Traditionally used for
- Nose & throat
- Nerves & recovery
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
☯ TCM Properties
Drains Heat, r elieves Fire toxicity, r educes swelling and inflammation and s tops pain; Extinguishes Liver Wind and settles tremors
Traditional Chinese Uses
Qi Ye Yi Zhi Hua, better known as Chong Lou (Rhizoma Paridis, from Paris polyphylla), is a bitter, cold, slightly toxic heat-clearing herb entering the Liver and Heart channels. Its core function is to clear Heat and relieve Fire toxicity while reducing swelling and stopping pain, and it is a leading herb for toxic-heat sores, carbuncles, boils, mumps, and sore, swollen throat. Topically and internally it is a classic remedy for venomous snakebite and insect stings.
Because it enters the Liver, it also extinguishes Liver Wind and settles convulsions and tremors, and cools the Liver to calm fright. It appears in patent formulas such as Yunnan Baiyao and is combined with herbs like Ban Lan Gen or Jin Yin Hua for toxic swellings. Usual dose is small (3-9 g). It is slightly toxic, so it must be used under professional supervision, avoided in the absence of true Heat, and contraindicated in pregnancy.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Qi Ye Yi Zhi Hua, also written Chong Lou, is the rhizome of Paris polyphylla Sm. and related Paris species (Melanthiaceae, formerly Trilliaceae), an erect perennial herb 30-100 cm tall growing in shaded forest understories of southern and southwestern China. A single unbranched stem rises from a stout, knobbly, ringed creeping rhizome and bears at its summit a single whorl of typically 7-10 (occasionally 5-12) sessile, oblanceolate to elliptic leaves, 7-15 cm long with acuminate tips. From the center of the whorl emerges a solitary terminal flower with four to six narrow green outer tepals and equally many threadlike yellow inner tepals, surrounding a deep purple ovary that ripens into a fleshy red-seeded capsule. The rhizome contains steroidal saponins (polyphyllins, paridins) and is classically used to clear heat-toxin in snakebite, abscesses, and tumors. The plant is moderately toxic; species are listed in CITES Appendix II in some jurisdictions due to overharvest.
Active Constituents
Proto-pennogenyl saponins (furostanol-type)
Furostanol steroidal saponinConcentration: abundant in Paris polyphylla var. chinensis; the corresponding proto-diosgenyl series predominates in var. yunnanensis
The open-chain biosynthetic precursors of the spirostanol polyphyllins that the Pharmacopoeia assays. They are not covered by the official 0.60% assay, and they are the compounds that most clearly separate the two legal varieties of Paridis Rhizoma from one another, so two batches that both pass the assay can be chemically quite different drugs.
Proto-diosgenyl saponins (furostanol-type)
Furostanol steroidal saponinConcentration: the predominant furostanoside series in Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis
The counterpart series in the Yunnan variety, mirroring the split seen in the spirostanoside profile. Their quantitation required a purpose-built HILIC HPLC method because they are not resolved by the standard pharmacopoeial system.
Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: concentrated in the leaves, significantly higher there than in stem or rhizome
One of the flavonols that dominate the aerial parts. Leaves, not the rhizome, are the main site of flavonoid biosynthesis in this plant, and flavonoids account for around a fifth of the metabolites detectable in the plant as a whole. This matters practically: aerial material is not a substitute for rhizome, having neither the saponin content that defines the drug nor its toxicity profile.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Non-pharmacopoeial Paris taxa sold as Chong Lou (Paris polyphylla sensu stricto, var. stenophylla, and other congeners)
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia recognises only two taxa as Paridis Rhizoma, Paris polyphylla var. chinensis and var. yunnanensis. The bare binomial Paris polyphylla Sm. therefore names a species of which only two varieties are the legal drug. Var. stenophylla is admitted in the Gansu and Zhejiang provincial standards alone. Comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography and metabolomics of 444 metabolites, 394 of them steroidal saponins, show that even the two legal varieties diverge substantially in their furostanoside and polyhydroxylated saponin profiles. Since dosing rests on a pharmacopoeial assay of four polyphyllins, material of another variety can carry a very different burden of the compounds that determine both efficacy and organ toxicity.
Clinical note: Insist on material identified to variety, not merely to species. Where the label says only Paris polyphylla, treat the potency as unknown and stay at the bottom of the dose range.
Concurrent drugs requiring hepatic monitoring, in any patient taking Paris rhizome for more than a short course
A review of the genus covering 431 isolated metabolites concludes that, notwithstanding the pharmacological interest in these saponins, extracts of Paris species can cause adverse reactions and frank toxicity, and that systematic safety evaluation is still lacking. Steroidal saponins are membrane-active by nature, which is why the same compounds are cytotoxic to tumour cells and to normal tissue, and why the ceiling on this drug is set by tolerability rather than by any absence of activity.
Clinical note: Keep to short courses within the pharmacopoeial dose, take a full drug history first, and stop the herb and check liver function if anorexia, nausea or jaundice appears.
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
2
0 verified · 2 unverified
Show 2 studies
- Comprehensive exploration and comparison of chemical constituents of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis and Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis through two-dimensional chromatography, metabolomic analysis and furostanosides quantitation
- Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling reveals leaf-specific flavonoid biosynthesis in Paris polyphylla Sm.
Other / unclassified
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Comprehensive exploration and comparison of chemical constituents of Paris polyphylla var. chinensis and Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis through two-dimensional chromatography, metabolomic analysis and furostanosides quantitation
Offline two-dimensional HILIC and C18 separation with untargeted high-resolution mass spectrometry characterised 444 metabolites across the two pharmacopoeial varieties of Paridis Rhizoma, 394 of them steroidal saponins. The varieties differ significantly in furostanosides and polyhydroxylated steroidal saponins as well as in the spirostanosides already known to distinguish them: var. chinensis is rich in proto-pennogenyl saponins and var. yunnanensis in proto-diosgenyl saponins. A HILIC HPLC method for the furostanosides, the precursors of the assayed spirostanosides, was developed for the first time. The work is the clearest demonstration that variety, not species, is the meaningful unit of identity for this drug.
Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling reveals leaf-specific flavonoid biosynthesis in Paris polyphylla Sm.
Metabolomics and transcriptomics of leaf, stem and root of Paris polyphylla detected 332 metabolites, of which flavonoids made up 19.49%, and found flavonoid diversity and abundance highest in leaves. Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-beta-D-glucoside and rutin were significantly higher in leaves, with chalcone isomerase apparently rate-limiting and flavonol synthase most expressed there. The study is aimed at using the non-medicinal aerial parts of a slow-growing, over-collected plant, and it confirms that those parts are chemically distinct from the rhizome that constitutes the drug.
Paris spp (Liliaceae): a review of its botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and practical applications
Review of the genus across ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology, drawing on CNKI, PubMed, Elsevier, Web of Science and SpringerLink. It catalogues 431 isolated metabolites, steroidal saponins being the most abundant class, and notes the spread of Paris material into hair care, cosmetics and health products beyond its medicinal use. Its safety conclusion is explicit: multiple studies show that Paris extracts can cause adverse reactions and toxicity, and the mechanisms of action against particular diseases remain incompletely understood, so systematic evaluation is needed before wider clinical application.
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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