Tian Ji Huang
StarHypericum japonicum Thunb. ex Murray
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Drains Dampness; Clears Heat and Resolves Toxicity; Promotes bile flow and relieves jaundice; Invigorates Blood and Reduces Swelling; Promotes Urination
Traditional Chinese Uses
Tian Ji Huang (hypericum japonicum herb, Japanese St. John's wort) is a cool herb used in Chinese medicine to clear Heat toxin, invigorate Blood, and reduce swelling. It is applied for carbuncles, sores, and hepatitis-type conditions involving Heat toxin in the Liver, as well as for traumatic injuries with swelling and pain. Its liver-protective properties have attracted modern research interest, and it is used in some formulas for hepatic inflammatory conditions. As a member of the hypericum family, it shares anti-inflammatory properties with its European relatives.
Botanical Description
Hypericum japonicum, sometimes called Japanese St John's wort or matted St John's wort, is a small slender annual to short-lived perennial herb of the Hypericaceae family, typically only 5 to 35 cm tall. Stems are erect or ascending, four-angled, often branched from the base, and root at the lower nodes when prostrate. Leaves are opposite, sessile, ovate to broadly elliptic, 4 to 15 mm long, with three to five longitudinal veins from the base and translucent glandular dots visible against light; black marginal glands are absent. Small bright yellow five-petaled flowers, 5 to 8 mm across, are borne singly or in few-flowered terminal cymes; the numerous stamens are not arranged in distinct fascicles. The fruit is a small ovoid capsule. It grows in damp open ground, ditches, and rice-field margins throughout East and Southeast Asia.
Active Constituents
Quercetin 7-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside (quercetin 7-rhamnoside, Q7R)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Principal hepatoprotective flavonoid / quality marker
The main flavonoid of Hypericum japonicum and a quality-control marker. Q7R has strong hepatoprotective, antioxidant and antiviral activity; in cholestatic hepatitis models it improves biliary excretion and suppresses inflammatory responses, underpinning the herb's traditional use for damp-heat jaundice.
Quercitrin (quercetin 3-rhamnoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Major flavonoid
Antioxidant flavonoid contributing to hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory activity of the whole-herb extract.
Isoquercitrin (quercetin 3-glucoside)
Flavonol glycosideConcentration: Major flavonoid
One of the hepatoprotective flavonoids of H. japonicum, providing free-radical scavenging and liver-protective effects in models of chemical hepatotoxicity.
Sarothralen / saroaspidin phloroglucinol derivatives
Phloroglucinol derivativesConcentration: Characteristic bioactive fraction
Species-characteristic phloroglucinols with reported antibacterial, antiviral and antitumour activity that distinguish H. japonicum chemically from St John's Wort (H. perforatum).
Xanthones and chromone glycosides
Xanthonoids / chromonesConcentration: Minor bioactive constituents
Contribute antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity; part of the diverse secondary-metabolite profile of the herb.
Taxifolin and quercetin (aglycone)
Flavanonol / flavonolConcentration: Minor
Free flavonoid aglycones adding to the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activity of the extract.
⚠ Drug Interactions
CYP3A4 / P-glycoprotein substrate drugs (e.g. certain immunosuppressants, oral contraceptives, antiretrovirals)
Hypericum japonicum belongs to the same genus as St John's Wort (H. perforatum) but contains little or no hyperforin/hypericin, the constituents responsible for St John's Wort's potent CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein induction. A CYP-mediated interaction is therefore only theoretical, but caution is reasonable pending direct data.
Clinical note: Do not equate Tian Ji Huang with St John's Wort; no significant enzyme-induction interaction is documented, but monitor narrow-therapeutic-index drugs if co-administered.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Decoction
Parts: whole herb (dried aerial parts, sometimes with root)
Decoct 15-30 g dried herb (large doses of 30-60 g fresh herb may be used) in water. Taken for damp-heat jaundice, acute infectious hepatitis, urinary tract damp-heat and painful/turbid urination; also used for damp-heat with hypochondriac fullness.
Fresh herb, crushed for topical use
Parts: fresh whole herb
The crushed fresh herb is applied externally to snakebite, boils, sores and swellings to resolve toxicity and reduce swelling; the expressed juice may also be taken internally in traditional practice.
Prepared extract/injection (modern)
Parts: whole herb
Standardised Tianjihuang extracts/injections have been studied for hepatoprotective use; these are pharmaceutical preparations to be used only under professional/clinical supervision, not self-prepared.
Clinical Studies
Antioxidant Activity and Hepatoprotective Potential of Quercetin 7-Rhamnoside In Vitro and In Vivo
Quercetin 7-rhamnoside, the principal flavonoid of Hypericum japonicum, showed strong antioxidant activity and protected against liver injury in vitro and in vivo, supporting the herb's traditional hepatoprotective and jaundice-relieving use.
Quercetin 7-rhamnoside protects against alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced cholestatic hepatitis in rats by improving biliary excretion and inhibiting inflammatory responses
Q7R reduced markers of cholestatic liver injury in ANIT-treated rats by enhancing biliary bile-acid excretion and dampening inflammatory signalling, giving mechanistic support to Tian Ji Huang's use for damp-heat jaundice and gallbladder disorders.
A Network Pharmacology Study of the Molecular Mechanisms of Hypericum japonicum in the Treatment of Cholestatic Hepatitis with Validation in an ANIT Hepatotoxicity Rat Model
Network pharmacology identified candidate active constituents and targets of H. japonicum against cholestatic hepatitis, and an ANIT rat model confirmed protective effects on liver function and inflammatory pathways.
Historical Texts
Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao (Illustrated Investigation of the Names and Natures of Plants)
Qing Dynasty, 1848 (Wu Qijun)Sheng Cao Yao Xing Bei Yao (Essentials of the Nature of Fresh Medicinal Herbs)
Qing Dynasty (Lingnan folk materia medica tradition)References
- Liu LS, Liu MH, He JY. Hypericum japonicum Thunb. ex Murray: Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Quality Control and Pharmacokinetics of an Important Herbal Medicine . Molecules, 19(8):10733-10754 (2014) [DOI]
- Ma JQ, Li Z, Xie WR, Liu CM, Liu SS. Antioxidant Activity and Hepatoprotective Potential of Quercetin 7-Rhamnoside In Vitro and In Vivo . Molecules, 23(5):1188 (2018) [DOI]
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (Herba Hyperici Japonici / Tian Ji Huang monograph) . China Medical Science Press, Beijing (2020)
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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