Clears Damp-Heat from the Liver and Gallbladder — primary herb for infectious and viral hepatitis
Reduces jaundice and promotes bile flow in cholecystitis
Clears Heat and resolves toxicity
Cools the Stomach and relieves Stomach Heat — bitter, cold, and drying
Secondary Actions
Anti-hepatitis B — swerilactone constituents inhibit HBsAg and HBeAg secretion
Hypoglycemic — swerchirin stimulates insulin release; folk use for diabetes
Classical References
Qing Ye Dan (青叶胆, 'Blue-Leaf Bile Herb') — named for its intensely bitter, bile-like taste and its primary Liver-Gallbladder Damp-Heat indication; used in Yunnan provincial medicine and listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia
NOTE: Swertia mileensis is now listed as a nationally protected and at-risk plant in China due to over-harvesting for medicinal use; commercially available preparations must use sustainably cultivated or pharmacopoeial-substitute material (S. cincta or other approved species)
Modern Research
Active Compounds
Swerilactones A–P (novel pentacyclic and secoiridoid lactones unique to S. mileensis; anti-HBV principal actives)
Anti-HBV: Swerilactones A and B — novel lactones with an unprecedented 6/6/6/6/6 pentacyclic ring system — showed inhibitory activities against HBsAg and HBeAg secretion in HepG2.2.15 cells; swerilactones C and D confirmed IC50 = 1.24 and 2.96 mM (HBsAg) — provides mechanistic basis for hepatitis B folk application (PMIDs 19673486, 19863146)
Hepatoprotective: swerchirin significantly reduced paracetamol-induced elevations of AST, ALT, and ALP in mouse models, restoring liver enzyme markers toward normal — consistent with the classical Damp-Heat jaundice indication (PMID 16451758)
Comprehensive genus review (Swertia L.): 37 species systematically reviewed; xanthones and iridoids confirmed as principal hepatoprotective and antimalarial compound classes; anti-HBV activity of S. mileensis-specific swerilactones highlighted as unique within the genus (PMID 37143212)