Yin Chen
StarArtemisia capillaris Thunb., Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit.
Traditionally used for
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
- Urinary & fluids
- Skin
- Liver & jaundice
Cautions & contraindications
- Bleeding disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Drains Dampness; Promotes bile flow and relieves jaundice; Clears Damp-Heat from the Liver and Gallbladder; Dries Dampness and Stops Itching
Traditional Chinese Uses
Yin Chen (茵陈), Yin Chen Hao, is the young aerial part of Artemisia capillaris Thunb. (and A. scoparia), Herba Artemisiae Scopariae, gathered in spring while the shoots are still soft and downy. It is bitter and acrid and cool, entering the Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Gallbladder channels. It clears Heat and drains Dampness, promotes bile flow and resolves jaundice, and dries Dampness to stop itching.
It is the single most important herb in Chinese medicine for jaundice of every kind. For Yang jaundice — bright orange colouring, fever, a bitter taste, scanty dark urine and a slippery rapid pulse — it heads Yin Chen Hao Tang with Zhi Zi and Da Huang. For Yin jaundice, dull and smoky in colour with cold signs and a deep slow pulse, it is combined instead with warming herbs such as Fu Zi and Gan Jiang in Yin Chen Si Ni Tang. It is also used for Damp-Heat skin disease with oozing and itching, and for gallbladder pain and poor bile flow.
The name records the harvest: the plant overwinters and the medicinal shoots are cut from the old stems in early spring, when they are traditionally held to be most effective.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Artemisia capillaris (Yin Chen, virgate wormwood, capillary wormwood) is a perennial subshrub in the Asteraceae family, typically growing 40 to 100 centimeters tall, with woody-based stems and finely dissected, hair-like foliage that gives the plant its common and species names. Basal and lower leaves are bipinnatisect to tripinnatisect with thread-like ultimate segments, while upper stem leaves are reduced and simpler. The herbage is grayish-green and lightly aromatic when crushed. From mid summer to autumn the plant produces large diffuse panicles of numerous small, nodding, ovoid flower heads about 1.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter; each head contains tubular yellowish disc florets enclosed by overlapping involucral bracts with thin scarious margins. The young, tender spring shoots, harvested before flowering and dried, constitute the principal medicinal material. Native to East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East, growing on sandy riverbanks, slopes, and waste ground.
Active Constituents
Scoparone (6,7-dimethoxycoumarin, also called 6,7-dimethylesculetin)
CoumarinConcentration: A minor constituent of the crude herb compared with chlorogenic acid; HPLC-DAD of nine commercial Yin Chen samples found scoparone among the lower-abundance coumarins, with marked variation between growing regions and harvest seasons
The single best-characterised choleretic and hepatoprotective principle of Yin Chen. Under its alternative name 6,7-dimethylesculetin it was shown to activate the nuclear receptor CAR in primary mouse hepatocytes and to accelerate clearance of intravenously infused bilirubin in wild-type and humanised-CAR mice, an effect absent in CAR-knockout animals. Also reported antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antisteatotic.
Chlorogenic acid
Hydroxycinnamic acid ester (phenolic acid)Concentration: The most abundant of the 13 markers quantified by HPLC-DAD in commercial Yin Chen; reported at 38.5 mg/g in a hydroethanolic extract. Spring-harvested material (mian yin chen) carries more chlorogenic acid than autumn-harvested material
Principal antioxidant and anti-inflammatory phenolic of the drug and the marker most used for quality control. It is the slowest-eliminated of the herb's measured constituents in pharmacokinetic work, in contrast to the coumarins and chromones, which fall to half their peak concentration within about five hours.
Capillarisin
Chromone (2-aryloxychromone)Concentration: Peaks in the leaves toward the end of July; present at lower levels than chlorogenic acid
A chromone essentially specific to this drug, credited with choleretic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumour activity, the last reported to run through the Nrf2/ARE pathway. Its presence is one of the chemical features that distinguishes genuine Yin Chen from the unrelated plants sold under the same regional names.
p-Hydroxyacetophenone (4-hydroxyacetophenone)
Acetophenone (aromatic ketone)Concentration: Accumulates to much higher amounts in material harvested around May to July than at other times of year
Reported to increase bile flow in rats without altering the enterohepatic circulation or the metabolism of bile acids, making it one of the constituents that carries the drug's traditional gallbladder-opening action rather than a general hepatoprotective one.
Scopoletin
CoumarinConcentration: One of the 13 compounds routinely quantified in the drug; present at low levels relative to chlorogenic acid
Contributes to bile secretion in a manner similar to scoparone, and is also reported to have antidiabetic and antiaging activity.
Capillartemisin A and capillartemisin B
Phenolic acid derivativeConcentration: Trace constituents isolated preparatively rather than routinely assayed
Isolated from Artemisiae Capillaris Herba in 1983 by bioassay-guided fractionation and reported as choleretic principles. They are not part of the routine quality-control panel and their pharmacology has had little follow-up.
