This is a reference, not medical advice. Before combining any herb with another herb, a supplement, or a medication, consult a qualified practitioner and your pharmacist or physician.
The five safety/warning tags on 280 Chinese herbs.
- Drug interactions — documented interactions with medications, with a derived risk level and interaction type (blood thinners, blood sugar, liver metabolism, and more).
- Incompatible · 十八反 — the classical "Eighteen Incompatibilities": herb pairs that must not be combined.
- Antagonizes · 十九畏 — the "Nineteen Antagonisms": herb pairs that mutually blunt or counteract each other.
- Toxic / restricted — herbs that are toxic, or restricted/illegal in the United States, with a toxicity note.
- Endangered / illegal — substances from CITES-protected species (e.g. tiger, rhinoceros, pangolin, saiga antelope, seahorse) that are illegal and must be replaced with humane, legal substitutes.
These flags describe what we document; the interaction risk level is not a clinical severity score. Always read a herb's full page and confirm with a qualified practitioner and pharmacist.
Showing 54 of 280 herbs with a safety flag.
- Ba DouHigher interaction十九畏 AntagonizesToxic / restrictedCroton Seed (Crotonis Fructus)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The documented cautions are traditional rather than pharmacokinetic: the recorded incompatibility with Qian Niu Zi, and the classical instruction against taking hot liquids alongside it. Precautionary reasoning — any drastic purgative…
Antagonizes / antagonized by 十九畏: Qian Niu Zi
Toxicity: Ba Dou is toxic in two distinct and separately documented ways: as an acute irritant poison, and as a laboratory-standard tumour promoter. Both trace to the same class of constituents — the tigliane…
- Bai Fu ZiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedTyphonium Rhizome (Rhizoma Typhonii Gigantei)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The practical interaction risk is not pharmacological but identification-related: because the name is one syllable from Fu Zi, and because Baifuzi is also used in the literature for an Aconitum species, a dispensing or record-keeping…
Toxicity: Moderate to high, and mechanistically specific: Bai Fu Zi s toxicity is irritant rather than systemic-alkaloid, and it comes from two constituents acting together — needle-shaped calcium-oxalate crystals…
- Bai GuoModerate interactionToxic / restrictedGinkgo Nut (Semen Ginkgonis Bilobae)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
The widely repeated bleeding and anticoagulant cautions in Western reference works attach to standardized ginkgo leaf extracts, which are a different preparation from a different plant part, and we do not transfer them to Bai Guo. One…
Toxicity: Yes — this is one of the few Chinese herbs with a well-characterised, chemically identified human poisoning syndrome. The ginkgo seed contains ginkgotoxin (4'-O-methylpyridoxine, MPN ) and its 5'-glucoside,…
- Bai Hua SheHigher interactionToxic / restrictedAgkistrodon, Bungarus (Agkistrodon Seu Bungarus)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
One precautionary flag is worth practitioner awareness: proteins isolated from the venom of the sharp-snouted pit viper have documented antithrombotic and anticoagulant activity in laboratory and animal studies (PMID 33773469; PMID…
Toxicity: Classified as toxic in the traditional literature. Our record lists toxicity as part of this herb s nature, which in materia medica usage signals a restricted dose ceiling, professional supervision, and…
- Ban MaoHigher interactionToxic / restrictedCantharides (Mylabris)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given its documented nephrotoxicity and GI corrosiveness, concurrent use with other nephrotoxic agents (e.g., NSAIDs, aminoglycosides, cisplatin-class chemotherapy) or GI-irritant/ulcerogenic drugs is a reasonable theoretical concern,…
Toxicity: Very high — Ban Mao is among the most toxic substances in the Chinese materia medica, and its active constituent cantharidin has caused fatal poisoning at very low doses. Cantharidin is a potent vesicant…
- Ban XiaHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedPinellia Rhizome (Rhizoma Pinelliae Tematae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
