Suo Yang
StarCynomorium songaricum Rupr.
Traditionally used for
- Bowel health
- Fertility & vitality
- Pain & joints
- Energy & fatigue
☯ TCM Properties
Tonifies Kidney Yang; Nourishes Essence and Blood; Moistens the Intestines and Unblocks the Bowels; Strengthens the Sinews and Bones
Traditional Chinese Uses
Suo Yang (cynomorium) is a warm, sweet herb prized for its ability to strongly tonify Kidney Yang and essence, supplement the Blood, and moisten the Intestines. It is used for impotence, infertility, cold lower back and knees, and weak sinew and bone from Kidney Yang deficiency, as well as for constipation in the elderly due to dryness and insufficient Yang to move the bowels. It is considered a profound Yang tonic suitable for serious deficiency conditions.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Cynomorium songaricum is a holoparasitic perennial herb in the family Cynomoriaceae, native to arid sandy and saline habitats of Central Asia, Mongolia, northwestern China, and the steppe regions of Russia. Lacking chlorophyll and true leaves, the plant attaches by haustoria to the roots of host shrubs (commonly Nitraria) and produces only a thick, fleshy, dark red-brown subterranean stem 15–30 cm tall and 3–6 cm thick that emerges from the sand. The stem is covered with small triangular scale-leaves and terminates in a club-shaped spike of densely packed, tiny dark-purple flowers visited by flies. The whole fleshy stem (Suo Yang) is dug in spring or autumn, sliced, and sun-dried. In TCM it is sweet and warm, tonifying kidney-yang, boosting essence and blood, and moistening the intestines for constipation in the elderly.
Active Constituents
Ursolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpene acid (ursane type)Concentration: not quantified for the crude drug; it is the major component of the ursolic-acid-enriched fraction (HCY2) used in the published pharmacology, so the fraction studied is considerably richer in it than the herb as dispensed
The best-characterised single constituent of Suo Yang. An ursolic-acid-enriched extract protected rats against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity and gentamicin nephrotoxicity, and in H9c2 cardiomyocytes it induced mitochondrial uncoupling and enhanced glutathione redox cycling through mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, protecting against menadione. Ursolic acid is common to many plants, so these effects are not specific to Cynomorium and cannot be used to authenticate the drug.
Oleanolic acid and the malonyl hemiesters of ursolic and oleanolic acid
Pentacyclic triterpene acids and their malonyl estersConcentration: not quantified in the drug
The malonyl hemiesters of ursolic and oleanolic acid are among the triterpenes reported from Cynomorium and are of more interest as chemical markers than the widely distributed parent acids. Triterpenoids from the herb have been reported to mitigate obesity and mitochondrial damage in animal models.
Catechin, (-)-epicatechin and procyanidins
Flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidinsConcentration: not quantified; flavonoids are among the largest constituent groups reported, 27 of the 98 compounds isolated
The proanthocyanidin fraction accounts for much of the antioxidant activity of the herb and has been reported to reduce glucose absorption and oxidative stress in animal models. Proanthocyanidin-rich drugs are also astringent, which is consistent with a Kidney-securing drug and relevant to the absorption of co-administered medicines.
Protocatechuic acid, gallic acid and ferulic acid
Phenolic acidsConcentration: not quantified; 17 organic acids have been reported from the herb
Common plant phenolic acids contributing to the radical-scavenging capacity measured for aqueous and alcoholic extracts. None has been shown to account for a specific clinical action of Suo Yang.
beta-Sitosterol and daucosterol
Phytosterol and phytosterol glycosideConcentration: not quantified; ten steroids have been reported from the herb
Standard plant sterols of the drug. beta-Sitosterol has itself been shown to protect against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity in rats via mitochondrial glutathione redox cycling, so part of the hepatoprotection attributed to Cynomorium extracts may be sterol-mediated rather than triterpene-mediated.
