Sang Ji Sheng
StarTaxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser
Traditionally used for
- Pain & joints
- Blood pressure
- Energy & fatigue
Cautions & contraindications
- Heart conditions
- Seizure disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin; Strengthens the Sinews and Bones; Dispels Wind-Dampness; Nourishes Blood and calms the fetus; Lowers Blood Pressure
Traditional Chinese Uses
Sang Ji Sheng (mulberry mistletoe, loranthus stem) is a nourishing, bittersweet herb with dual actions: tonifying Liver and Kidney to strengthen the bones, sinew, and lower back, while also expelling Wind-Damp from the channels and joints. It is particularly well regarded for lower back and knee pain in the elderly or those with underlying Liver-Kidney deficiency, and its ability to calm the fetus makes it an important herb for threatened miscarriage associated with Kidney deficiency.
Western Herbalism Properties
Pharmacological Effects
- Hypotensive: Aqueous and ethanolic extracts lowered BP in anesthetized animals; avicularin 0.05-2 mg/kg i.v. in dogs with rapid tolerance; considered central or reflex in origin.
- Coronary dilation: Injection dilated coronary vessels and increased flow in isolated guinea pig heart and antagonized vasopressin-induced coronary constriction.
- Diuretic: Avicularin 0.5-2 mg/kg i.v. caused diuresis in dogs; dose-dependent diuresis in rats orally or by injection.
- Antiviral: 10% decoction inhibited poliovirus, ECHO viruses and Coxsackieviruses in vitro.
Source: Zhu YP. Chinese Materia Medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications. Harwood Academic, 1998, p. 274.
Used In Formulas (10)
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Taxillus chinensis is an evergreen, hemiparasitic shrub in the Loranthaceae family, growing on the branches of various host trees in southern China and Southeast Asia, most traditionally on mulberry (Morus alba). The plant forms a dense, woody clump attached to the host by haustoria, with branches 30-100 cm long, brownish-grey, and minutely hairy when young. The opposite or sub-opposite leaves are leathery, ovate to elliptic, 5-8 cm long, with entire margins and short petioles. Small tubular flowers, red to pink and 2-3 cm long, are borne in axillary clusters from autumn to winter, followed by ellipsoid red or yellow berries. In TCM, the leafy stems with leaves (Sang Ji Sheng) are harvested, particularly from mulberry hosts, and used as a bitter, sweet, neutral herb that tonifies the liver and kidneys, strengthens sinews and bones, and calms the fetus.
Active Constituents
Quercetin
Flavonol aglyconeConcentration: One of the principal flavonoids; content varies markedly with host tree and geographical origin
The most studied single compound in this drug and the one carrying most of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and blood pressure lowering activity in animal work. In spontaneously hypertensive rats the whole extract raised superoxide dismutase activity and serum nitric oxide and lowered plasma angiotensin II and endothelin-1, which is the mechanistic basis of the traditional antihypertensive use.
Quercitrin (quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: A quantified quality marker; one of six components used for content determination in HPLC fingerprinting of 20 batches
A major flavonol glycoside of the herb and one of the four markers that separate batches by geographical origin and host on multivariate analysis. It contributes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity but has no independent clinical evidence.
Avicularin (quercetin 3-O-alpha-L-arabinofuranoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: A characteristic flavonoid of Taxillus chinensis
Identified as the constituent responsible for the potent fatty acid synthase inhibition shown by extracts of this species, and studied separately for suppression of adipocyte lipid accumulation. This is the pharmacology behind the antihyperglycaemic and antiobesity claims, all of which remain preclinical.
Hyperoside (hyperin)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Quantified marker; relative content higher in material parasitising Morus alba than in material from other hosts
Antioxidant and hepatoprotective flavonol glycoside. Its higher abundance in mulberry-hosted material is part of the analytical case for the traditional preference for mistletoe grown on mulberry over mistletoe grown on other trees.
Catechin, epicatechin and condensed tannins
Flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidinsConcentration: Quantified markers; catechin and epicatechin are among the six components used for routine content determination
Contribute most of the radical-scavenging capacity of aqueous extracts. Proanthocyanidin trimers isolated from mistletoe of this group have been reported as neuroprotective in preclinical models.
Isoquercitrin and gallic acid
Flavonol glycoside and phenolic acidConcentration: Quantified markers; gallic acid, hyperoside, isoquercitrin and quercitrin were the components driving quality differences between batches
Routine quality-control analytes rather than compounds with a distinct clinical role. Their combined content was highest in samples from Wuzhou in the batch survey that established the fingerprint.
