Traditionally used for
- Urinary & fluids
- Menstrual & women's health
- Nerves & recovery
- Pain & joints
- Energy & fatigue
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Dispels Wind-Dampness and Unblocks the Collaterals; Calms the Liver and Stops Convulsions; Reduces Food Stagnation and Eliminates Distension; Resolves Toxicity
Traditional Chinese Uses
Xun Ma (stinging nettle herb) is a cool, pungent herb used in Chinese medicine to dispel Wind, clear Heat, and treat certain types of joint pain and skin conditions. It addresses Wind-Damp bi syndrome with joint pain, urticaria and allergic skin conditions from Wind in the Blood, and certain types of edema. Its Blood-activating properties extend to menstrual irregularities from stagnation. In Chinese folk medicine, fresh nettle leaves applied topically have been used as counter-irritants for joint pain.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Urtica cannabina (Urticaceae), Mongolian or hemp-leaved nettle, is an erect perennial herb 50-150 cm tall, distinguished from common nettle by its deeply palmately 3-5 lobed, hemp-like leaves with coarsely serrated margins. Stems and leaves are armed with stinging trichomes that release histamine and formic acid on contact. Small greenish flowers are borne in axillary, pendulous panicles, the species being monoecious with separate male and female inflorescences. It grows on slopes, riverbanks, and wastelands across Mongolia, Siberia, northern China, and Central Asia at elevations from 800 to 2800 m. The whole herb is collected in summer, dried, and used in traditional Mongolian and Chinese medicine. (Sources: POWO; PFAF; Wikipedia)
Active Constituents
Isovitexin
Flavone C-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the fruit; not quantified in the aerial parts that make up the drug
An apigenin 6-C-glucoside with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity across the genus. Aishan et al. isolated it from Urtica cannabina fruit, so its presence in the herb sold as Herba Urticae is an inference from the same plant rather than a direct measurement of that plant part.
Isoquercitrin
Flavonol O-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the fruit; not quantified in the aerial parts
Quercetin 3-O-glucoside, one of the main flavonoids of the genus and a plausible contributor to the anti-inflammatory activity shown by the water extract in macrophage and paw-oedema models.
Astragalin
Flavonol O-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the fruit
Kaempferol 3-O-glucoside. Contributes to the flavonoid pool that carries most of the antioxidant and cytokine-modulating activity reported for nettle extracts.
Afzelin
Flavonol O-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the fruit
Kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside, reported alongside quercitrin in the fruit of this species.
Quercitrin
Flavonol O-glycosideConcentration: Isolated from the fruit
Quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside, a widely distributed anti-inflammatory flavonoid glycoside confirmed in this species by isolation rather than by database inference.
(+)-Dehydrovomifoliol
Megastigmane (C13-norisoprenoid)Concentration: One of two megastigmanes isolated from the fruit
A carotenoid-derived norisoprenoid. Of chemotaxonomic rather than clinical interest, but it is one of the few compounds securely tied to Urtica cannabina specifically rather than to the genus.
Secolignans of the butyrolactone type, including trans-urticol
LignanConcentration: Ten secolignans isolated by preparative HPLC; individual contents not reported
Chen et al. isolated ten secolignans from Urtica cannabina and assayed them against 5-alpha-reductase in vitro. This is the same enzyme target that underlies nettle root's use in benign prostatic hyperplasia and is the basis for treating co-prescription with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors as a theoretical interaction rather than a purely speculative one.
Arabinogalactan-II
PolysaccharideConcentration: Structurally characterised from the plant material by Golovchenko et al.
A branched type II arabinogalactan. Nettle polysaccharide fractions from this species have been shown in rodents to raise systemic antioxidant status through gut-liver axis modulation, so the polysaccharides are not inert bulk.
Pectin
PolysaccharideConcentration: Structurally characterised alongside the arabinogalactan-II fraction
Cell-wall pectic polysaccharide isolated and structurally defined from Urtica cannabina. Relevant mainly because pectins bind cations and can retard absorption of co-administered drugs from a decoction.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Warfarin and other vitamin K antagonists (acenocoumarol, phenprocoumon)
Nettle leaf is a concentrated dietary source of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), and Herba Urticae is a leafy aerial-part drug taken in gram quantities. Vitamin K1 directly opposes the mechanism of the coumarin anticoagulants by restoring gamma-carboxylation of clotting factors II, VII, IX and X, and clinical reference sources list nettle as a herb that can reduce warfarin's effect. The phylloquinone content has been characterised for Urtica leaf generally rather than for Urtica cannabina specifically, so the magnitude in this species is unquantified; the direction of the effect is not in doubt.
Clinical note: Ask about anticoagulants before prescribing. If the patient is anticoagulated and the herb is judged necessary, keep the dose constant day to day rather than intermittent, and arrange INR checks within one to two weeks of starting and of stopping. An intermittent course is more destabilising than a steady one.
