Traditionally used for
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Skin
☯ TCM Properties
Dispels Heat and relieves toxicity; Dispels extravasated Blood and relieves pain
Traditional Chinese Uses
Shui Yang Mei is derived from Adina rubella (Rubiaceae), a riverside shrub used in southern Chinese folk medicine (root and aerial parts, Herba/Radix Adinae). Bitter and cool, entering the Lung and Large Intestine channels, it dispels Heat and relieves toxicity, and disperses extravasated Blood to relieve pain. Its main use is for Damp-Heat and toxic-Heat disorders of the intestines, notably diarrhea and dysentery with abdominal pain, as well as sore, swollen throat, feverish colds, and hot painful sores and swellings.
Its astringent, anti-inflammatory quality also lends it to traumatic injury and bleeding, taken in decoction or applied externally. As a regional folk medicinal its indications rest largely on traditional practice, so it is best used with qualified guidance.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
Full-screen graph →Click a node for details · double-click to expand it · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll or two fingers to zoom and pan.
Botanical Description
Shui Yang Mei is most commonly attributed in southern Chinese folk medicine to Adina rubella (Rubiaceae), a deciduous riverside shrub 1–3 m tall with slender, often arching branches. Leaves are opposite, lanceolate to elliptic, 2–6 cm long, with entire margins and short petioles, bearing small interpetiolar stipules. The inflorescence is a distinctive globose head 1–1.5 cm in diameter, composed of numerous small tubular five-lobed pinkish-red flowers with conspicuously exserted styles giving a pincushion appearance. The plant grows along streambanks throughout the Yangtze basin. (Note: in some northern districts the same name is applied to Geum aleppicum in the Rosaceae; identification should be confirmed locally.)
Active Constituents
Quinovic acid glycosides
Ursane-type triterpenoid glycosideA series of quinovic acid glycosides, together with free quinovic acid and 3-oxo-urs-12-ene-27,28-dioic acid, were isolated from the roots of Adina rubella. Quinovic acid glycosides are the characteristic triterpene class of the Rubiaceae and are the compounds usually invoked to explain the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of crude extracts of this genus, although no target has been confirmed for the Adina rubella compounds themselves.
Cincholic acid 3beta-O-beta-D-fucopyranoside
27-nor-triterpenoid glycosideOne of several 27-nor-triterpenoid (cincholic and pyrocincholic acid) glycosides reported from Adina rubella roots. These are structurally distinctive markers of the species rather than compounds with an established pharmacology.
Chlorogenic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acid ester (caffeoylquinic acid)A major phenolic of the leaves. In the isolated-compound assay it scavenged DPPH radicals with an IC50 of about 40 uM and, with methyl chlorogenate and grandifloroside, raised testosterone relative to the finasteride control, indicating 5-alpha-reductase inhibition in vitro.
Methyl chlorogenate
Hydroxycinnamic acid ester (caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester)The most active antioxidant of the seven leaf phenolics tested, with a DPPH IC50 of roughly 24 uM, and one of the three compounds showing 5-alpha-reductase inhibition in vitro.
Grandifloroside
Caffeoyl iridoid glycosideAn iridoid glycoside bearing a caffeoyl ester, isolated from the leaves. It scavenged DPPH with an IC50 near 27 uM and produced the most pronounced 5-alpha-reductase inhibitory effect of the phenolics tested in that study.
Caffeic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acidA simple phenolic acid of the leaves, DPPH IC50 approximately 34 uM. It contributes to the antioxidant capacity of leaf extracts but did not show 5-alpha-reductase inhibition in the same assay.
Hyperoside
Flavonol glycoside (quercetin 3-O-galactoside)Present in the leaves. It was the least active antioxidant of the isolated leaf phenolics, with a DPPH IC50 above 100 uM.
Rutin
Flavonol glycoside (quercetin-3-rutinoside)A leaf flavonol glycoside with moderate radical-scavenging activity (DPPH IC50 about 30 uM). Alongside kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside it makes up much of the flavonoid fraction of the aerial parts.
beta-Sitosterol
PhytosterolA ubiquitous plant sterol recorded among the root constituents of Adina rubella. It is not considered to account for any specific activity of the drug.
⚠ Drug Interactions
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (finasteride, dutasteride)
Chlorogenic acid, methyl chlorogenate and grandifloroside isolated from Adina rubella leaves inhibited 5-alpha-reductase in vitro, raising testosterone relative to the finasteride positive control. This is an isolated-compound, cell-free result obtained with the leaf, not the whole crude drug, and no pharmacokinetic or clinical study has been done. Additivity in a patient is speculation, not observation.
Clinical note: No action is required, but if a patient on finasteride or dutasteride is taking Adina rubella preparations, treat any unexplained change in androgen-dependent symptoms as worth investigating rather than assuming the drug alone is responsible.
Any concurrent medication (general caution: no human safety data)
The published pharmacology of Adina rubella consists entirely of phytochemical isolations and in vitro assays. There is no clinical pharmacokinetic work, no cytochrome P450 or transporter data, and no case report of an interaction. The absence of reported interactions here reflects the absence of study, not evidence of safety.
Clinical note: Do not treat this herb as interaction-free. Where a patient is on a narrow-therapeutic-index drug, prefer better-characterised heat-clearing herbs.
Evidence Tier
Limited evidence · 2 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
1 verified · 1 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
Inhibitory Activities of Phenolic Compounds Isolated from Adina rubella Leaves Against 5α-Reductase Associated with Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy
Chromatographic separation of an 80 percent acetone extract of Adina rubella leaves yielded seven phenolics: caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, methyl chlorogenate, quercetin-3-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, hyperoside and grandifloroside. Methyl chlorogenate was the strongest DPPH scavenger (IC50 about 24 uM) and hyperoside the weakest (IC50 above 100 uM). Chlorogenic acid, methyl chlorogenate and grandifloroside significantly raised testosterone compared with the finasteride positive control, indicating 5-alpha-reductase inhibition. This is a leaf study; the medicinal drug Herba Adinae is the aerial part and the phytochemically best-characterised organ of the species is the root.
Antibacterial activities of Adina rubella extract enhanced by fermentation and its application in packaging films
Yeast-dominated fermentation for nine days increased the antibacterial activity of an Adina rubella extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration against Listeria monocytogenes was 3.125 mg/mL. The extract disrupted the cell wall, increased membrane permeability, caused nucleic acid leakage and altered reactive oxygen species levels, killing the organism. Films containing the extract were then made and tested on pork. This is a food-packaging study, not a therapeutic one, but it is the most quantitative antibacterial data available for the species and gives some support to the traditional use for dysentery and enteritis.
References
- Shi-Yue Fang. Triterpenoid glycosides from Adina rubella . Phytochemistry (1995) [DOI]
- Gao-Jun Fan; Zhi-Sheng He. Triterpenoid glycosides from Adina rubella . Phytochemistry (1997) [DOI]
- Yi-bing Zhang; Sheng-feng Wang; Wenyi Kang. Chemical Constituents of Adina rubella . Chemistry of Natural Compounds (2016) [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.
📝 Notes
Public notes from the community and your own private notes on Shui Yang Mei.
No notes yet.