Host-derived metabolites (cardiac glycosides, meliatoxins, coriaria lactones and others)
Variable xenobiotics translocated from the host treeConcentration: Absent from mulberry-hosted material; potentially substantial from toxic hosts such as Nerium indicum, Melia azedarach and Coriaria species
This is the defining safety problem of the drug. Taxillus chinensis is a hemiparasite drawing xylem sap from whatever tree it grows on, and characteristic host compounds are translocated into the parasite. Aqueous extracts from six different hosts were compared in zebrafish: material from Morus alba caused no liver damage, while material from Toxicodendron trichocarpum, Camellia oleifera, Salix babylonica, Melia azedarach and Nerium indicum all produced some degree of hepatotoxicity. A specimen from a cardiac-glycoside-bearing host such as oleander carries the host's pharmacology, not the mistletoe's alone.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Digoxin and other cardiac glycosides
The risk is entirely a function of the host tree. Nerium indicum (oleander) is a documented host of Taxillus chinensis and contains oleandrin and related cardenolides, which inhibit cardiac Na/K-ATPase exactly as digoxin does. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia includes a cardiac glycoside test in the Taxilli Herba monograph for precisely this reason, and a 2026 review of host-dependent quality concluded that this test as currently specified is not sufficient to guarantee safety across the range of hosts in commercial use, since hosts lacking cardiac glycosides can carry other hazards. Assays of extracts from six hosts in zebrafish found hepatotoxicity from oleander-hosted and chinaberry-hosted material but none from mulberry-hosted material.
Clinical note: Do not co-prescribe with digoxin unless the material is documented as mulberry-hosted and has passed the cardiac glycoside test. In practice this means requiring the host species on the certificate of analysis, which most suppliers do not state. In a digitalised patient, unexplained nausea, visual disturbance, bradycardia or new arrhythmia after starting this herb should prompt a digoxin level and cessation.
Scurrula parasitica and material sold as Loranthus parasiticus
Taxillus chinensis is routinely confused with Scurrula parasitica L., Taxillus balansae and Scurrula parasitica var. graciliflora on morphology, and much of the older literature published under the name Loranthus parasiticus and labelled Sang Ji Sheng in fact concerns a different species. That literature reports coriaria lactone, a mixture of the sesquiterpene lactones coriamyrtin, tutin, corianin and coriatin, as key constituents. These are picrotoxin-type GABA-A antagonists and are convulsant, and they originate from Coriaria host plants rather than being made by the mistletoe. A drug that should be a mild tonic can therefore arrive carrying a seizure-inducing toxin.
Clinical note: Insist on the binomial and on DNA or fingerprint authentication rather than the pinyin name, and be aware that pharmacological claims sourced to Loranthus parasiticus may not describe the herb you are dispensing. Avoid in patients with epilepsy or on drugs that lower seizure threshold unless the material is authenticated Taxillus chinensis. The psbA-trnH DNA barcode and species-specific PCR assays are both established for this purpose.
Viscum album extracts (Iscador, Helixor) and Viscum coloratum (Hu Ji Sheng)
Three different drugs are called mistletoe. Taxilli Herba is Taxillus chinensis (Loranthaceae) and is dominated by flavonoids. Visci Herba is Viscum coloratum, a separate Chinese pharmacopoeial drug with the pinyin name Hu Ji Sheng. European mistletoe, Viscum album, is the source of the injected oncology preparations Iscador and Helixor and owes its activity to viscotoxins and mistletoe lectins, an immunostimulant profile with nothing in common with the flavonoid chemistry of Taxillus. Commercial Taxilli Herba and Visci Herba products are frequently adulterated with each other and with Taxillus sutchuenensis, Viscum articulatum and Macrosolen tricolor, which is why species-specific PCR assays were developed for them.
Clinical note: Do not transfer evidence, dosing or safety information between these drugs in either direction. In particular, the immunological and oncological literature on Viscum album, and its interactions with immunosuppressants and checkpoint inhibitors, does not apply to Sang Ji Sheng. A patient already receiving subcutaneous Viscum album for cancer support is on a different agent entirely and taking both is not duplication but two unrelated exposures.
Hepatotoxic drugs (methotrexate, isoniazid, paracetamol, statins)
Aqueous extracts of Taxillus chinensis from five of six host trees tested caused measurable liver injury in a zebrafish model, with only the Morus alba-derived material being free of hepatotoxicity. The mechanism is presumed to be host-derived rather than intrinsic. The evidence is a single animal model, so the concern is precautionary, but it applies specifically to the great majority of commercial material whose host is unstated.
