Di Yu
StarSanguisorba officinalis
Synonyms: Sanguisorba bracteosa, Sanguisorba officinalis f. latifoliata, Sanguisorba hispanica, Sanguisorba officinalis var. sabauda, Sanguisorba officinalis f. pilosella, Sanguisorba officinalis var. serpentini, Poterium boreale, Sanguisorba carnea, Sanguisorba glandulosa, Poterium officinale f. montanum, Sanguisorba major, Poterium officinale f. sabaudum, Sanguisorba auriculata, Sanguisorba konradii, Sanguisorba minor var. altissima, Sanguisorba officinalis f. pallescens, Pimpinella officinalis, Poterium officinale, Sanguisorba officinalis f. dilutiflora, Sanguisorba officinalis subsp. microcephala, Sanguisorba officinalis var. glandulosa, Sanguisorba officinalis var. pubescens, Sanguisorba officinalis f. serpentini, Sanguisorba serpentini, Sanguisorba officinalis var. carnea, Sanguisorba officinalis var. cordifolia, Sanguisorba officinalis var. dilutiflora, Sanguisorba neglecta, Sanguisorba komaroviana, Sanguisorba longa, Sanguisorba nudicaulis, Sanguisorba serotina, Sanguisorba cylindrica, Sanguisorba montana, Sanguisorba altissima, Sanguisorba longa f. dilutiflora, Sanguisorba media, Sanguisorba officinalis var. montana, Sanguisorba officinalis var. pilosella, Sanguisorba rubra, Sanguisorba officinalis var. serotina, Sanguisorba sabauda, Sanguisorba officinalis f. cordifolia, Sanguisorba officinalis f. hispanica, Sanguisorba officinalis var. altissima, Sanguisorba minor var. sabauda, Sanguisorba officinalis f. albarracinensis, Sanguisorba officinalis var. alba, Sanguisorba officinalis var. auriculata, Sanguisorba cordifolia var. minor, Sanguisorba cordifolia, Sanguisorba officinalis var. typica, Sanguisorba cernua, Sanguisorba baicalensis, Sanguisorba officinalis var. globularis, Sanguisorba unsanensis, Sanguisorba officinalis var. microcephala, Sanguisorba taurica, Sanguisorba officinalis subsp. glandulosa, Sanguisorba officinalis var. longa, Sanguisorba globularis, Sanguisorba cordifolia f. simplex, Sanguisorba officinalis var. hispanica, Sanguisorba menziesii, Sanguisorba officinalis var. polygama, Sanguisorba officinalis subsp. polygama, Sanguisorba canadensis var. media, Sanguisorba officinalis cordata, Sanguisorba officinalis var. latifoliata, Sanguisorba andersonii, Sanguisorba microcephala, Sanguisorba praecox, Sanguisorba officinalis f. nana, Sanguisorba officinalis f. macrophylla, Sanguisorba officinalis var. nana, Sanguisorba officinalis f. auriculata, Sanguisorba officinalis f. albiflora, Sanguisorba cordifolia var. major, Sanguisorba officinalis f. microcephala, Sanguisorba cordifolia f. ramosa, Sanguisorba officinalis subsp. montana
Traditionally used for
- Bowel health
- Menstrual & women's health
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Liver conditions
☯ TCM Properties
Cools the Blood and stops bleeding; Clears Toxic Heat, astringes fluids and generates flesh (topical use for sores, ulcers and burns)
Traditional Chinese Uses
Di Yu (sanguisorba root) is a cool, astringent herb used in Chinese medicine primarily to cool the Blood and stop bleeding, with particular effectiveness for bleeding from the lower body — including rectal bleeding, hemorrhoidal bleeding, bloody dysentery, and heavy or irregular uterine bleeding from Blood Heat. Its astringent property also reduces seeping wounds and ulcers when applied topically, and it is an important ingredient in preparations for burns and scalds, which it addresses by cooling heat and preventing further tissue damage.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Gallery
Botanical Description
Sanguisorba officinalis is a perennial herb in the rose family (Rosaceae), growing 40-120 cm tall from a stout rhizome. Leaves are pinnately compound with 7-25 oval to elliptic toothed leaflets 2-6 cm long, dark green above and pale below. Stems are erect and branched. The characteristic inflorescence is a dense, oblong to cylindrical spike 1-4 cm long bearing tiny dark red to maroon flowers at the apex only (opening from top to bottom). The root is thick, woody, and reddish-brown.
