Traditionally used for
- Digestion
- Menstrual & women's health
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Pregnancy
- Bleeding disorders
☯ TCM Properties
Invigorates the Blood and r egulates menstruation; Reduces swellings; Regulates Qi
Traditional Chinese Uses
Yue Ji Hua is the flower of Rosa chinensis, the China rose. Sweet and warm, entering the Liver channel, it invigorates the Blood and regulates menstruation, moves Qi, and reduces swelling. Classed among the Blood-regulating herbs, it is the go-to remedy for Liver Qi and Blood stagnation presenting as irregular or scanty menses, delayed periods, dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea, and for chest and lower-abdominal distension and pain. Topically and internally it also disperses sores, boils, scrofula and traumatic swelling from Blood stasis.
It is given in modest doses (about 3–6 g, more when fresh) or infused. Because it moves Blood, it is contraindicated in pregnancy, and its mild descending, Blood-moving action can provoke loose stools in Spleen-Stomach deficiency.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Yue Ji Hua is the flower of Rosa chinensis Jacq. (Rosaceae), the China rose, a deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub 1–2 m tall native to central and southwestern China and widely cultivated worldwide. Stems bear scattered, stout, hooked prickles. Leaves are pinnately compound with 3–5 ovate, glabrous, sharply serrate leaflets and stipules adnate to the petiole. Flowers are solitary or in few-flowered corymbs, 4–6 cm across, with five (in wild forms) to many (in cultivars) petals ranging from pink to crimson, and a fragrant, repeat-blooming habit. The hypanthium develops into a smooth, ovoid to subglobose red hip 1–2 cm long. Buds and partly opened flowers are harvested in summer and dried in the shade to preserve color and aroma. The flowers are used in TCM to regulate Liver qi and invigorate Blood.
Active Constituents
Gallotannins (mono-, di- and trigalloylglucopyranosides)
Hydrolysable tanninsTogether with the ellagitannins these dominate the phenolic profile of the dried flower and account for much of its antioxidant capacity and its astringent taste. They are also the constituents most likely to bind co-administered minerals and alkaloids in the gut.
Ellagitannins including rugosins B and C
Hydrolysable tanninsIdentified in crude flower extracts by MALDI quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rugosins are characteristic Rosa tannins and support the traditional use of the flower to reduce swellings.
Quercetin and its glycosides (isoquercitrin, quercitrin, avicularin)
Flavonol and flavonol glycosidesThe main flavonol series of the flower, contributing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Avicularin and isoquercitrin were among 14 compounds isolated and identified from the flower in a dedicated phytochemical study.
Tiliroside
Acylated kaempferol glycosideOf the compounds isolated from the flower, tiliroside had the strongest effect promoting blood coagulation in the reported assays, exceeding the comparator haemostatic preparation. This is worth noting because it sits awkwardly beside the herb's classification as a blood-invigorating drug.
Juglanin and nicotiflorin
Kaempferol glycosidesBoth significantly shortened thrombin time and raised fibrinogen in the same study, indicating a procoagulant effect from the flower's kaempferol glycoside fraction.
Cyanidin and pelargonidin diglycosides
AnthocyaninsThe pigments of the red-flowered cultivars, identified alongside the tannins and flavonols. A standardised anthocyanin-containing petal extract of this species is the material tested in the photoaging trial.
Gallic acid and methyl gallate
Phenolic acidsSimple phenolics isolated from the flower, with reported antibacterial activity and a contribution to the total antioxidant capacity of the extract.
RG-I pectin-like polysaccharide (YJ3A1)
Pectic polysaccharideA rhamnogalacturonan-I type polysaccharide purified from the flowers, built on a 1,4-galactan and 1,4-linked alpha-GalpA with 1,2-linked alpha-Rhap repeats. Given orally at 50 mg/kg it reduced inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in a mouse model of steatohepatitis without affecting normal liver morphology.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Warfarin and other anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs
The direction of effect here is counterintuitive and worth recording precisely. Compounds isolated from Rosa chinensis flowers were procoagulant, not anticoagulant: tiliroside promoted blood coagulation more strongly than the comparator haemostatic preparation, and juglanin and nicotiflorin both significantly shortened thrombin time and raised fibrinogen. This is isolated-compound and laboratory work, with no human pharmacodynamic study of the whole flower, and the crude flower also contains tannins and flavonols with the opposite tendency, so the net clinical effect is unknown.
Clinical note: Do not assume this herb thins the blood because its category is blood-invigorating. If it is given to an anticoagulated patient, check INR or the relevant coagulation endpoint after starting rather than relying on category reasoning.
