Xue Jie
StarDaemonorops draco Bl.
Traditionally used for
- Menstrual & women's health
- Pain & joints
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
- Before surgery
☯ TCM Properties
Invigorates Blood and Alleviates Pain; Dispels Stasis and Stops Bleeding; Promotes Tissue Regeneration and Heals Sores
Traditional Chinese Uses
Xue Jie (dragon's blood resin) is a warm, acrid herb that invigorates Blood and disperses stasis, relieves pain, stops bleeding, and generates new flesh in wound healing. It is used for pain from traumatic injuries, menstrual pain and irregularities from Blood stagnation, and the healing of sores and ulcers. Applied externally, it is one of the most important herbs for wound healing — stopping bleeding from lacerations while simultaneously promoting tissue regeneration and preventing infection.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Daemonorops draco (Willd.) Blume (Arecaceae) is a climbing rattan palm of Southeast Asia (Sumatra, Borneo, Malay Peninsula) with slender spiny stems several meters long that scramble through forest canopies, supported by spine-bearing whip-like cirri arising from the leaf sheaths. The ovoid scaly fruits exude a deep red resin between the scales; the fruits are harvested when ripe, vigorously shaken or steamed to dislodge the resin, which is then strained, melted, and cast into cakes or pieces known as 'dragon's blood' or Xue Jie in Chinese medicine. In TCM, Xue Jie is sweet and salty in flavor and neutral in nature, entering the Heart and Liver channels; it invigorates blood, dispels stasis, stops bleeding, alleviates pain, and promotes the healing of sores and wounds when applied externally.
Active Constituents
Dracorhodin
Flavylium (anthocyanidin-type) pigmentConcentration: the Taiwan Herbal Pharmacopeia requires more than 1.0% dracorhodin in the resin
The red pigment used as the identity and assay marker for the palm-derived resin. It stimulates glucose uptake in mouse C2C12 muscle cells and primary rat aortic smooth muscle cells, and is one of the constituents behind the resin's wound-healing reputation, though the crude resin is more active than dracorhodin alone.
Dracorubin
Dimeric flavylium pigmentA second red pigment of the resin, formed from flavylium units. It contributes to the colour and to the chromatographic fingerprint that separates Daemonorops resin from Dracaena resin.
(2S)-5-Methoxyflavan-7-ol
FlavanOne of the three flavonoids proposed as quality-control indices for dragon's blood. Flavans are the class that chemically distinguishes the Daemonorops draco resin from Dracaena cochinchinensis resin, whose characteristic constituents are stilbenes instead.
(2S)-5-Methoxy-6-methylflavan-7-ol
FlavanA quality-marker flavan of the resin. In UVB-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes it was the most active of seven monomers isolated from Daemonorops draco, reducing IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha, reactive oxygen species and calcium influx.
Dracoresinotannol esters
Resin alcohol estersThe bulk, largely inert resinous matrix of the drug. It is why Xue Jie is dispensed as a fine powder or in alcohol rather than decocted, since the resin is poorly water-soluble.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Dracaena resin sold as the same drug (Dracaena cochinchinensis, Dracaena cambodiana, Dracaena cinnabari)
Two botanically unrelated resins share the trade name dragon's blood. UPLC-MS fingerprinting shows the profiles differ fundamentally: flavans dominate the Daemonorops draco resin while stilbenes dominate the Dracaena cochinchinensis resin, and MALDI-TOF was developed specifically to separate Daemonorops draco, Dracaena cinnabari and Dracaena cochinchinensis samples on the market. The Latin name Resina Draconis is in modern Chinese usage the Dracaena drug; the palm resin is properly Sanguis Draconis. Almost all human trial evidence published under Resina Draconis, including the diabetic foot ulcer trials, was generated with the Dracaena material and its markers loureirin A, loureirin B, resveratrol and pterostilbene, none of which occur in the palm resin.
Clinical note: Demand species-level identification on the certificate of analysis, and do not transfer Dracaena trial data to a Daemonorops prescription or the reverse. Dracaena cochinchinensis has been a nationally protected plant in China since 1987 and Dracaena cinnabari is IUCN Vulnerable, so sourcing pressure on the substitute is real.
Antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs (aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin)
Daemonorops draco resin is a direct platelet inhibitor. Against arachidonic-acid-induced aggregation it produced peak inhibition of 35.8% in rats at 200 mg/kg in vivo, and 18.7%, 20.0% and 61.6% inhibition in vitro at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/ml, in each case more potent than the Dracaena resin tested alongside it. No human pharmacodynamic study of the interaction has been published, so the concern is extrapolated from the animal and in vitro data plus the drug's classical use to move blood.