Meadows, grasslands, forest margins, and roadsides; native to temperate Eurasia from Europe to East Asia, and found in northern North America.
Sanguisorba officinalis is widespread across temperate Eurasia and is common in its native habitat. It is cultivated ornamentally in gardens worldwide. No significant conservation concerns though some localized populations may be affected by habitat changes.
Active Constituents
Ziyuglycoside I
Ursane-type triterpenoid saponinConcentration: the marker saponin of the root; part of a saponin fraction generally reported in the low single-figure percent range
The compound used as the identity and quality marker for Sanguisorbae Radix. In a hemostasis-guided fractionation of the root it showed the strongest haemostatic activity of seven isolated terpene glycosides, acting on the alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor axis. It also promotes survival of bone marrow nuclear cells through FAK and Erk1/2 activation, which is the mechanistic basis for the herb's use against chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced leukopenia.
Ziyuglycoside II
Ursane-type triterpenoid saponinConcentration: a co-occurring major saponin of the root
The second characteristic saponin. It inhibits apoptosis of haematopoietic TF-1 cells caused by cytokine deprivation and, like ziyuglycoside I, downregulates cytokines suppressive to haematopoiesis. Separately it has documented antiangiogenic activity in endothelial models, which is the strand behind the herb's antitumour research literature.
Hydrolysable tannins (gallotannins and ellagitannins, including sanguiin H-6 and methyl glucoside gallates)
Hydrolysable tanninConcentration: the dominant constituent group of the root by mass; secondary sources commonly quote figures around 17 percent, but published primary determinations vary widely with origin and season
The astringent fraction. Tannins precipitate surface proteins, which is the pharmacological basis for the classical topical use on burns, weeping sores and ulcers and for the local haemostatic effect. The same protein-binding behaviour is the source of the herb's absorption interactions, and the reason large-surface topical use is cautioned against.
Caffeic acid and ferulic acid
Hydroxycinnamic (phenolic) acidPhenolic acids identified as haemostatic components of the root. They bind Sudlow site I of human serum albumin, altering its conformation, and act synergistically when combined, which the 2024 Heliyon study proposes as one molecular route to the drug's systemic haemostatic effect.
Sanguisorba officinalis polysaccharides
Polysaccharide (arabinogalactan and pectic types)Composed mainly of glucose, galacturonic acid, arabinose and galactose, with 1,4-linked alpha-glucose and galacturonic acid backbones and highly branched arabinogalactan; some fractions adopt a triple-helix conformation. Anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, haemostatic and immune-regulatory activities have been reported, though almost all of the evidence is in vitro.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Oral iron salts (ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate)
Hydrolysable tannins are the dominant constituent class of Sanguisorbae Radix, and tannin-iron chelation in the gut lumen is a well-established mechanism of reduced non-haem iron bioavailability. The interaction has not been quantified for this particular herb, but the constituent class and the mechanism are not in doubt. The clinical setting makes it likely to be met, since Di Yu is prescribed for haemorrhagic conditions in exactly the patients who are also being iron-repleted.
Clinical note: Separate the decoction from oral iron by at least two hours. If haemoglobin fails to rise as expected on iron replacement in a patient taking Di Yu, consider the herb before escalating the iron dose.
Alkaloid drugs and protein or peptide preparations taken orally
Hydrolysable tannins precipitate alkaloids and proteins from solution. Any orally administered alkaloid drug, digestive enzyme preparation or protein-based supplement taken in the same dose window as a tannin-rich decoction can be partly precipitated in the gut lumen before absorption. This is a general tannin property rather than a Sanguisorba-specific measured interaction.
