Bupleurum - Health Benefits

Bupleurum - Health Benefits

Bupleurum, also known as “chai hu” in chinese medicine, is a perennial plant in the Apiacae family found natively in China and east asia. e root of the plant has been used medicinally for centuries and is one of the most important herbs used in Chinese medicine.Th e main “active” constituents have been identi ed as furfurol, sterol and bupleurumol and it is classi ed as an antipyretic, diaphoretic, carminative and alterative. Energetically, Bupleurum is pungent, bitter and cooling (anti-in ammatory), mainly working through the liver and gall bladder meridians.

It is believed that Bupleurum, combined with other synergistic herbs, has the ability to clear stagnation anywhere in the body. A “harmonizing” herb, Bupleurum regulates “qi” (life force energy), allowing it to fl ow freely and discharge toxins safely out of the body. Besides being the most commonly used herb for liver detoxi cation, it is also used to relieve tension and spasms, balance emotions (especially with PMS), ease chest constriction, regulate menstruation, clear heat and treat the common cold.  

Many herbalists use Bupleurum based formulas (such as the Chinese “Xiao Yao Wan”) as the main herbal treatment of depression. According to herbalist Michael Tierra, Bupleurum not only cleanses the liver of toxins, but has the ability to “dredge the liver” of old emotions, bringing up repressed anger, sadness and anxiety. For this reason, it is oft en used in combination with other herbs for depression, frustration, anxiety and stress.

For thousands of years Bupleurum has been used in chinese medicine, not only for its regulating effects on the liver and the emotions, but as an important herb for the treatment of colds and fl us. “Xiao Chai Hu Tang” (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) is fi rst found in Zhang Zhongjing’s famous late Han dynasty Shan Han Lun (Treatise on Damage [Due to] Cold). In that book, Minor Bupleurum Decoction is indicated as the main formula for the treatment of a situation where an externally “invading evil qi” or pathogen exists half externally and half internally. is is a commonly seen stage in some acute, infectious upper respiratory tract diseases. Typically, it occurs aft er the person has been ill for several days. Bupleurum is said to work on diseases of a mixed conformation (ie., internal and external, chronic and acute, cold and hot, de cient and excess).

Numerous components of bupleurum root have shown anti-in ammatory activity in a wide variety of animal models. Bupleurum root extracts protected rat livers from chemical insults, leading researchers to conclude that members of this species “have potential as broad spectrum antihepatic agents”. Bupleurum root saponins, like other saponin-rich herbs, show potent heart and blood vessel protective effects. Th ey have been shown to “inhibit the formation of lipid peroxides in the cardiac muscle or in the liver, in fluence the function of enzymes contained in them, decrease blood coagulation, cholesterol and sugar levels in blood, (and) stimulate the immunity system”. Various clinical studies on humans have shown liver enzyme reduction in hepatitis, fever reduction in infection, and diuretic effects.