Use with caution. Review interactions and contraindications below.
TCM Properties
- Taste
- bitter, acrid
- Temperature
- neutral
- Channels
- Liver, Large Intestine
Traditional Use
Primary Actions
- Dispels wind-dampness and relieves bi-pain — used for rheumatic joint pain, swelling, and inflammatory arthritis from wind-damp obstruction
- Clears heat and relieves toxicity — used for dysentery, fever, snake bites, and toxic inflammatory conditions
Secondary Actions
- Relaxes tendons and invigorates collaterals — used for numbness and spasm from wind-damp obstruction in the sinews
- Expels parasites and treats malaria — traditional anthelmintic and antimalarial applications
Modern Research
Active Compounds
- Magnoflorine and magnocurarine — quaternary isoquinoline alkaloids with anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory, and antimicrobial activity
- Hayatinine and hayatidine — bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids; hayatinine demonstrates anticancer activity against KB and A549 cell lines
- Cycleanine — bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid with anticancer activity against KB cells
- Cissamine and curine — isoquinoline alkaloids; curine is a d-tubocurarine analog with neuromuscular-blocking activity at high doses
- Berberine — quaternary alkaloid with anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antidiarrheal activity
- Quercetin derivatives — flavonoid glycosides with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
Studied Effects
- Phytochemistry and pharmacology review — comprehensive isolation of 54+ phytomolecules; confirmed anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, antiulcer, immunomodulatory, antipyretic, antivenom, antimalarial, and anticancer activities (PMID 33485976)
- Anticancer alkaloids — isolation of magnoflorine, magnocurarine, cissamine, curine, hayatinine, and cycleanine; hayatinine most active against KB and A549 cancer cells (PMID 29126362)
PubMed References
Safety & Interactions
Contraindications
- Pregnancy — alkaloid content including uterine-active berberine and other isoquinoline alkaloids; contraindicated throughout pregnancy
- Yang deficiency without wind-damp — neutral-bitter nature with cold-draining potential; avoid in cold-deficient patterns without heat
Cautions
- CURARE-TYPE ALKALOIDS PRESENT: curine and related bisbenzylisoquinolines show d-tubocurarine-like neuromuscular-blocking activity at overdose — use only under practitioner guidance with strict dose and duration control
- Not standardized in major TCM pharmacopoeias — primarily used in folk medicine of southern China, Yunnan, and Guizhou; formal TCM clinical safety data limited
- MSK page not found — drug interaction data not available from Memorial Sloan Kettering integrative medicine database