Clinical note: Space Di Yu at least two hours from oral alkaloid drugs and enzyme or protein preparations.
Hepatotoxic drugs, in the setting of topical application to extensive burns
Tannic acid dressings were standard burn care in the 1930s and were abandoned after repeated reports of centrilobular liver necrosis in extensively burned patients, documented in JAMA in 1942, in the Medical Journal of Australia in 1942 and 1944 and in the Lancet in 1943; absorption through denuded skin, not the intact-skin route, was the problem. Sanguisorbae Radix is a tannin-dominant drug used topically on burns in Chinese practice, and the standard Chinese materia medica caution is against applying it over large burned areas for precisely this reason. The tannic-acid evidence is historical and established; its transfer to Di Yu preparations is inference from shared chemistry, not from a Di Yu case series.
Clinical note: Do not use Di Yu preparations topically over large areas of full-thickness or extensive burn. Confine topical use to limited areas of intact-margin wounds, and avoid it altogether alongside paracetamol at maximal doses, methotrexate, isoniazid or other hepatotoxic therapy in a burned patient.
Myelosuppressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy
This is a deliberate, favourable interaction rather than a hazard. Total saponins from Sanguisorba officinalis protect bone marrow nuclear cells and TF-1 cells from apoptosis through FAK and Erk1/2 activation and suppress haematopoiesis-inhibiting cytokines, and the Diyushengbai tablet, a Sanguisorba officinalis preparation, has been trialled extensively in radiotherapy- and chemotherapy-induced leukopenia. The one caution worth stating is that a herb with documented antiangiogenic constituents is being given during cancer treatment, and its effect on antiangiogenic anticancer drugs has not been studied.
Clinical note: Where a patient is already on Diyushengbai or a Di Yu decoction, do not assume it is inert: white cell counts may be supported and G-CSF need reduced. Flag concurrent use to the treating oncologist rather than adding it silently.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 9–15 g | daily | — | adult | 中国药典 2020年版 一部 【地榆】【用法与用量】9～15g。外用适量，研末涂敷患处。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, Vol. I. Charred (Di Yu Tan) to enhance hemostasis; powder applied topically for burns and sores. |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
Together they cool the blood and stop bleeding with a particular focus on the lower burner and Large Intestine.
Bleeding hemorrhoids, bloody stools and bloody dysentery from damp-heat or heat in the blood.
Named pairing — Lü Jingshan, Shi Jinmo Dui Yao
Together they clear Large Intestine heat and cool the blood to stop bleeding from the lower bowel.
Hemorrhoidal bleeding and bloody stools from intestinal wind and damp-heat.
Core pair of a classical formula — Huai Jiao Wan, Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang
Evidence Tier
Strong evidence · 5 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
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
4
0 verified · 4 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Terpene Glycosides from the Roots of Sanguisorba officinalis L. and Their Hemostatic Activities
- Saponins from Sanguisorba officinalis Improve Hematopoiesis by Promoting Survival through FAK and Erk1/2 Activation and Modulating Cytokine Production in Bone Marrow
- The hemostatic molecular mechanism of Sanguisorbae Radix's pharmacological active components based on HSA: Spectroscopic investigations, molecular docking and dynamics simulation
- Antiangiogenic Effects of Ziyuglycoside II, a Major Active Compound of Sanguisorba officinalis L.
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
The Efficacy and Safety of Diyushengbai Tablet on Preventing and Treating Leukopenia Caused by Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Against Tumor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Forty-one reports covering 3,793 cases were pooled. Diyushengbai tablet, a Sanguisorba officinalis preparation, reduced the overall incidence of leucocyte suppression both when used preventively (RR 0.74, 95 percent CI 0.59 to 0.92) and therapeutically (RR 0.61, 95 percent CI 0.38 to 0.95), and raised white cell counts (MD 1.12 and 1.20 respectively) compared with other oral white-cell-raising drugs such as leucogen and batilol tablets. Adding it also reduced the amount of G-CSF required. The included trials were overwhelmingly Chinese-language with variable risk of bias, so the effect size should be read as indicative rather than precise.