Oral iron salts, and orally administered alkaloid and protein drugs
The flower is rich in hydrolysable tannins, including gallotannins and ellagitannins such as rugosins B and C. Hydrolysable tannins chelate iron and precipitate alkaloids and proteins in the gut lumen, a general and well-characterised property of tannin-rich drugs, though it has not been quantified for this species.
Clinical note: Separate a tannin-rich flower infusion from iron supplements or alkaloid medicines by about two hours.
Rosa rugosa flower (Mei Gui Hua) dispensed in place of Rosa chinensis
Yue Ji Hua and Mei Gui Hua are the two rose flower drugs of Chinese practice and are routinely confused in the trade because the dried buds resemble each other. They are not the same species and the published phytochemistry differs; the rugosins that give Rosa rugosa its name are a case in point. Substitution is a botanical and commercial problem rather than a documented pharmacological hazard, but a practitioner intending one and receiving the other has not given the prescribed drug.
Clinical note: Buy on botanical identification, not on flower colour or size, and check that a supplier distinguishes Rosa chinensis from Rosa rugosa on the label.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 3–6 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 monograph 【月季花】【用法与用量】3～6g。 【性味与归经】甘，温。归肝经。 — Matched to ChP by romanised drug name (pinyin 'Yue Ji Hua' → 月季花); the romanisation is unique across all 649 ChP monographs, and the match was cross-checked against this record's own TCM temperature. Quoted verbatim. |
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
1
1 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
3
0 verified · 3 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Chemical constituents and coagulation effects of the flowers of Rosa chinensis Jacq.
- RG-I pectin-like polysaccharide from Rosa chinensis inhibits inflammation and fibrosis associated to HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway to improve non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
- Rosa chinensis cv. ‘JinBian’ flowers alleviates brain damage and cognitive deficit by inhibiting ferroptosis via the Keap1/Nrf2/GPX4 pathway and regulating gut microbiota
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
Anthocyanin-Containing Rose Petal Extract for Photoaging Improvement: A 12-Week Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 100 healthy men and women aged 25 to 65 tested a standardised anthocyanin-containing Rosa chinensis Jacq. petal extract at 300 mg daily in one tablet against placebo for 12 weeks, with skin parameters assessed from baseline. This appears to be the first controlled human trial of a preparation of this species, and it addresses a cosmetic dermatological endpoint rather than any of the herb's classical gynaecological indications.
Chemical constituents and coagulation effects of the flowers of Rosa chinensis Jacq.
Fourteen compounds were isolated from the flowers, including kaempferol, quercetin, isoquercitrin, afzelin, quercitrin, avicularin, juglanin, nicotiflorin, tiliroside, methyl gallate and gallic acid, four of them reported from this species for the first time. Tiliroside promoted blood coagulation more strongly than the comparator preparation, and juglanin and nicotiflorin significantly shortened thrombin time and raised fibrinogen, identifying a procoagulant fraction in a herb classified as blood-invigorating.
RG-I pectin-like polysaccharide from Rosa chinensis inhibits inflammation and fibrosis associated to HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway to improve non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
The polysaccharide YJ3A1 was purified and structurally characterised from Rosa chinensis flowers. Oral administration significantly reduced inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in mice with steatohepatitis at 50 mg/kg without altering normal liver morphology, with the effect linked to inactivation of HMGB1/TLR4/NF-kappaB and Akt signalling.
Rosa chinensis cv. ‘JinBian’ flowers alleviates brain damage and cognitive deficit by inhibiting ferroptosis via the Keap1/Nrf2/GPX4 pathway and regulating gut microbiota
Liquid-liquid fractions of the flowers of the cultivar 'JinBian' were profiled by UHPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS and tested in hydrogen peroxide-stressed SH-SY5Y cells and in D-galactose-treated mice. The ethyl acetate fraction had the highest phenolic and flavonoid content and the strongest neuroprotective effect, acting through the Keap1/Nrf2/GPX4 ferroptosis pathway and with changes in gut microbiota. The material is a specific named cultivar used as herbal tea, so the result should not be read straight across to pharmacopoeial Yue Ji Hua.
Historical Texts
Ben Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Cai YZ, Xing J, Sun M, Zhan ZQ, Corke H. Phenolic Antioxidants (Hydrolyzable Tannins, Flavonols, and Anthocyanins) Identified by LC-ESI-MS and MALDI-QIT-TOF MS from Rosa chinensis Flowers . Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2005) [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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