Shi Lian Zi
StarSinocrassula indica (Decne.) A.Berger
Synonyms: Sedum indicum Decne., Crassula indica (Decne.) Hamet
Also known as: Shih Lien Tzŭ · Wade–Giles
Safety at a glance
No rule in our tables for this herb: pregnancy, breastfeeding, incompatible pairs (十八反 / 十九畏), herb–drug, dose ceiling. This is not a safety clearance.
Not graded — No toxicity grade is recorded. Most herbs in the catalogue carry none.
Traditionally used for
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat
Traditional Chinese Uses
This record fixes Shi Lian Zi to Sinocrassula indica (Crassulaceae), Herba Sinocrassulae Indicae (石莲花) — one arm of a three-way 石莲子 homonym, distinct from aged lotus seed and from Salacia. A bitter, cold heat-clearing herb, it enters the Large Intestine, Bladder and Stomach channels and is used chiefly to clear Heat and resolve toxicity.
The whole succulent herb is applied to Heat and toxic-Heat patterns, including damp-heat dysentery and diarrhea, hot painful urinary dribbling (lin) reflecting its Bladder affinity, and Stomach Heat. Externally the fresh herb is pounded and applied to boils, sores, swellings and burns. It is generally decocted internally or used topically. Being bitter and cold, it is inappropriate for Spleen-Stomach deficiency-cold with loose stools.
Used In Formulas (1)
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Botanical Description
This Shi Lian Zi is the whole herb of Sinocrassula indica (Crassulaceae), a biennial succulent of rocky slopes and cliffs from the Himalaya to south-west China. In the first year it forms a dense basal rosette of fleshy, oblanceolate to spatulate leaves; the flowering stem then elongates to 15-60 cm and bears further reduced leaves and an elongate thyrse of small five-merous flowers with erect, fleshy, reddish to purplish petals and pointed anthers. The plant is glabrous and glaucous, storing water in its thick tissues. The whole succulent herb is used to clear heat, cool the blood, stop bleeding and resolve toxicity — for sore throat, dysentery, intestinal bleeding, hemoptysis, burns and traumatic wounds.
Rocky slopes, cliffs and dry grassy hillsides, roughly 1000-3800 m elevation.
Active Constituents
Sinocrassosides A1, A2, B1 and B2
Acylated flavonol glycosideFour acylated flavonol glycosides isolated from the methanolic extract of the whole plant alongside eleven other flavonoids and two megastigmanes. They are the compounds most closely associated with the hypoglycaemic activity of the crude extract in rodents, though none has been shown individually to lower blood glucose in vivo.
Sinocrassosides B4, B5, C1 and D1-D3
Acylated flavonol glycosideSix further flavonol glycosides from the whole plant. Constituents of this fraction inhibited aminopeptidase N and aldose reductase in enzyme assays, the latter being the polyol-pathway enzyme implicated in diabetic cataract and neuropathy.
Sinocrassosides A8-A12
Acylated flavonol glycosideFive acylated flavonol glycosides isolated during the work that showed the methanolic whole-plant extract protects primary cultured mouse hepatocytes against D-galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity.
Megastigmanes
C13 norisoprenoidTwo megastigmane derivatives accompany the flavonol glycosides in the whole-plant extract. No specific activity has been attributed to them in this species.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Shi Lian Zi as Semen Nelumbinis (aged lotus fruit, Nelumbo nucifera) - dispensing substitution
In standard Chinese materia medica the name Shi Lian Zi denotes the hardened mature fruit of Nelumbo nucifera (lotus), used for chronic dysentery and for restoring appetite, whereas Sinocrassula indica is the succulent Shi Lian of the Crassulaceae. The two share the name but belong to unrelated families and have unrelated actions. The record in front of you is grounded on the binomial Sinocrassula indica; nothing in the lotus literature applies to it.
Clinical note: Verify by binomial on the supplier certificate before dispensing anything labelled Shi Lian Zi. If the intent was the lotus drug for chronic diarrhoea, this species is not a substitute.