Clinical note: Where the patient is already on a hepatotoxic drug, either source mulberry-hosted material or leave the herb out. If it is used for more than a few weeks alongside methotrexate or an antituberculous regimen, check liver enzymes at baseline and at 4 to 8 weeks.
Antihypertensive agents
Extracts lowered blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats by raising superoxide dismutase activity and serum nitric oxide while lowering plasma angiotensin II and endothelin-1, and hypertension is one of the traditional indications. There is no human trial, so the addition is expected on animal pharmacology rather than demonstrated in patients.
Clinical note: Reasonable to combine, but check blood pressure at introduction and after two to four weeks in patients on angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or calcium channel blockers, particularly the elderly, in whom the traditional indications for this herb are most common.
Fetal exposure during pregnancy (high-dose or prolonged decoction)
The classical indication is the opposite of a warning: Taxilli Herba is a principal herb for calming the fetus and for threatened miscarriage, and is taken as tea and soup in the Lingnan region during pregnancy. Rodent work complicates that picture. Genotoxicity was reported at 20 g/kg body weight and embryonic developmental toxicity at 40 g/kg; a separate study found no teratogenic effect on rat embryos but did find embryotoxicity with high-dose decoction. These are high multiples of human dose, and no human harm has been documented, but the margin has not been characterised.
Clinical note: Traditional obstetric use at conventional doses is long established and this is not a reason to abandon it. It is a reason not to escalate the dose in pregnancy, not to use it for prolonged periods without indication, and to insist on mulberry-hosted, authenticated material when it is used in pregnancy at all, since the host-derived toxin problem matters most in that population.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 9–15 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】9～15g。 【性味与归经】苦、甘，平。归肝、肾经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
The pair dispels wind-damp while tonifying the liver and kidneys and strengthening sinew and bone, treating chronic painful obstruction on a background of deficiency.
Chronic lower back and knee pain with weakness in liver-kidney deficiency.
Core pair of a classical formula — Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang, Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang (Sun Simiao)
Kidney is tonified and the Chong and Ren secured, calming the fetus.
Core pair of a classical formula — Shou Tai Wan, Yi Xue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu (Zhang Xichun)
Together they tonify the liver and kidneys, strengthen the lower back and calm the fetus.
Threatened miscarriage from kidney deficiency; Tu Si Zi is chief in the formula with these two as deputies.
Core pair of a classical formula — Shou Tai Wan, Yi Xue Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu (Zhang Xichun)
Evidence Tier
Strong evidence · 6 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
2
0 verified · 2 unverified
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
4
0 verified · 4 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Metabolite Profiling and Transcriptome Analysis Explain the Difference in Accumulation of Bioactive Constituents in Taxilli Herba from Two Hosts
- Comprehensive Phytochemical Characterization and Quality Evaluation of Taxillus chinensis via Integrated Widely Targeted Metabolomics, HPLC Fingerprinting, and Multi-Component Quantification
- PCR-based rapid diagnostic tools for the authentication of medicinal mistletoe species
- Potent inhibition of fatty acid synthase by parasitic loranthus [Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser] and its constituent avicularin
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
Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser: a comprehensive review on botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology
Comprehensive review of the literature to May 2022, cataloguing about 110 constituents dominated by flavonoids (quercetin, quercitrin, rutin, avicularin, small amounts of catechin) plus phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, tannins, glycosides, amino acids and nucleosides. Pharmacology is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, diuretic, antihypertensive and antihyperglycaemic, all preclinical. The toxicology section is the practically important part: because the host transfers its characteristic compounds into the hemiparasite, toxicity tracks the host. Aqueous extracts from Morus alba-hosted material were not hepatotoxic in zebrafish while material from Toxicodendron trichocarpum, Camellia oleifera, Salix babylonica, Melia azedarach and Nerium indicum all caused some liver injury. Genotoxicity was reported at 20 g/kg and embryonic developmental toxicity at 40 g/kg in rodents. The authors state plainly that research on this herb remains at a preliminary stage.
