Traditionally used for
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Blood pressure
- Skin
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat cools the Blood and removes toxicity; Nourishes Yin , moistens the Lungs and promotes salivation
Traditional Chinese Uses
Shi Xian Tao (石仙桃), the pseudobulbs of the epiphytic orchid Pholidota chinensis, is a southern-Chinese folk medicinal that is bitter, slightly sour and cool. It clears Heat, cools the Blood and relieves toxicity, and it nourishes Yin, moistens the Lungs and promotes the production of body fluids, entering the Lung and Kidney channels.
Traditionally it is decocted for cough (including consumptive cough and tuberculosis), sore dry throat, and Lung Heat patterns, as well as for headache, dizziness and hypertension, summerheat, and childhood malnutrition (gan). Its cooling, detoxifying action is also applied to scrofula and to sores and swellings, used both internally and as a topical wash. It remains chiefly a regional folk remedy rather than a standard materia medica herb.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Shi Xian Tao (石仙桃), literally "stone immortal peach," is a regional Chinese folk-name applied in southern provinces most often to Pholidota chinensis Lindl. (Orchidaceae), an epiphytic orchid that grows on rocks and tree trunks producing chains of fleshy ovoid pseudobulbs reminiscent of small peaches, alongside short racemes of small white to cream flowers. The fresh or dried pseudobulbs and whole plant are used in folk medicine for cough, lung heat, and traumatic injury. Because the identification rests on regional usage rather than core pharmacopoeial assignment and other plants are occasionally given the same name, this record follows the unidentifiable null-pattern; reviewers should resolve the species against the original source before clinical use.
Active Constituents
Gastrodin
Phenolic glucoside (4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 4-O-beta-D-glucoside)Concentration: Highest in the pseudobulbs of the four tissues assayed (roots, rhizomes, pseudobulbs, leaves), which is consistent with the pseudobulb being the part used
Regarded as a main bioactive ingredient of this herb and the plausible basis of its traditional use for dizziness and headache, the same indication for which gastrodin is used from Gastrodia elata. Its full biosynthetic pathway in Pholidota chinensis has been mapped by combined transcriptome and metabolome profiling.
Lusianthridin
9,10-DihydrophenanthreneOne of the characteristic dihydrophenanthrenes of the pseudobulb. It inhibits butyrylcholinesterase with an IC50 of 10.49 microM, the most potent of the compounds tested in that assay.
Thunalbene
StilbeneA stilbenoid of the pseudobulb with butyrylcholinesterase inhibition at an IC50 of 11.01 microM, comparable to lusianthridin.
Coelonin
9,10-DihydrophenanthreneA dihydrophenanthrene isolated from the pseudobulb. Compounds of this skeleton account for the anti-inflammatory potency of the ethyl acetate fraction.
Phochinenins A to F
Dimeric 9,10-dihydrophenanthreneA set of dimeric dihydrophenanthrenes described from Pholidota chinensis and largely characteristic of it. Phochinenin I, a related monomer from the pseudobulb, reduces TNF-alpha and IL-6 in LPS/interferon-gamma stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and protects against oxidative stress in a zebrafish model.
Pholidotol A and Pholidotol B
DihydrostilbeneTwo dihydrostilbenes isolated from the ethyl acetate extract. They inhibit nitric oxide production in LPS and interferon-gamma activated RAW264.7 macrophages with IC50 values of 24.3 and 17.1 microM respectively.
1-(4'-Hydroxybenzyl)imbricatin
9,10-DihydrophenanthreneA rare dihydrophenanthrene from the pseudobulb that induces ferroptosis in colorectal cancer cells: it causes intracellular Fe2+ accumulation and lipid peroxidation, disrupts the GPx4 antioxidant system, binds the GPx4 catalytic pocket in thermal shift and docking studies, and reduces tumour burden in a zebrafish xenograft. It is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells over non-tumour intestinal cells.
Pholidotoside A to E
Bis(4-glycosyloxybenzyl) 2-isobutyltartrate glycosideFive previously undescribed glycosides from the pseudobulb, isolated together with the phenolic glycoside pholidotosin A. They are structurally related to the gastrodin-type benzyl glycosides that dominate this plant's phenolic chemistry.
Pholidota chinensis polysaccharide (PCLP)
Neutral heteropolysaccharide (glucomannan)A neutral heteropolysaccharide whose backbone is a linked glucose and mannose chain with a glucose end group. It protects intestinal epithelial barrier function and modulates gut microbiota in an inflammatory bowel disease model, which is a distinct mechanism from the small-molecule phenanthrenes.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, pyridostigmine, neostigmine)
Two bibenzyls, two stilbenes and two dihydrophenanthrenes from Pholidota chinensis inhibit butyrylcholinesterase, with thunalbene and lusianthridin the most potent at IC50 values of 11.01 and 10.49 microM. This is isolated-compound activity in an enzyme assay; there is no pharmacokinetic or clinical study, and the concentration reached in plasma after an ordinary decoction is unknown. The interaction is flagged because it is mechanistically plausible, not because it has been observed.
Clinical note: No action needed for most patients. If a patient on a cholinesterase inhibitor develops new cholinergic symptoms after starting the herb, consider it as a possible contributor.