Terpene Glycosides from the Roots of Sanguisorba officinalis L. and Their Hemostatic Activities
Guided by a haemostasis bioassay, seven terpene glycosides were isolated from the root, including three monoterpene glycosides and four triterpene glycosides. Assayed against alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor, ziyuglycoside I showed the strongest haemostatic activity of the seven, the first report identifying it as a principal haemostatic constituent. This is the chemical anchor for the traditional cool-the-blood-and-stop-bleeding use.
Saponins from Sanguisorba officinalis Improve Hematopoiesis by Promoting Survival through FAK and Erk1/2 Activation and Modulating Cytokine Production in Bone Marrow
Total saponins from Sanguisorba officinalis improved haematopoiesis in mice made myelosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and with cobalt-60 gamma irradiation. In vitro, the total saponins and their characteristic constituents ziyuglycoside I and ziyuglycoside II inhibited apoptosis of TF-1 cells under cytokine deprivation and promoted survival of mouse bone marrow nuclear cells through FAK and Erk1/2 activation, while downregulating cytokines suppressive to haematopoiesis. This supplies the mechanism for the clinical leukopenia use.
The hemostatic molecular mechanism of Sanguisorbae Radix's pharmacological active components based on HSA: Spectroscopic investigations, molecular docking and dynamics simulation
Human serum albumin was identified by network pharmacology as a haemostatic target of the phenolic acids of Sanguisorbae Radix. SDS-PAGE and multi-spectroscopy showed caffeic acid and ferulic acid bind Sudlow site I on albumin and alter its conformation and migration velocity, with a synergistic effect when the two are mixed 1:1. Quantum chemistry, docking and molecular dynamics indicated stable binding whose efficiency tracks the hydrophobicity of the C3 side-chain substituent.
Antiangiogenic Effects of Ziyuglycoside II, a Major Active Compound of Sanguisorba officinalis L.
Ziyuglycoside II inhibited endothelial cell proliferation, migration and capillary-like tube formation, demonstrating antiangiogenic activity for one of the two characteristic saponins of the root. This is relevant when the herb is used alongside anticancer therapy, and is a reason not to assume the herb is pharmacologically inert in that setting.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynasty, compiled by the 2nd centuryMing Yi Bie Lu
Han to Six Dynasties, c. 3rd-5th centuryBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1578References
- Jang Eungyeong, Inn Kyung-Soo, Jang Young Pyo, Lee Kyung-Tae, Lee Jang-Hoon. Phytotherapeutic Activities of Sanguisorba officinalis and its Chemical Constituents: A Review . The American Journal of Chinese Medicine (2018) [DOI]
- Mimaki Yoshihiro, Fukushima Masato, Yokosuka Akihito, Sashida Yutaka, Furuya Shigenori, Sakagami Hiroshi. Triterpene glycosides from the roots of Sanguisorba officinalis . Phytochemistry (2001) [DOI]
- TANAKA TAKASHI, NONAKA GENICHIRO, NISHIOKA ITSUO. Tannins and related compounds. XVI. Isolation and characterization of six methyl glucoside gallates and a gallic acid glucoside gallate from Sanguisorba officinalis L. . Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (1984) [DOI]
- Bailly Christian. Chemical and pharmacological interest of ziyuglycosides I-II: two triterpenoid saponins from Sanguisorba officinalis . Fitoterapia (2026) [DOI]
- Wang Long, Li Hong, Shen Xin, Zeng Jing, Yue Liang, Lin Jing, Yang Jing, Zou Wenjun, Li Yan, Qin Dalian, Wu Anguo, Wu Jianming. Elucidation of the molecular mechanism of Sanguisorba Officinalis L. against leukopenia based on network pharmacology . Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (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.
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