Capillin
Polyacetylene (acetylenic aromatic ketone)Concentration: A constituent of the volatile fraction; not routinely assayed in the crude drug
The classical antifungal principle of the herb, also reported as a potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitor and to interfere with TGF-beta1-driven apoptosis in cell work. It sits in the essential oil rather than the water-extractable fraction that a decoction delivers.
Rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin and quercetin
Flavonol and flavonol glycosidesConcentration: Present at much lower levels than chlorogenic acid in HPLC-DAD analysis of nine commercial samples
The flavonoid fraction of the drug, contributing antioxidant activity; hepatoprotective effects have been attributed to the total flavonoids in extract-level work but not to any single flavonoid at the doses a decoction supplies.
⚠ Drug Interactions
CYP3A4 and CYP2B6 substrates with narrow therapeutic indices (ciclosporin, tacrolimus, midazolam, warfarin)
Scoparone, under the name 6,7-dimethylesculetin, is a direct activator of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in primary hepatocytes from wild-type and humanised-CAR mice. CAR is the master regulator of CYP2B6, CYP3A4 and UGT1A1, so a herb that supplies a CAR agonist in decoction quantities is mechanistically capable of inducing the clearance of drugs handled by those enzymes. This has been demonstrated in mice and in humanised-CAR mice; it has not been measured as a pharmacokinetic interaction in human subjects, and the crude-drug dose of scoparone is small.
Clinical note: Do not add or withdraw Yin Chen abruptly in a patient stabilised on ciclosporin, tacrolimus or warfarin without a plan to monitor levels or INR. There is no human interaction study to size the effect, so treat it as an unknown rather than as absent.
Bilirubin-lowering therapy in neonatal jaundice (phototherapy, phenobarbital)
Yin Zhi Huang, a decoction whose lead herb is A. capillaris, is widely given in East Asia to prevent and treat neonatal jaundice, and its bilirubin-clearing action was traced to CAR activation by 6,7-dimethylesculetin from the Yin Chen component. Phenobarbital is itself a CAR activator, so the two act on the same receptor and their inducing effects on UGT1A1 would be expected to overlap rather than add independently.
Clinical note: Ask about herbal jaundice preparations before prescribing phenobarbital in a neonate. The real hazard in practice is delayed escalation to phototherapy or exchange transfusion while a herbal decoction is being tried, not a pharmacological clash.
Origanum vulgare L. (oregano, sold regionally as tu yin chen or bai hua yin chen)
Origanum vulgare, a Lamiaceae plant unrelated to Artemisia, carries tu yin chen and even plain yin chen among its regional Chinese names and is dispensed as a local substitute for Yinchenhao in some provinces. It contains carvacrol and thymol and none of the constituents on which the choleretic claim for Yin Chen rests, so a substituted batch cannot supply scoparone, capillarisin or p-hydroxyacetophenone in any amount.
Clinical note: For jaundice, cholestasis or any Liver and Gallbladder damp-heat indication, specify the botanical source and reject material described only as tu yin chen. The substitution is a naming convention, not an adulteration scandal, which makes it easy to miss on an invoice.
Artemisia scoparia Waldst. et Kit. (bin hao, the co-official source of Yinchenhao)
The Chinese Pharmacopoeia recognises both A. capillaris and A. scoparia as legitimate sources of Artemisiae Scopariae Herba, and the drug's Latin binomial name refers to the second species while most clinical practice and most of the choleretic pharmacology use the first. Published work on Yin Chen frequently does not state which species was used, so evidence attributed to A. capillaris may in fact rest on A. scoparia material and vice versa.
Clinical note: Not an interaction to act on at the bedside, but a reason to read the species line of any Yin Chen study before generalising it. Both species are official; they are not interchangeable in the evidence base.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6–15 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】6～15g。外用适量，煎汤熏洗。 【性味与归经】苦、辛，微寒。归脾、胃、肝、胆经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Dui Yao — Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations this herb appears in, each with an action neither herb has alone.
Clearing damp-heat and resolving jaundice while opening a downward exit through the bowels, so damp-heat leaves via both stool and urine.
Yang-type damp-heat jaundice with bright yellow skin and constipation.
Core pair of a classical formula — Yin Chen Hao Tang, Shang Han Lun (Zhang Zhongjing)
Warms yang and disperses cold-dampness while resolving jaundice, turning a cold herb toward yin-type jaundice.
Yin-type (dull, smoky yellow) jaundice from cold-dampness. Fu Zi is toxic and requires proper processing and decoction.
Core pair of a classical formula — Yin Chen Zhu Fu Tang, Yi Xue Xin Wu (Cheng Guopeng)
Clearing damp-heat and relieving jaundice is combined with draining heat through urination, together clearing damp-heat jaundice more effectively.
Yang-type jaundice with bright yellow skin.