Cynomorium polysaccharides
HeteropolysaccharidesConcentration: composed of galactose, glucose, arabinose, rhamnose, mannose, ribose and uronic acid, with ribose and uronic acid making up about 10.7% and 10.5% of the polysaccharide respectively
The polysaccharide fraction has been reported to improve insulin sensitivity and alter gut microbiota composition in animal models, and is the fraction usually invoked for the herb's immune and anti-fatigue claims. Human data are absent.
Phloroglucinol adducts
Phloroglucinol-derived polyphenolsConcentration: not quantified; six such compounds have been reported
An unusual constituent class for a Chinese drug and one of the more distinctive features of Cynomorium chemistry, making these compounds candidate authentication markers. Their pharmacology has not been separately established.
Tannins
Hydrolysable and condensed tanninsConcentration: not quantified; reported among the constituent classes together with amino acids, volatile components and trace elements
Tannins give the drug its astringency and are the constituent class most likely to matter for co-administered medicines, since tannins complex with metal ions and with basic drugs in the gut lumen and can reduce their absorption.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Oral iron salts and other polyvalent metal preparations
Cynomorium songaricum is a tannin-rich and proanthocyanidin-rich drug. Tannins chelate iron and other polyvalent cations in the gut lumen, a well-established property of tannin-containing plant material generally. No study has measured this for Cynomorium specifically, so the interaction is a class-based inference, not an observation, and is expected to be avoidable by separating doses rather than by stopping either preparation.
Clinical note: Separate a Suo Yang decoction from an oral iron dose by about two hours. No monitoring is required beyond the usual response to iron therapy.
Antidiabetic drugs (metformin, insulin, sulfonylureas)
Animal and cell studies report that Cynomorium proanthocyanidins reduce glucose absorption and oxidative stress and that the polysaccharide fraction improves insulin sensitivity and modifies gut microbiota. There is no human trial of Cynomorium songaricum in diabetic or healthy subjects, and the doses and fractions used in the animal work are not those of a dispensed decoction, so any additive effect is extrapolated rather than demonstrated.
Clinical note: Continue normal glucose monitoring when Suo Yang is added to a diabetic regimen. Do not represent it to the patient as a glucose-lowering herb.
Osmotic and stimulant laxatives, and stool softeners
Suo Yang is classically used to moisten the intestines and unblock the bowels, and this is one of the actions recorded for it in the earliest source, so a laxative effect at therapeutic doses is expected from the traditional record even though it has not been quantified pharmacologically. Combined with a pharmaceutical laxative the effects would be expected to add.
Clinical note: Where Suo Yang is prescribed partly for constipation in an elderly Kidney-Yang-deficient patient who is already on a laxative, review the laxative dose rather than adding to it.
Cynomorium coccineum (Maltese mushroom) material or literature substituted for Cynomorium songaricum
The genus Cynomorium contains a second widely used species, Cynomorium coccineum, the Mediterranean and North African Maltese mushroom, which has its own substantial ethnomedical and phytochemical literature. Reviews of chemical constituents and pharmacology are routinely written about "Cynomorium plants" as a group, which makes it easy to attribute to Suo Yang findings that were obtained on the other species. Because both are fleshy, dark, wild-collected root parasites, the confusion is not only bibliographic.
Clinical note: When appraising evidence for Suo Yang, check which Cynomorium species the study actually used, and require the binomial Cynomorium songaricum on supplier documentation.
Constituents derived from the host plant, where the parasite has grown on Peganum multisectum
Cynomorium songaricum is a non-photosynthetic root parasite of desert shrubs, and its recorded hosts are Nitraria sphaerocarpa, Nitraria sibirica, Nitraria tangutorum, Zygophyllum xanthoxylon and Peganum multisectum. Peganum species are known for beta-carboline alkaloids such as harmine and harmaline, which are monoamine oxidase inhibitors. No study has looked for host-derived alkaloids in Cynomorium tissue, and no transfer of any host constituent into the drug has been demonstrated, so this is recorded as an open question raised by the plant's biology rather than as a known interaction. It is one reason the geographic and host origin of wild-collected material is worth documenting.