A cardiotoxicity signal is documented only for the RAW, unprocessed rhizome in an animal model (PMID 27698376) — not for the processed forms (Fa/Jiang/Qing Ban Xia) used clinically — but it is a reasonable basis for practitioner…
Incompatible with 十八反: Fu Zi, Cao Wu, Chuan Wu
Toxicity: Yes — raw Ban Xia (Sheng Ban Xia) is toxic and, per the legacy record, is used only externally; every internally-used form is one of the processed preparations that neutralize its irritant components before…
- Cang Er ZiToxic / restrictedCocklebur Fruit (Fructus Xanthii Siberici)
Toxicity: Documented and genuine — Cang Er Zi/Xanthium fruit is a recognized hepatotoxin, with a published poisoning literature that includes fatalities and cases requiring intensive treatment, particularly from raw…
- Cao WuHigher interaction十八反 Incompatible十九畏 AntagonizesToxic / restrictedPrepared Wild Aconite (Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii Preparata)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given its narrow therapeutic window and potent cardioactive alkaloids, Cao Wu warrants particular caution alongside other drugs that affect the heart. Additive risk is plausible with antiarrhythmics, cardiac glycosides, and other…
Incompatible with 十八反: Bai Ji, Ban Xia, Chuan Bei Mu, Gua Lou, Gua Lou Pi, Gua Lou Ren, Tian Hua Fen, Zhe Bei Mu, Bai Lian
Antagonizes / antagonized by 十九畏: Xi Jiao
Toxicity: Extremely toxic — regarded as more toxic than Chuan Wu; use only the processed root, only under qualified supervision. The toxicity comes from diester diterpenoid alkaloids (aconitine, mesaconitine,…
- Chan SuHigher interactionToxic / restrictedToad Venom, Dried Toad Skin Secretions (Secretio Bufonis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Documented interaction risk with cardiac glycosides (e.g., digoxin) and other cardioactive agents. Because Chan Su's bufadienolides act on the same cardiac Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase target as digoxin, co-exposure is expected to compound…
Toxicity: High — Chan Su is classified as toxic and is a documented potent cardiotoxin. Its bufadienolide compounds (bufalin, cinobufagin, and related steroids) inhibit the cardiac Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase pump in…
- Chang ShanHigher interactionToxic / restrictedDichroa Root (Radix Dichroae Febrifugae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given documented preclinical signals of liver, kidney, and cardiac involvement at raw/excessive doses (see toxicity, above), practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients already taking hepatotoxic medications or pharmaceutical…
Toxicity: Toxic — this site s own record records Chang Shan s nature as Bitter, Spicy, Cold, Toxic, consistent with the wider TCM and pharmacological literature. Strong nausea and vomiting are described as occurring…
- Chuan JiaoToxic / restrictedFruit of Szechuan Pepper (Pericarpium Zanthoxyli Bungeani)
Toxicity: Chuan Jiao is classified on this site as slightly toxic , a traditional grading rather than a statement of acute poisoning risk. The label functions as a dosing discipline: it marks the herb as one to keep…
- Chuan Lian ZiGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedSichuan Pagoda Tree Fruit (Fructus Meliae Toosendan)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given its documented hepatotoxic potential, concurrent use with other hepatotoxic substances (including some medications and alcohol) or in patients with pre-existing liver disease warrants professional caution and monitoring. This is a…
Toxicity: Documented and real — Melia toosendan is classed as slightly toxic in the materia medica, and modern research confirms its main active compound, toosendanin, is hepatotoxic (liver-damaging) in laboratory…
- Chuan WuHigher interaction十八反 Incompatible十九畏 AntagonizesToxic / restrictedPrepared Sichuan Aconite (Radix Aconiti Preparata)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Because of its narrow therapeutic window and cardioactive alkaloids, Chuan Wu warrants particular caution alongside other drugs that affect the heart. Additive risk is plausible with antiarrhythmics, cardiac glycosides, and other…
Incompatible with 十八反: Bai Ji, Ban Xia, Chuan Bei Mu, Gua Lou, Gua Lou Pi, Gua Lou Ren, Tian Hua Fen, Zhe Bei Mu, Bai Lian
Antagonizes / antagonized by 十九畏: Xi Jiao
