Nuo Dao Gen

Star

Oryza sativa L. var. glutinosa Matsum.

Not yet clinically reviewed

Family: Poaceae Genus: Oryza Species: sativa Pinyin: Nuo Dao Gen
Glutinous rice root糯稻根

Traditionally used for

  • Nose & throat
  • Colds & fever
  • Digestion
  • Energy & fatigue
Limited evidence · 1 study

☯ TCM Properties

Category: astringent
Temperature: neutral
Taste: sweet
Meridians: liver, lung, kidney
Functions:

Consolidates the Exterior and Stops Sweating; Benefits the Stomach and Generates Fluids; Clears Deficiency Heat

Traditional Chinese Uses

Nuo Dao Gen (glutinous rice root, root and rhizome of sticky rice plant) is a mild, sweet, neutral herb used in Chinese medicine primarily to stop excessive sweating — both spontaneous daytime sweating and night sweating from deficiency. It also generates Body Fluids to relieve dry mouth and throat, and gently clears deficiency heat for low-grade fever from exhaustion or chronic illness. Its gentle, food-safe character makes it appropriate for prolonged use in convalescence and post-illness recovery.

Click a node for details · double-click to expand it · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll or two fingers to zoom and pan.

Loading graph…

Botanical Description

Oryza sativa var. glutinosa, glutinous or sticky rice, is an annual cereal grass in the Poaceae, an ancient cultivated form of Asian rice distinguished from common rice principally by an almost amylopectin-only starch composition in the grain. The plant grows 60-150 cm tall with hollow erect culms, jointed at the nodes, and long narrow linear leaves with prominent ligules and auricles at the base of the blade. The fibrous root system consists of numerous slender adventitious roots arising from the lower nodes, forming a dense mat in the flooded paddy. Flowers are borne in lax open terminal panicles of small one-flowered spikelets; the grain is enclosed in a hardened lemma and palea. After harvest of the grain, the dried fibrous roots and rhizomes dug from the stubble constitute Nuo Dao Gen.

Active Constituents

Oryzativol A

Lignan

A lignan isolated from the roots of Asian rice, Oryza sativa. In mesenchymal stem cells it suppressed adipocyte differentiation while promoting osteoblast differentiation. Note that the isolation work was done on rice roots generally, not on the glutinous variety that supplies this drug, and no quantitative content in the medicinal root has been published.

Oryzativol B

Lignan

The second of two novel lignans reported from Oryza sativa roots alongside oryzativol A, isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation of the root extract. As with oryzativol A, the source material was rice root rather than the glutinous-rice root specifically.

Dosage

Form Amount Frequency Duration Population Notes
decoction 15–30 g Daily — — Standard oral dose per Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 383–384. Exact wording: Normally, 15–30 g is decocted with water as an oral

Evidence Tier

Limited evidence · 1 study

Recorded 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

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 Characterization of Novel Natural Products from the Roots of Asian Rice (Oryza sativa) that Control Adipocyte and Osteoblast Differentiation

Kang HR, Yun HS, Lee TK, Lee S, Kim SH, Moon E, Park KM, Kim KH (2018) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in vitro Verified: In vitro / animal

An ethanol extract of Oryza sativa root reciprocally regulated adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation in cell culture; bioassay-guided fractionation yielded two new lignans, oryzativols A and B, with oryzativol A suppressing adipogenesis and enhancing osteoblast development. This is the only substantive chemistry available for rice root, and it does not address the traditional anhidrotic use of Nuo Dao Gen or use the glutinous variety.

⚠ Safety & Contraindications

Contraindications

Its use is cautious in patients with exterior pathogen.

Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 383–384.

Historical Texts

Ben Cao Zai Xin

Qing dynasty
The first clear materia medica record of nuo dao gen xu (glutinous rice root and rootlets). It is given as sweet and neutral, non-toxic, stopping sweating and benefiting the Stomach, with a decocted dose of about half a liang to one liang. The drug has no entry in the Han or Tang classics; it is a late, folk-derived addition to the astringent category.

References

  1. Kusumawati AH, Garmana AN, Elfahmi E, Mauludin R. Pharmacological studies of the genus rice (Oryza L.): a literature review . Brazilian Journal of Biology (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.

📝 Notes

Public notes from the community and your own private notes on Nuo Dao Gen.

No notes yet.

Log in or register to add your own notes.

Back to Herb Database