reported from Mosla scabra are not the constituent profile on which Mosla chinensis is standardised, and the volatile-oil assay used to release pharmacopoeial Xiang Ru does not apply to this species.
Clinical note: Treat Mosla scabra as its own drug (Shi Qi Ning), not as a grade of Xiang Ru. If a supplier offers it against a Xiang Ru order, reject the substitution and ask for the botanical source to be stated on the certificate of analysis.
Immunosuppressants and immunomodulating biologics (for example ciclosporin, tacrolimus, azathioprine, TNF-alpha inhibitors)
The aqueous extract given orally to influenza-infected mice increased the numbers of splenocytes producing IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-5, raised CD4+ counts and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio, and lowered IL-6. Total flavonoid dosing in a separate murine model raised IFN-alpha while suppressing IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta. These are directional immune effects in rodents, not measured interactions in people, and no pharmacokinetic study of this herb with any drug exists.
Clinical note: There is no human evidence either way. Where a patient is on a drug whose whole purpose is to hold cytokine signalling down, note the herb in the record and watch the parameter the drug is being monitored on, rather than assuming an interaction or assuming none.
Class III antiarrhythmics and other QT-prolonging drugs, where concentrated flavonoid extracts are used
Acacetin, one of the flavones isolated from this herb, is an established blocker of the atrial ultrarapid delayed rectifier potassium current and has been pursued as an atrial-selective antiarrhythmic scaffold in its own right. Nothing establishes that a decoction of Mosla scabra delivers acacetin at a cardioactive plasma concentration, and no case report of arrhythmia with this herb exists. The caution belongs to standardised high-dose flavonoid extracts, not to the crude herb.
Clinical note: Do not treat this as a reason to avoid the decoction. If a concentrated total-flavonoid product is used in a patient already on an antiarrhythmic, that combination has no safety data and should be avoided in favour of the crude herb.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Mosla scabra. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
4 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
4
3 verified · 1 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Anti-influenza virus effects of the aqueous extract from Mosla scabra
- Antiviral flavonoids from Mosla scabra
- Total flavonoids of Mosla scabra leaves attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via down-regulation of inflammatory signaling in mice
- Mosla scabra flavonoids ameliorate the influenza A virus-induced lung injury and water transport abnormality via the inhibition of PRR and AQP signaling pathways in mice
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
Anti-influenza virus effects of the aqueous extract from Mosla scabra
Aqueous extract of Mosla scabra was tested in embryonated eggs and in a lethal murine influenza A model. At 0.3-30.0 mg/ml the extract was both preventive and therapeutic in eggs; oral dosing in infected mice prevented death, reduced pneumonia and lowered lung viral titres, while raising IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-5 producing splenocytes and CD4+ subsets and lowering IL-6. Almost all mice survived a 4800 mg/kg dose, which the authors read as low toxicity. This is a mouse and egg study, not a trial in people.
Antiviral flavonoids from Mosla scabra
The isolation study behind this herb's antiviral reputation. An ethanolic extract and its ethyl acetate fraction inhibited influenza viruses; ursolic acid, 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone, 5-hydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavone, apigenin and acacetin were identified, and the four flavones (not the triterpene) showed significant anti-influenza activity. The fraction was reported as comparable in efficacy to ribavirin and less toxic in this assay system, a laboratory comparison with no clinical bearing.
Total flavonoids of Mosla scabra leaves attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via down-regulation of inflammatory signaling in mice
Mice given 30 or 90 mg/kg of the leaf total flavonoid fraction orally one hour before lipopolysaccharide challenge had lower lung wet-to-dry weight ratios, lower bronchoalveolar myeloperoxidase and protein, and lower serum nitric oxide, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6 than untreated controls, with reduced p38 MAPK phosphorylation and NF-kappaB p65 translocation. Note the design is prophylactic, not therapeutic: the herb was given before the insult.
Mosla scabra flavonoids ameliorate the influenza A virus-induced lung injury and water transport abnormality via the inhibition of PRR and AQP signaling pathways in mice
Influenza A infected mice treated with 120-360 mg/kg total flavonoids for five days showed less pulmonary injury, lower serum IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-1beta and higher IFN-alpha, with changes in aquaporin 5 and pattern-recognition-receptor pathway signalling that the authors link to the folk use of the herb for pulmonary oedema. Murine only; the aquaporin mechanism has not been examined in humans.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Shi Yi (Supplement to Materia Medica), Chen Cangqi
Tang dynasty, 739 CEBen Cao Gang Mu Shi Yi (Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica), Zhao Xuemin
Qing dynasty, 1765Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao (Illustrated Investigation of Names and Natures of Plants), Wu Qijun
Qing dynasty, 1848References
- Wang Q, Terreaux C, Marston A, Tan RX, Hostettmann K. Lignans from Mosla scabra . Phytochemistry (2000) [DOI]
- Wu Q, Yu C, Yan Y, Chen J, Zhang C, Wen X. Antiviral flavonoids from Mosla scabra . Fitoterapia (2010) [DOI]
- Yu C, Yan Y, Wu X, Zhang B, Wang W, Wu Q. Anti-influenza virus effects of the aqueous extract from Mosla scabra . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2010) [DOI]
- Chen J, Wang JB, Yu CH, Chen LQ, Xu P, Yu WY. Total flavonoids of Mosla scabra leaves attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury via down-regulation of inflammatory signaling in mice . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2013) [DOI]
- Yu CH, Yu WY, Fang J, Zhang HH, Ma Y, Yu B, Wu F, Wu XN. Mosla scabra flavonoids ameliorate the influenza A virus-induced lung injury and water transport abnormality via the inhibition of PRR and AQP signaling pathways in mice . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2016) [DOI]
- Wang Z. Mosla chinensis Maxim. 香薷 (Xiangru, Chinese Mosla Herb) . Dietary Chinese Herbs: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Clinical Evidence (Springer) (2015) [DOI]
- Li GR, Wang HB, Qin GW, Jin MW, Tang Q, Sun HY, Du XL, Deng XL, Zhang XH, Chen JB, Chen L, Xu XH. Acacetin, a Natural Flavone, Selectively Inhibits Human Atrial Repolarization Potassium Currents and Prevents Atrial Fibrillation in Dogs . Circulation (2008) [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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