Core pair of a classical formula — Yin Chen Hao Tang, Shang Han Lun (Zhang Zhongjing)
Evidence Tier
Strong evidence · 6 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
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Randomized controlled trial
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
1
0 verified · 1 unverified
In vitro / animal
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- A traditional herbal medicine enhances bilirubin clearance by activating the nuclear receptor CAR
- Integration of pharmacodynamics, network pharmacology and metabolomics to elucidate effect and mechanism of Artemisia capillaris Thunb. in the treatment of jaundice
- Simultaneous determination of 13 bioactive compounds in Herba Artemisiae Scopariae (Yin Chen) from different harvest seasons by HPLC–DAD
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
A traditional herbal medicine enhances bilirubin clearance by activating the nuclear receptor CAR
Mouse study of Yin Zhi Huang, a four-herb decoction of Artemisia capillaris, Gardenia jasminoides, Rheum officinale and Scutellaria baicalensis used in Asia for neonatal jaundice. Three days of treatment accelerated clearance of intravenously infused bilirubin in wild-type and humanised-CAR mice but not in CAR-knockout animals, and 6,7-dimethylesculetin (scoparone) from the Yin Chen component reproduced the effect. This is the mechanistic basis for the herb's jaundice indication, but it is preclinical and tests the formula, not the single herb.
Choleretic effect of inchinkoto, a herbal medicine, on livers of patients with biliary obstruction due to bile duct carcinoma
Human study in patients with biliary obstruction from bile duct carcinoma, measuring bile output directly through biliary drainage catheters after administration of inchinkoto (TJ-135), the Japanese Kampo formula whose lead herb is Artemisia capillaris. Bile flow rose after dosing, giving direct human evidence for a choleretic effect. The tested article is the three-herb formula; a substantial part of the choleretic action is attributed to genipin formed by gut bacteria from Gardenia geniposide, so this does not isolate the A. capillaris contribution.
Does inchinkoto, a herbal medicine, have hepatoprotective effects in major hepatectomy? A prospective randomized study
Randomised trial in 61 patients scheduled for major hepatectomy, most with biliary tract malignancy and over 40 per cent jaundiced, comparing at least seven days of preoperative inchinkoto against no inchinkoto. Postoperative liver function tests and the incidence of post-hepatectomy liver failure did not differ significantly between groups. A negative result on hard postoperative endpoints, and again a test of the formula rather than of A. capillaris alone.
Yinchenhao decoction in the treatment of cholestasis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials of Yinchenhao decoction, the classical three-herb formula built on Yin Chen, for cholestasis. Pooled results favoured the decoction on liver biochemistry and bilirubin endpoints, but the included trials were mostly small, Chinese-language and at high risk of bias, so the authors' confidence in the estimate is limited. Evidence is for the formula, not for Yin Chen as a single herb.
Integration of pharmacodynamics, network pharmacology and metabolomics to elucidate effect and mechanism of Artemisia capillaris Thunb. in the treatment of jaundice
One of the few studies to test A. capillaris on its own rather than inside a formula. In a rodent jaundice model the extract lowered serum bilirubin and improved liver biochemistry, and network pharmacology plus metabolomics pointed to bile acid and amino acid metabolism as the affected pathways. Preclinical, and network-pharmacology target lists are hypothesis-generating rather than confirmatory.
Simultaneous determination of 13 bioactive compounds in Herba Artemisiae Scopariae (Yin Chen) from different harvest seasons by HPLC–DAD
Analytical study quantifying 13 markers, including chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, scopoletin, scoparone, rutin, hyperoside, isoquercitrin and quercetin, in nine commercial Yin Chen samples from different regions and harvest seasons. Chlorogenic acid was by far the most abundant; the phenolic acids and 4-hydroxyacetophenone peaked in May to July material, while the flavonoids and scoparone stayed low. Establishes that harvest timing changes the constituent profile substantially, which matters for any dose the prescriber assumes.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynasty, compiled around the 1st to 2nd century CEShang Han Lun (Zhang Zhongjing)
Eastern Han, around 200 to 220 CEMing Yi Bie Lu
Attributed to Tao Hongjing, around 500 CEBen Cao Gang Mu (Li Shizhen)
Ming dynasty, 1578References
- Hsueh TP, Lin WL, Dalley JW, Tsai TH. The Pharmacological Effects and Pharmacokinetics of Active Compounds of Artemisia capillaris . Biomedicines (2021) [DOI]
- Cai Y, Zheng Q, Sun R, Wu J, Li X, Liu R. Recent progress in the study of Artemisiae Scopariae Herba (Yin Chen), a promising medicinal herb for liver diseases . Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2020) [DOI]
- Jang E, Kim BJ, Lee KT, Inn KS, Lee JH. A Survey of Therapeutic Effects of Artemisia capillaris in Liver Diseases . Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) [DOI]
- Kitagawa I, Fukuda Y, Yoshihara M, Yamahara J, Yoshikawa M. Capillartemisin A and B, two new choleretic principles from Artemisiae Capillaris Herba . Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (1983) [DOI]
- Okuno I, Uchida K, Nakamura M, Sakurai K. Studies on choleretic constituents in Artemisia capillaris THUNB. . Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (1988) [DOI]
- Ikenaga T, Hizako M, Tajima M, Nakashima K. Production of Choleretic Substances in the Capitulum, Leaf and Stem of Artemisia capillaris during the Plant Growth Cycle. . Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin (1994) [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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