Clinical note: Avoid or monitor closely in patients on antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy, and stop before elective surgery. Note the classical paradox: Xue Jie is also used to stop bleeding topically, which does not protect against systemic antiplatelet effect when it is taken internally.
Insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agents
Crude dragon blood extract from Daemonorops draco and its constituent dracorhodin stimulated glucose uptake in mouse C2C12 muscle cells and in primary rat aortic smooth muscle cells, and oral administration of the crude extract produced a falling trend in fasting blood glucose in male B6 mice from the second to the tenth week. The effect was not attributable to dracorhodin alone. This is animal and cell data only.
Clinical note: Where Xue Jie is given internally to a diabetic patient, particularly alongside the diabetic-wound indications for which it is used, check capillary glucose more often in the first weeks.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| powder or pills | 1–2 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】研末，1～2g，或入丸剂。外用研末撒或入膏药用。 【性味与归经】甘、咸，平。归心、肝经。 — 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
- Comparison of the chemical profiles and anti-platelet aggregation effects of two “Dragon's Blood” drugs used in traditional Chinese medicine
- Hypoglycemic effects of dracorhodin and dragon blood crude extract from Daemonorops draco
- Novel therapeutic activities of dragon blood from palm tree Daemonorops draco for the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds
- Anti-inflammatory and barrier repair mechanisms of active components in Daemonorops draco Bl. for UVB-induced skin damage
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
Comparison of the chemical profiles and anti-platelet aggregation effects of two “Dragon's Blood” drugs used in traditional Chinese medicine
UPLC-MS fingerprinting showed the resin of Daemonorops draco and the resin of Dracaena cochinchinensis have significantly different chemical profiles, with flavans characteristic of the former and stilbenes of the latter. Against arachidonic-acid-induced platelet aggregation the Daemonorops resin gave peak inhibition of 35.8% in rats at 200 mg/kg versus 27.6% for the Dracaena resin, and 18.7%, 20.0% and 61.6% inhibition in vitro at 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/ml versus 13.3%, 20.2% and 31.6%. The palm resin was the more potent antiplatelet drug of the two.
Hypoglycemic effects of dracorhodin and dragon blood crude extract from Daemonorops draco
Dracorhodin and crude dragon blood extract from Daemonorops draco stimulated glucose uptake in mouse C2C12 muscle cells and primary rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Orally administered crude extract produced a decreasing trend in fasting blood glucose in male B6 mice from the second to the tenth week. The authors note that dracorhodin is not the only active compound and that the Taiwan Herbal Pharmacopeia sets a minimum of 1.0% dracorhodin for the drug.
Novel therapeutic activities of dragon blood from palm tree Daemonorops draco for the treatment of chronic diabetic wounds
Crude dragon blood extract from Daemonorops draco promoted differentiation of myoblasts into myotubes and partially purified fractions raised expression of the muscle differentiation genes myoG, myoD and myoHC. The work supports the resin's role as an ingredient of the topical formula Jinchuang Ointment used for chronic non-healing diabetic wounds, but it is cell-based work, not a clinical trial of the single herb.
Anti-inflammatory and barrier repair mechanisms of active components in Daemonorops draco Bl. for UVB-induced skin damage
Seven monomers were purified from Daemonorops draco and screened in UVB-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes. (2S)-5-Methoxy-6-methylflavan-7-ol was the most active, lowering IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha expression and reducing reactive oxygen species and calcium levels, supporting the resin's traditional use for damaged skin and non-healing sores.
Historical Texts
Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun
Northern and Southern dynastiesXin Xiu Ben Cao (Tang Materia Medica)
Tang dynasty, 659Ben Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Yi T, Tang Y, Zhang J, Zhao Z, Yang Z, Chen H. Characterization and determination of six flavonoids in the ethnomedicine “Dragon’s Blood” by UPLC-PAD-MS . Chemistry Central Journal (2012) [DOI]
- Wu C, Cai XQ, Chang Y, Chen CH, Ho TJ, Lai SC, Chen HP. Rapid identification of dragon blood samples from Daemonorops draco, Dracaena cinnabari and Dracaena cochinchinensis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry . Phytochemical Analysis (2019) [DOI]
- Fan JY, Yi T, Sze-To CM, Zhu L, Peng WL, Zhang YZ, Zhao ZZ, Chen HB. A Systematic Review of the Botanical, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Dracaena cochinchinensis, a Plant Source of the Ethnomedicine “Dragon’s Blood” . Molecules (2014) [DOI]
- Lou J, Xu XY, Xu B, Wang HD, Li X, Sun H, Zheng XY, Zhou J. Comprehensive metabolome characterization and comparison between two sources of Dragon’s blood by integrating liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and chemometrics . Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2024) [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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