Insulin, sulfonylureas and other glucose-lowering drugs
The methanolic whole-plant extract suppressed the rise in serum glucose after oral sucrose and glucose loading in rats at 250 mg/kg, and lowered glucose in genetically diabetic KK-Ay mice over two weeks at the same daily dose. The rat effect disappeared when glucose was given intraperitoneally and the extract partly delayed gastric emptying, so the mechanism looks largely luminal rather than systemic. No human data exist and no dose equivalence to a clinical decoction has been established.
Clinical note: If a diabetic patient uses this herb, monitor capillary glucose during the first weeks rather than assuming no effect.
Aldose reductase inhibitors (e.g. epalrestat)
Several constituents of the whole-plant extract inhibited aldose reductase in a cell-free assay. Whether these flavonol glycosides reach the lens or peripheral nerve after oral dosing has never been examined, so the finding is a chemical observation and not a demonstrated pharmacological effect.
Clinical note: No action needed; record the concurrent use rather than adjusting therapy on the basis of an in vitro result.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Shi Lian Zi. Not a prescription.
Evidence Tier
3 studies on recordRecorded 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
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXIV. Hypoglycemic Effects of Sinocrassula indica in Sugar-Loaded Rats and Genetically Diabetic KK-Ay Mice and Structures of New Acylated Flavonol Glycosides, Sinocrassosides A1, A2, B1, and B2
- Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXXII. Aminopeptidase N and Aldose Reductase Inhibitors from Sinocrassula indica: Structures of Sinocrassosides B4, B5, C1, and D1-D3
- Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXXI. Hepatoprotective Principles from Sinocrassula indica: Structures of Sinocrassosides A8, A9, A10, A11, and A12
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
Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXIV. Hypoglycemic Effects of Sinocrassula indica in Sugar-Loaded Rats and Genetically Diabetic KK-Ay Mice and Structures of New Acylated Flavonol Glycosides, Sinocrassosides A1, A2, B1, and B2
The methanolic whole-plant extract of Sinocrassula indica at 250 mg/kg orally blunted the rise in serum glucose after oral sucrose or glucose in rats, but had no effect when glucose was given intraperitoneally, and it partly inhibited gastric emptying, pointing to a luminal mechanism. Given at 250 mg/kg/day for two weeks to genetically type II diabetic KK-Ay mice it significantly reduced serum glucose without changing body, liver or visceral fat weight. Four new acylated flavonol glycosides, sinocrassosides A1, A2, B1 and B2, were isolated together with eleven flavonoids and two megastigmanes.
Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXXII. Aminopeptidase N and Aldose Reductase Inhibitors from Sinocrassula indica: Structures of Sinocrassosides B4, B5, C1, and D1-D3
Six new flavonol glycosides, sinocrassosides B4, B5, C1 and D1 to D3, were isolated from the methanolic whole-plant extract along with thirty known compounds. Several constituents inhibited aminopeptidase N and aldose reductase in enzyme assays. The work is chemical and cell-free; no animal or human confirmation of these enzyme effects has followed.
Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXXI. Hepatoprotective Principles from Sinocrassula indica: Structures of Sinocrassosides A8, A9, A10, A11, and A12
The methanolic extract of the whole plant protected primary cultured mouse hepatocytes against D-galactosamine-induced cytotoxicity, and five new acylated flavonol glycosides, sinocrassosides A8 to A12, were characterised from it together with twenty-five other compounds. The hepatoprotection is a cultured-hepatocyte result and has not been reproduced in a whole animal or in patients.
References
- Masayuki Yoshikawa; Tao Wang; Toshio Morikawa; Haihui Xie; Hisashi Matsuda. Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXIV. Hypoglycemic Effects of Sinocrassula indica in Sugar-Loaded Rats and Genetically Diabetic KK-Ay Mice and Structures of New Acylated Flavonol Glycosides, Sinocrassosides A1, A2, B1, and B2 . Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (2007) [DOI]
- Toshio Morikawa; Haihui Xie; Tao Wang; Hisashi Matsuda; Masayuki Yoshikawa. Bioactive Constituents from Chinese Natural Medicines. XXXII. Aminopeptidase N and Aldose Reductase Inhibitors from Sinocrassula indica: Structures of Sinocrassosides B4, B5, C1, and D1-D3 . Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (2008) [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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