Shi Da Gong Lao Gen
StarMahonia bealei (Fortune) Carrière
Traditionally used for
- Eye health
- Nose & throat
- Teeth & mouth
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Skin
- Liver & jaundice
Cautions & contraindications
- Breastfeeding
- Young children
- Kidney conditions
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat, purges Fire and dries Dampness
Traditional Chinese Uses
Shi Da Gong Lao Gen, the root and root bark of Mahonia bealei (Radix Mahoniae), is intensely bitter and cold, entering the liver, stomach, spleen and large intestine channels. Rich in berberine and related alkaloids, it clears heat, purges fire and dries dampness. It is used above all for damp-heat in the intestines presenting as dysentery and diarrhea, and for damp-heat jaundice. Its fire-draining action addresses febrile conditions, sore and swollen throat, red painful eyes, and toothache and gum inflammation from stomach heat, while its heat-clearing, drying and antimicrobial qualities suit damp-heat skin disorders such as eczema. It may be decocted internally or applied externally, and like other bitter-cold, berberine-bearing herbs it is contraindicated in spleen-stomach deficiency cold.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Shi Da Gong Lao Gen (十大功劳根) is the dried root and root bark of Mahonia bealei (Fortune) Carrière and Mahonia fortunei (Lindl.) Fedde, evergreen shrubs in the Berberidaceae native to central and southern China. These shrubs reach 1–4 m tall and bear stout, pithy stems and large pinnately compound leaves of 5–19 stiff, spiny-toothed, holly-like leaflets that are glaucous beneath in M. bealei. Erect terminal racemes of fragrant yellow flowers appear in autumn or winter, followed by clusters of glaucous blue-black berries. The wood and inner bark of roots and lower stems are bright yellow from high concentrations of berberine and related isoquinoline alkaloids; the dried root is used as a bitter anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agent comparable in actions to Huang Lian.
Active Constituents
Berberine
Protoberberine (quaternary isoquinoline) alkaloidConcentration: the principal alkaloid of the root; reported up to about 1.4% in Mahonia material used in Chinese medicine, and the combined palmatine plus berberine content of roots and stems of five Mahonia species was well above 0.8%
The compound that carries most of the pharmacology and nearly all of the interaction risk of this drug. The important point for this record is where it sits in the plant: alkaloid content in Mahonia bealei leaves is lower than in the stems and roots, which is the stated reason only the roots and stems were taken as medicine, so the root delivers substantially more berberine per gram than the leaf drug from the same plant. On the reported upper content, a 10 g root decoction would carry on the order of 100 mg of berberine, which is the same order as the doses used in the human pharmacokinetic studies that found interactions.
Jatrorrhizine
Protoberberine alkaloidConcentration: reported up to about 0.78% in Mahonia species used in Chinese medicine
One of the three quaternary alkaloids routinely assayed together with berberine and palmatine when Mahonia material is quantified. It is concentrated in the underground parts and, in the comparison across Mahonia species, roots and stems carried more of it than other tissues.
Palmatine
Protoberberine alkaloidConcentration: reported up to about 0.67% in Mahonia species used in Chinese medicine
The third of the assayed quaternary alkaloids. Palmatine isolated from Mahonia bealei reduced intestinal tumour burden in ApcMin/+ mice with suppression of inflammatory cytokines, which is animal work only. Like berberine it is a quaternary cation with poor oral bioavailability.
Magnoflorine
Aporphine alkaloidReported from the underground parts of Mahonia species. In the comparison within Mahonia aquifolium, magnoflorine was found in the roots along with berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine and columbamine, while the aerial stems carried only the three protoberberines. It is therefore one of the constituents that distinguishes root material from stem or leaf material.
Columbamine
Protoberberine alkaloidA minor protoberberine reported from Mahonia underground parts alongside berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine and magnoflorine. It contributes to the total quaternary alkaloid load of a root decoction without being separately assayed in most quality specifications.
(+)-Isotetrandrine
Bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloidThe constituent that makes the root chemically distinct from the leaf rather than simply stronger. The anti-influenza fraction of Mahonia bealei was traced to the roots, the root alkaloid fraction was more active than that of the leaves, and the active compound was determined by MS, NMR, FT-IR and HPLC to be the bisbenzylisoquinoline 1R,1'S-(+)-isotetrandrine. Bisbenzylisoquinolines are a structurally and pharmacologically different class from the protoberberines and are not covered by a berberine assay.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Ciclosporin, and by extension tacrolimus and other calcineurin inhibitors
In renal transplant recipients, berberine given alongside ciclosporin A raised ciclosporin trough concentrations and systemic exposure in a clinical and pharmacokinetic study. What makes this the leading concern for the root specifically rather than for the leaf drug is dose: the root is the alkaloid-rich part of Mahonia bealei, and on the reported alkaloid contents a routine root decoction delivers berberine on the same order as the doses used in that study, whereas the leaf carries markedly less. The corresponding risk applies in reverse when a patient stops the herb, since exposure will fall.
Clinical note: Do not give this root to a transplant recipient on ciclosporin or tacrolimus outside a setting where drug levels are monitored. If a patient is already taking it, do not stop it abruptly without arranging a level check.
CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9 substrates (midazolam, simvastatin, calcium-channel blockers, metoprolol, dextromethorphan, warfarin, phenytoin)
Repeated berberine dosing in healthy human volunteers inhibited CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9 activity, measured with probe substrates. This is human in vivo evidence, not a microsome inference. Its relevance to this record follows from the alkaloid distribution in the plant: the root of Mahonia bealei is the part in which berberine is concentrated, so the root drug is the form of this plant most likely to reproduce those exposures. Palmatine and jatrorrhizine add to the quaternary alkaloid load and are not accounted for by berberine assays.
