Traditionally used for
- Eye health
- Bowel health
- Urinary & fluids
- Pain & joints
- Skin
☯ TCM Properties
Expels Wind, eliminates Dampness, promotes urination, resolves swelling, and removes toxicity
Traditional Chinese Uses
Pu Tao Teng Ye (Caulis/Folium Vitis Viniferae) is the stem and leaf of the common grape, Vitis vinifera. Sweet and neutral, entering the Kidney, Liver and Bladder channels, it belongs among the Wind-Damp dispelling substances. Its functions are to expel Wind and drain Dampness, promote urination and disperse swelling, and resolve toxicity. Traditionally it is used for Wind-Damp painful obstruction (rheumatic joint pain), for edema and difficult urination, and, applied topically or by mouth, for sores, boils and diarrhea; the astringent, anti-inflammatory quality also lends it to red, Wind-Heat-irritated eyes.
It is a mild, low-toxicity folk remedy, typically decocted at around 9-15 g or the fresh vine pounded for juice. It is a minor supporting herb rather than a principal agent in classical formulas.
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
While grape (Vitis vinifera) is not native to the Americas, several indigenous North American Vitis species (V. labrusca, V. riparia, V. aestivalis) have documented traditional uses; the Cherokee and Iroquois used grape leaves and vines for diarrhea, urinary complaints, and as poultices for wounds (Moerman, 1998). However, these uses pertain to native Vitis species rather than the Old World V. vinifera specifically referenced by the Chinese name Pu Tao.
Relationships
Full-screen graph →Click a node for details · double-click to expand it · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll or two fingers to zoom and pan.
Botanical Description
Pu Tao Teng Ye refers to the leaves and stems (vine) of the common grape, Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae), a long-lived woody deciduous climber that may grow 15-35 m supported by tendrils. The bark is shreddy and exfoliating on older wood. The alternate, simple leaves are palmately three- to five-lobed, 5-20 cm broad, with toothed margins and a cordate base, often hairy beneath. Tendrils are produced opposite the leaves at most nodes. Small greenish flowers in dense panicles give rise to clustered berries (grapes) that ripen green, red, or purple-black. Introduced to China along the Silk Road, the vine is now widely cultivated. The leaves and young stems are used in folk Chinese medicine to dispel wind-dampness, relieve pain, and stop bleeding.
Active Constituents
Quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucuronide
Flavonol glycoside (glucuronide)Concentration: The principal flavonoid of red vine leaf; reported as about 63 percent of the flavonoid fraction of the standardised leaf extract AS 195
The marker constituent of the only Vitis vinifera leaf preparation with controlled clinical evidence. It is credited with the oedema-protective and microcirculatory effects seen in chronic venous insufficiency trials, acting on capillary filtration and endothelial function rather than on venous tone.
Isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: The second flavonoid of the standardised leaf extract, about 32 percent of its flavonoid fraction
Accompanies the glucuronide as the other major flavonoid of red vine leaf and contributes to its antioxidant and capillary-protective activity.
Kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucoside
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: A minor component of the standardised leaf extract flavonoid fraction, about 5 percent
Minor flavonol glycoside of the leaf, present at a level too low to account for the observed clinical effects on its own.
Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acidsConcentration: Part of the phenolic fraction of grape leaves, varying widely with cultivar, season and stress
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenolic acids of the leaf, contributing to the radical-scavenging capacity of leaf extracts in vitro.
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanin pigmentsConcentration: Present in the red-leafed cultivars from which red vine leaf material is taken; largely absent from green-leaf material
The pigments that make red vine leaf red. Their presence is a marker of the correct starting material, since the clinical evidence is generated on red-leaf cultivars and not on ordinary green grape foliage.
Tartaric acid
Aliphatic organic acidConcentration: A characteristic organic acid of the genus Vitis, accumulating in leaves as well as fruit
Contributes the sour character of the fresh leaf and juice, consistent with the traditional use of the pressed juice for promoting urination and reducing swelling.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Grape seed extract and grape skin or wine polyphenol products
Vitis vinifera is one species supplying several quite different drugs. This record is the vine and leaf. Grape seed extract is dominated by oligomeric proanthocyanidins, and grape skin and wine products by resveratrol and anthocyanins; the leaf is dominated instead by quercetin glucuronide and isoquercitrin. The chronic venous insufficiency evidence belongs specifically to the standardised red vine leaf extract, and the cardiovascular and antiplatelet literature on grape seed and resveratrol is a different body of work on different chemistry.
Clinical note: Do not transfer grape seed or resveratrol evidence, dosing or cautions to this drug, or the reverse. Where clinical effect is intended, specify a red vine leaf preparation.
Anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs (warfarin, direct oral anticoagulants, aspirin, clopidogrel)
Flavonoid-rich plant extracts are conventionally flagged for a theoretical antiplatelet contribution, and red vine leaf extract raises nitric oxide synthase dependent nitric oxide generation in endothelial and red blood cells. Against that, the controlled trials of the leaf extract at 360 and 720 mg daily for twelve weeks reported it as well tolerated without a bleeding signal, so this remains mechanistic rather than observed.
Clinical note: No routine action needed. Mention as a low-priority consideration when the herb is added to combination antithrombotic therapy.
Evidence Tier
Strong evidence · 2 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
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Randomized controlled trial
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
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
Efficacy and Tolerability of a Red-vine-leaf Extract in Patients Suffering from Chronic Venous Insufficiency – Results of a Double-blind Placebo-controlled Study
A twelve-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre trial in 260 outpatients aged 25 to 75 with stage I to incipient stage II chronic venous insufficiency, of whom 219 completed. Once-daily red vine leaf extract at 360 mg and 720 mg reduced lower leg volume while placebo increased it, giving differences from placebo of about 76 and 100 millilitres respectively, with consistent improvement in leg circumference and symptoms and good tolerability. This is leaf extract evidence and does not test the vine stem or a decoction.
Red vine leaf extract (AS 195) can improve some signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, a systematic review
Systematic review of the controlled trials of the standardised red vine leaf extract AS 195 in chronic venous insufficiency. It concludes that the extract improves some signs and symptoms, principally leg oedema and volume, while noting the small number of trials and their common sponsorship. It is the best available summary of the human evidence for any Vitis vinifera leaf preparation.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica)
Han dynasty, compiled circa 25-220 CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica)
Ming dynasty, 1596Lu Chuan Ben Cao (Luchuan Materia Medica)
Modern regional materia medica, 1957References
- Azhdari Maryam; Zilaee Marzie; Karandish Majid; Hosseini Seyed Ahmad; Mansoori Anahita; Zendehdel Mohadeseh; Khodarahpour Sara. Red vine leaf extract (AS 195) can improve some signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, a systematic review . Phytotherapy Research (2020) [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 Pu Tao Teng Ye.
No notes yet.