Host-Dependent Medicinal Quality of Taxilli Herba: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Profiles and Bioactivities
Review proposing a host-governed quality paradigm for this drug. It concludes that the host species determines three things: chemical composition, comprising both the mistletoe's own constituents and host-derived metabolites; the toxicity profile, where hosts that do not contain cardiac glycosides may still present hazards; and pharmacological activity, including the traditional cold or warm nature attributed to the material. Critically for practice, the authors state that the cardiac glycoside test specified in the current Chinese Pharmacopoeia is not sufficient to ensure the safety of Sangjisheng from the range of hosts in use, and they call for pharmacopoeial standards restricting approved source trees and for standardised cultivation on safe hosts such as Morus alba. This is a narrative review rather than a meta-analysis.
Metabolite Profiling and Transcriptome Analysis Explain the Difference in Accumulation of Bioactive Constituents in Taxilli Herba from Two Hosts
Paired metabolomic and transcriptomic comparison of Taxilli Herba grown on Morus alba against material grown on Liquidambar formosana. Eighty-one compounds were identified by UFLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS and 3319 differentially expressed genes were found between the two, with flavonol aglycones and glycosides consistently higher in the mulberry-hosted material and the expression of flavonoid biosynthesis genes tracking those differences. It gives a molecular explanation for why host identity, not just growing region, determines the potency of this drug, and supports the classical insistence on mulberry as the host.
Comprehensive Phytochemical Characterization and Quality Evaluation of Taxillus chinensis via Integrated Widely Targeted Metabolomics, HPLC Fingerprinting, and Multi-Component Quantification
Quality survey of Taxillus chinensis across geographical origins and host plants. Component types were qualitatively consistent but contents varied significantly, and differential metabolites clustered by origin or by host; pathway analysis indicated that geography mainly drives phenylpropanoid biosynthesis while host identity mainly drives flavonoid and monoterpenoid biosynthesis. Twenty batches gave fingerprint similarities above 0.9 with 15 common peaks, and gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin and quercitrin were selected and quantified as markers, with gallic acid, hyperoside, isoquercitrin and quercitrin driving the quality differences.
PCR-based rapid diagnostic tools for the authentication of medicinal mistletoe species
Development of sequence-characterised amplified region markers and a multiplex assay to separate the two pharmacopoeial mistletoe drugs, Taxilli Herba from Taxillus chinensis and Visci Herba from Viscum coloratum, from the three species most often found in adulterated products: Taxillus sutchuenensis, Viscum articulatum and Macrosolen tricolor. The matK region was sequenced across 20 samples of the five species and species-specific primers designed. The assays identified counterfeit and adulterated commercial products in both dried and processed form. The authors state that commercial products of both drugs are frequently adulterated, posing efficacy and safety concerns, which is the direct evidential basis for treating supplier identity as a clinical safety issue for this herb.
Potent inhibition of fatty acid synthase by parasitic loranthus [Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser] and its constituent avicularin
Enzyme inhibition study identifying avicularin, the quercetin 3-O-arabinofuranoside of Taxillus chinensis, as the constituent responsible for potent inhibition of fatty acid synthase by extracts of the herb. It is the clearest constituent-to-activity link established for this species and underlies the later antiobesity and antihyperglycaemic work, all of which remains at the cell and animal level with no human trial.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
- Heart conditions
- Seizure disorders
Contraindications
No special contraindications.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 124–126.
Side Effects
- A few patients had dizziness, vertigo, poor appetite, abdominal distension, slight diarrhoea and dry mouth
Source: Zhu YP. Chinese Materia Medica: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Applications. Harwood Academic, 1998, p. 274.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica)
Eastern Han dynasty, compiled by about the 2nd centuryBei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang (Essential Formulas for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold), Sun Simiao
Tang dynasty, 652Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen
Ming dynasty, 1596Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Yaodian (Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China), 2020 edition
Modern, 2020References
- Moghadamtousi SZ, Kamarudin MN, Chan CK, Goh BH, Kadir HA. Phytochemistry and Biology of Loranthus parasiticus Merr, a Commonly Used Herbal Medicine . The American Journal of Chinese Medicine (2014) [DOI]
- Horneber M, van Ackeren G, Linde K, Rostock M. Mistletoe therapy in oncology . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2008) [DOI]
- Qin M, Huang Q, Yang X, Yu L, Tang Y, Zhang C, Qin D, Zou W, Deng J, Liu J, Hu H, Wang L, Wu A, Wu J. Taxillus chinensis (DC.) Danser: a comprehensive review on botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology . Chinese Medicine (2022) [DOI]
- Ru M, Su R, Guo M, Yin Z, Li W, Li P, Chai Z, Li Y. Host-Dependent Medicinal Quality of Taxilli Herba: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Profiles and Bioactivities . Biomolecules (2026) [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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