Clinical note: No clinical action is warranted on present evidence. Where a patient is on an MAO inhibitor or an SSRI and is taking wild-collected Suo Yang of undocumented origin, there is no data to reassure with, so prefer material whose provenance the supplier can state.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 5–10 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】5～10g。 【性味与归经】甘，温。归肝、肾、大肠经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
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
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
4
1 verified · 3 unverified
Show 4 studies
- Toxicity Assessment of Chinese Herbal Medicine Cynomorium songaricum Rupr
- An ursolic acid-enriched extract of Cynomorium songaricum protects against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity and gentamicin nephrotoxicity in rats possibly through a mitochondrial pathway: A comparison with ursolic acid
- Ursolic Acid-Enriched Herba Cynomorii Extract Induces Mitochondrial Uncoupling and Glutathione Redox Cycling Through Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation: Protection Against Menadione Cytotoxicity in H9c2 Cells
- An ursolic acid-enriched Cynomorium songarium extract attenuates high fat diet-induced obesity in mice possibly through mitochondrial uncoupling
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
Toxicity Assessment of Chinese Herbal Medicine Cynomorium songaricum Rupr
Acute, genetic and 90-day repeated-dose oral toxicity of Suo Yang were assessed. Twenty Kunming mice given a single oral dose showed no abnormal behaviour or mortality, and the maximum tolerable dose was above 15 g/kg. In the 90-day study, 80 Sprague-Dawley rats given 1.04, 2.08 or 4.16 g/kg showed no significant toxicological changes in haematology or in clinical and pathological examination. The authors conclude the herb can reasonably be regarded as safe. This is the principal safety evidence for the drug and it is entirely animal data; there is no human safety study.
An ursolic acid-enriched extract of Cynomorium songaricum protects against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity and gentamicin nephrotoxicity in rats possibly through a mitochondrial pathway: A comparison with ursolic acid
An ursolic-acid-enriched Cynomorium songaricum extract protected rats against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury and gentamicin-induced kidney injury, with the effect attributed to a mitochondrial mechanism, and was compared directly against ursolic acid alone. The comparison indicates the enriched fraction is not simply a delivery vehicle for ursolic acid. The study used a concentrated fraction at defined doses, not the crude herb, and has no human counterpart.
Ursolic Acid-Enriched Herba Cynomorii Extract Induces Mitochondrial Uncoupling and Glutathione Redox Cycling Through Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation: Protection Against Menadione Cytotoxicity in H9c2 Cells
In H9c2 cardiomyocytes, an ursolic-acid-enriched Herba Cynomorii extract induced mitochondrial uncoupling and enhanced glutathione redox cycling by generating mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, protecting the cells against menadione. It gives a coherent mitochondrial mechanism for the antioxidant and anti-fatigue claims made for the herb, at the level of cultured cells only.
An ursolic acid-enriched Cynomorium songarium extract attenuates high fat diet-induced obesity in mice possibly through mitochondrial uncoupling
An ursolic-acid-enriched Cynomorium extract reduced high-fat-diet-induced obesity in mice, with mitochondrial uncoupling proposed as the mechanism, consistent with the same group's cardiomyocyte findings. Animal data on a concentrated fraction; it does not support a weight-loss indication for the dispensed herb.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Yan Yi Bu Yi
Yuan dynasty, 1347References
- Zhang J, Chen X, Han L, Ma B, Tian M, Bai C, Zhang Y. Research Progress in Traditional Applications, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Safety Evaluation of Cynomorium songaricum . Molecules (2024) [DOI]
- Wei F, He Q, Wang W, Pei D, Zhang B. Toxicity Assessment of Chinese Herbal Medicine Cynomorium songaricum Rupr . Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2019) [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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