TCM Properties

Traditional Use

Clears heat and removes toxicity - Shi Shang Bai is used for sore throat, mastitis, eye swelling, and other hot, inflamed, toxin-pattern presentations.
Promotes urination and clears damp-heat - traditional indications include jaundice and heat-type urinary difficulty when dampness and heat obstruct the lower burner.
Relieves lung heat and related upward inflammation - classic use extends to cough, wheezing, and asthma with evident heat signs.

The herb is used both internally and externally, especially for burns or scalds where its cooling, toxin-resolving character is emphasized.
Because Shi Shang Bai is distinctly bitter-cold, it is best matched to hot conditions rather than to weak, cold, or deficient constitutions.

Shi Shang Bai with Pu Gong Ying or Zi Hua Di Ding - common heat-toxin pairing logic for mastitis, throat swelling, and inflamed superficial lesions.
Damp-heat urinary combinations with Che Qian Cao and Jin Qian Cao - traditional strategy when jaundice or hot urination patterns are prominent.

TCM Wiki describes Shi Shang Bai as bitter and cold, entering the Liver, Gallbladder, and Lung channels, with actions of clearing heat, removing toxicity, and promoting diuresis.
Traditional indications include sore throat, jaundice, eye pain and swelling, acute mastitis, cough or asthma due to lung heat, and heat stranguria.

Biflavonoids - the best-known Selaginella doederleinii constituents and the major focus of current anticancer and antioxidant literature
Phenolic compounds - additional antioxidant-active constituents reported from the whole herb
Selaginella-specific flavonoid derivatives - chemically distinctive compounds contributing to the plant's modern research profile

Chemical studies identified multiple phenolic constituents and helped establish the biflavonoid-rich profile of Selaginella doederleinii (PMID 17236034).
More recent phytochemical work isolated additional flavonoids and reported antioxidant and antiproliferative activity, supporting the herb's modern reputation as a bioactive Selaginella species, though still mainly in preclinical settings (PMID 35740086).
Broader review work on Selaginella biflavonoids continues to emphasize anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory potential, but these findings do not yet translate into validated clinical use for the crude herb (PMID 37175435).

Most modern evidence for Shi Shang Bai remains preclinical and often centers on isolated flavonoids rather than traditional whole-herb dosing.
Because the herb is bitter and cold, larger doses may be harder on fragile digestion.