Antihypertensive drugs (ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, beta blockers, diuretics)
Urtica cannabina is used in traditional Chinese and Kazakh medicine specifically for high blood pressure, a use recorded in the ethnopharmacological framing of the modern anti-inflammatory work on the species. Blood-pressure lowering has been demonstrated experimentally for the congener Urtica dioica in spontaneously hypertensive rats, and the genus is also aquaretic. Additive effects with conventional antihypertensives are therefore plausible on both traditional-use and pharmacological grounds, though no controlled human study has measured blood pressure on Urtica cannabina itself.
Clinical note: Monitor blood pressure in the first two weeks, particularly in elderly patients or anyone on a diuretic or on multiple antihypertensives. Warn about postural symptoms. Do not adjust prescribed antihypertensive doses on the basis of the herb.
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (finasteride, dutasteride) and anti-androgens
Ten secolignans isolated from Urtica cannabina inhibited 5-alpha-reductase in vitro (Chen et al. 2021). That is the same target as finasteride and dutasteride, and nettle root preparations are used for benign prostatic hyperplasia on this basis. No human pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic study exists, and the in vitro potency of these lignans is well below that of the synthetic inhibitors, so the interaction is theoretical rather than demonstrated. The practical concern is less additive potency than confounded interpretation of prostate-specific antigen and symptom scores.
Clinical note: Record herb use in the notes of any patient being monitored for prostatic disease so that changes in symptom score or PSA are not misattributed to the conventional drug. No dose change is indicated on current evidence.
Urtica dioica and other Urtica species (species substitution)
Thirteen Urtica species and three subspecies are used medicinally in China, and Urtica dioica, Urtica fissa and Urtica cannabina overlap in vernacular name (xun ma) and in habitat. Most of the pharmacological and virtually all of the clinical literature attributed to nettle was generated on Urtica dioica, whose phytochemistry is close but not identical. Substitution is unlikely to be dangerous, but it silently changes which evidence base applies.
Clinical note: Where a source or a supplier says only nettle or xun ma, do not assume Urtica cannabina, and do not carry Urtica dioica clinical trial results across to this record without saying so.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 3 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
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Urtica cannabina L. water extract exhibits anti-inflammatory activity by regulating inflammatory cytokines: In vitro and in vivo evidence
- Nettle (Urtica cannabina L.) polysaccharides as a novel dietary supplement: enhancing systemic antioxidant status via modulation of the gut–liver axis
- [Lignans with inhibitory effect on 5α-reductase from Urtica cannabina].
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
Urtica cannabina L. water extract exhibits anti-inflammatory activity by regulating inflammatory cytokines: In vitro and in vivo evidence
Water extract of Urtica cannabina tested on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and on carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema. The extract suppressed secretion of multiple inflammatory cytokines and their mRNA in vitro and significantly reduced paw oedema and inflammatory factor levels in vivo. UPLC-MS tentatively identified 31 compounds, mainly organic acids. This is the most directly relevant pharmacological evidence for the species itself rather than for Urtica dioica.
Nettle (Urtica cannabina L.) polysaccharides as a novel dietary supplement: enhancing systemic antioxidant status via modulation of the gut–liver axis
Rodent study of polysaccharide fractions from Urtica cannabina, reporting improved systemic antioxidant status mediated through gut microbiota and hepatic signalling. Supports the polysaccharide fraction, not only the flavonoids, as pharmacologically active, and is relevant to the herb being given as a water decoction in which polysaccharides are well extracted.
[Lignans with inhibitory effect on 5α-reductase from Urtica cannabina].
Ten secolignans, including trans-urticol and several butyrolactone glucosides, were isolated from Urtica cannabina by preparative HPLC and column chromatography and identified by NMR and high-resolution mass spectrometry, then assayed for inhibition of 5-alpha-reductase in vitro. The work supplies the species-specific basis for the enzyme target that nettle preparations are used against in benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Tu Jing (Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica), Su Song
Northern Song dynasty, 1061Yi Bu Fang Wu Lue Ji (Brief Record of the Products of the Yi Region), Song Qi
Northern Song dynasty, 11th centuryReferences
- Halisha Aishan; Masaki Baba; Noriaki Iwasaki; HaiXue Kuang; Toru Okuyama. The constituents of Urtica cannabina used in Uighur medicine . Pharmaceutical Biology (2010) [DOI]
- Victoria V. Golovchenko; Victor A. Khlopin; Olga A. Patova; Fedor V. Vityazev; Andrey S. Dmitrenok; Alexander S. Shashkov. Structural characterization of arabinogalactan-II and pectin from Urtica cannabina . Carbohydrate Polymers (2025) [DOI]
- Jing Zhao; Nuerguli Awuti; Ayixiamuguli Wubuli; Didaer Bahetijian; Kamixibieke Nuerhamaiti; Jiamin Huang; Wenjun Su; Murat Kizaibek. Exploring anti-inflammatory related quality markers of Urtica cannabina L. based on spectrum–effect relationship . Journal of Chromatography B (2026) [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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