Clinical note: Review the patient's full drug list before prescribing root decoctions at 10 g or above, particularly for statins, calcium-channel blockers, warfarin and antiarrhythmics. This is the interaction most likely to be missed because the herb is thought of as a mild heat-clearing agent.
Use in neonates, in jaundiced infants and near term in pregnancy
Berberine displaces bilirubin from its albumin binding sites, raising free bilirubin. In a neonate, and particularly in a neonate already jaundiced or premature, free bilirubin crosses the blood-brain barrier and can cause kernicterus. Because this root is the berberine-rich part of the plant, the margin here is narrower than for the leaf drug. The same reasoning applies to a mother taking the herb close to delivery.
Clinical note: Absolute contraindication in neonates and jaundiced infants, and avoid in the third trimester and during breastfeeding of a jaundiced infant. This does not depend on the size of the dose being large.
Mahonia fortunei root and stem, Gong Lao Mu (Caulis Mahoniae) and Berberis species traded under the same names
The name Shi Da Gong Lao covers at least two species, Mahonia bealei (the broad-leaved species, and the one named on this record) and Mahonia fortunei (the narrow-leaved species), and the plants are now often placed in Berberis. More importantly, three different drugs come off Mahonia bealei and are dispensed separately: Gong Lao Mu (Caulis Mahoniae), the stem, which is the drug carried in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and is sourced from both species; Shi Da Gong Lao Gen (Radix Mahoniae Bealei), the root, which is this record and is a folk drug outside the Pharmacopoeia; and Shi Da Gong Lao Ye (Folium Mahoniae Bealei), the leaf. Mahonia root is also used regionally as a local substitute for Huang Lian (Coptis chinensis) under the name Tu Huang Lian, a role that Berberis julianae also fills. Alkaloid content differs by species, by part and by growing conditions, so material supplied against any of these names is not interchangeable on a gram-for-gram basis.
Clinical note: Specify species and plant part when ordering, and be aware that a supplier sending Gong Lao Mu against an order for Shi Da Gong Lao Gen is sending the stem, which is the officially recognised drug but not the one prescribed. Where the prescription depends on the berberine dose, ask for an assay.
Shi Da Gong Lao Ye / Gong Lao Ye (Folium Mahoniae) dispensed against an order for the root
Leaf and root of Mahonia bealei are separate drugs with different indications and markedly different alkaloid loads. Alkaloid content in the leaves is lower than in the stems and roots, which is the reason only the dried roots and stems were officially taken as medicine in China, and the alkaloid fraction of the roots was also more active than that of the leaves against influenza virus in vitro. The two drugs also differ in classical action: the leaf is used to clear deficiency heat and nourish yin, resolve phlegm and stop cough, while the root is used to clear heat, drain fire and dry dampness. Substituting one for the other is both a dose error and an indication error.
Clinical note: Check that what arrives is root material, not leaf. If a patient on the leaf drug is switched to the root at the same weight, expect a substantially larger berberine exposure and review their other medicines before making the switch.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 4 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
2
2 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
2
0 verified · 2 unverified
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
Determination of the alkaloid content in different parts of some Mahonia plants by HPCE
Berberine, palmatine and jatrorrhizine were quantified in different parts of Mahonia plants by high-performance capillary electrophoresis, with brucine as internal standard and all three separated within five minutes. Recoveries were 96 to 103% and relative standard deviations under 1.6%. This is the source usually cited for the finding that combined palmatine and berberine content in the roots and stems of Mahonia species runs well above 0.8%, and it underpins the whole root-versus-leaf distinction that governs how this drug should be dosed.
Isolation and structure determination of anti-influenza component from Mahonia bealei
The anti-influenza fraction was obtained from the ROOTS of Mahonia bealei. Earlier in vitro work had attributed the activity to the alkaloids and principally to a single bisbenzylisoquinoline, and this paper determined that compound to be 1R,1'S-(+)-isotetrandrine by MS, proton and carbon NMR, FT-IR and HPLC. It is the clearest demonstration that the root of this species carries a pharmacologically distinct alkaloid class rather than simply more berberine than the aerial parts.
Effects of berberine on the blood concentration of cyclosporin A in renal transplanted recipients: clinical and pharmacokinetic study
Berberine given to renal transplant recipients on ciclosporin A raised ciclosporin blood concentrations and altered its pharmacokinetics. Cited here as the human evidence behind the calcineurin-inhibitor warning for this root: the study used purified berberine rather than a Mahonia root decoction, but the root is the berberine-concentrated part of Mahonia bealei and a routine decoction delivers berberine of a comparable order.
Repeated administration of berberine inhibits cytochromes P450 in humans
Healthy volunteers received repeated berberine dosing and cytochrome P450 activity was assessed with probe substrates. Berberine inhibited CYP3A4, CYP2D6 and CYP2C9. This is human in vivo data rather than a microsome extrapolation, and it is why the interaction grading for a berberine-rich root drug sits at Major rather than Theoretical. The study did not use Mahonia material, so the transfer rests on the alkaloid content of the root.
Historical Texts
Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao
Qing dynastyReferences
- He JM, Mu Q. The medicinal uses of the genus Mahonia in traditional Chinese medicine: An ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and pharmacological review . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2015) [DOI]
- Li Y, Kong D, Wu H. Comparison of the alkaloid content and essential oil composition of Mahonia species as measured by HPLC and GC–MS methods . Brazilian Journal of Botany (2018) [DOI]
- Chan E. Displacement of Bilirubin from Albumin by Berberine . Biology of the Neonate (1993) [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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