Metformin, sulfonylureas and insulin
Pholidota chinensis pseudobulb is used in folk practice for diabetes and diabetic kidney disease, and in a rodent diabetic kidney disease model an extract restored mitochondrial dynamics and promoted mitophagy. No glucose-lowering effect has been demonstrated in humans and no interaction study exists, so this is precautionary only.
Clinical note: Ask diabetic patients to monitor capillary glucose for the first two weeks if the herb is taken daily.
Evidence Tier
Moderate 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
0
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
6
2 verified · 4 unverified
Show 6 studies
- A Pholidota chinensis-derived dihydrophenanthrene acts as a bioactive constituent to trigger GPx4-mediated ferroptosis in colorectal cancer
- Bis(4-glycosyloxybenzyl) 2-isobutyltartrate and dihydrophenanthrene derivatives from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis and their anti-inflammatory activity
- Dihydrophenanthropyrans derived from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis alleviates neutrophilic inflammation by inhibiting MAPKs and calcium
- Stilbene Derivatives from Pholidota chinensis and Their Anti-inflammatory Activity
- The gastrodin biosynthetic pathway in Pholidota chinensis Lindl. revealed by transcriptome and metabolome profiling
- Structural characterization of a neutral heteropolysaccharide from Pholidota chinensis Lindl. and its protective effects against intestinal inflammation via barrier enhancement and gut microbiota modulation
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
A Pholidota chinensis-derived dihydrophenanthrene acts as a bioactive constituent to trigger GPx4-mediated ferroptosis in colorectal cancer
Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the pseudobulbs showed the ethyl acetate fraction to be more active than the ethanol or water fractions, which matters because a traditional decoction is a water extract. The rare dihydrophenanthrene 1-(4'-hydroxybenzyl)imbricatin was identified as a ferroptosis inducer, selectively cytotoxic to human colorectal cancer cells over non-tumour intestinal cells, acting through Fe2+ accumulation, lipid peroxidation and disruption of GPx4, and reducing tumour burden in a zebrafish xenograft.
Bis(4-glycosyloxybenzyl) 2-isobutyltartrate and dihydrophenanthrene derivatives from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis and their anti-inflammatory activity
Six previously undescribed components (pholidotoside A to E and pholidotosin A) plus twenty known compounds were isolated from the pseudobulbs. In a human neutrophil model activated by fMLP with cytochalasin B, the dihydrophenanthrenes inhibited both superoxide anion generation and elastase release with IC50 values from 0.41 to 7.14 microM, a potency consistent with the traditional use of the drug for swelling and inflammatory pain.
Dihydrophenanthropyrans derived from the pseudobulbs of Pholidota chinensis alleviates neutrophilic inflammation by inhibiting MAPKs and calcium
Five dihydrophenanthropyrans were isolated from the pseudobulbs, one of them found in nature for the first time. They inhibited fMLF-induced superoxide anion generation and elastase release with IC50 values of 0.23 to 7.63 microM, scavenged reactive oxygen species dose-dependently, and acted through MAPK and calcium signalling in human neutrophils.
Stilbene Derivatives from Pholidota chinensis and Their Anti-inflammatory Activity
The ethyl acetate extract strongly inhibited nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages activated by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma. Fractionation yielded two new stilbene derivatives, pholidotol A and pholidotol B, together with six known stilbenes; the two new compounds inhibited nitric oxide production with IC50 values of 24.3 and 17.1 microM.
The gastrodin biosynthetic pathway in Pholidota chinensis Lindl. revealed by transcriptome and metabolome profiling
Combined transcriptome and metabolome profiling of roots, rhizomes, pseudobulbs and leaves identified 1156 metabolites and mapped 80 unigenes encoding the eight key enzymes of gastrodin biosynthesis. Gastrodin content was highest in the pseudobulbs, the part used medicinally, and the pseudobulbs make up nearly half the fresh weight of the plant. This is the evidence that gastrodin is a genuine constituent of this species rather than an assumption carried over from Gastrodia.
Structural characterization of a neutral heteropolysaccharide from Pholidota chinensis Lindl. and its protective effects against intestinal inflammation via barrier enhancement and gut microbiota modulation
The polysaccharide of Pholidota chinensis was characterised for the first time as a neutral heteropolysaccharide with a glucose-mannose backbone. It reduced inflammation in an LPS-stimulated IPEC-J2 intestinal epithelial model, improved barrier function and modulated gut microbiota, supporting the traditional gastrointestinal uses through a mechanism independent of the phenanthrenes.
Historical Texts
Sheng Cao Yao Xing Bei Yao
Qing dynasty, 1711Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu
Republican period, 1932Zhong Hua Ben Cao (Chinese Materia Medica)
Modern, People's Republic of China, 1999References
- Wang J, Liu R, Wu K, Xing J, Lei X, Li X. Pholidota chinensis (Lindl.): A comprehensive review on phytochemistry, pharmacology, traditional use and applications . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2026) [DOI]
- Dong X, Sun S, Shao Z, Wang H, Sun K, Li X, Wu Y, Wang W. Inhibition potential against butyrylcholinesterase of stilbenes, bibenzyls, and dihydrophenanthrenes from Pholidota chinensis . Medicinal Chemistry Research (2025) [DOI]
- Xia C, Chen H, Zhang J, Jiang W, Xue S, Zhao C, Zhou Q, Wang Y. Pholidota chinensis Lindl alleviates diabetic kidney disease by restoring mitochondrial dynamics and promoting mitophagy . Journal of Ethnopharmacology (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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