Toxicity: Extremely toxic — use only the processed root, only under qualified supervision. The toxicity comes from diester diterpenoid alkaloids (aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine). Traditional processing —…
- Da Feng ZiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedChaulmoogra Seeds (Semen Hydnocarpi Anthelminticae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Therapeutic use of chaulmoogra-derived compounds for disease treatment was superseded in the 1940s by dapsone and other sulfone antibiotics as the medical standard for leprosy (Hansen s disease), so contemporary clinical pharmacology…
Toxicity: Toxic — the Sacred Lotus identity record and standard Chinese materia medica both classify Da Feng Zi as a toxic substance, which is the documented public-safety basis for restricting it to external (skin)…
- Feng FangHigher interactionToxic / restrictedHornet's Nest (Nidus Vespae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Preclinical research (below) shows Nidus Vespae extracts can stimulate immune-cell proliferation and cytokine output (e.g., TNF- , IL-6, IgG) and affect cancer-cell growth in vitro . On that basis, practitioner awareness is reasonable…
Toxicity: Toxic. Feng Fang is consistently classified as a toxic substance in Chinese materia medica (properties recorded on this site as Sweet, Neutral, Toxic). Toxicity is concentrated in the raw material's…
- Fu ZiHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedProcessed Aconite (Radix Lateralis Praeparatus Aconiti Carmichaeli)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The primary documented concern is cardiac. The aconitine-type diester alkaloids are recognized in the pharmacology literature as cardiotoxic and arrhythmogenic, so reference sources flag added caution where cardiac or antiarrhythmic…
Incompatible with 十八反: Bai Ji, Ban Xia, Chuan Bei Mu, Gua Lou, Gua Lou Pi, Gua Lou Ren, Tian Hua Fen, Zhe Bei Mu, Bai Lian
Toxicity: Raw aconite is highly toxic, and Fu Zi is the detoxified, processed lateral root — only processed forms are used internally. Toxicity is attributed to the diester diterpenoid alkaloids (aconitine,…
- Gan QiGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedSap Prepared as Lacquer (Lacca Sinica Exsiccata)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given its classification as a toxic, strongly blood-stasis-breaking substance used only in processed form under professional supervision, practitioners are the appropriate source for any interaction assessment; the absence of published…
Toxicity: Yes — the raw sap of the lacquer tree is a well-documented, potent skin allergen and irritant, and the dried resin is classified in the materia medica as slightly toxic. The sap s chief constituent,…
- Gan SuiHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedKansui Root (Radix Euphorbiae Kansui)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The best-characterised interaction is herb–herb rather than herb–drug: co-administration with licorice measurably reduced licorice-constituent bioavailability in rats and shifted the toxicity-efficacy balance unfavourably (see notes and…
Incompatible with 十八反: Gan Cao
Toxicity: High. Gan Sui is a documented irritant and hepatotoxin, and its toxicity comes from the same diterpene constituents that produce its purgative effect — the effect and the harm are not separable. A 2016…
- Gua DiModerate interactionToxic / restrictedMelon Pedicle (Pedicellus Cucumeris)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
Given that its active cucurbitacin constituents have documented hepatic and cytotoxic pharmacology in laboratory research (below), and that its traditional use itself induces vomiting and gastrointestinal distress, practitioner…
Toxicity: Gua Di is a genuinely toxic herb; the current record classifies it as slightly toxic, though other materia medica sources classify it simply as toxic — sources agree on the underlying caution even where the…
- Guang Fang JiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedAristolochia Root, Stephania (Radix Aristolochiae Fangchi)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The question does not really arise, because the herb should not be taken at all. The historical caution attached to it in our records — that it should not be combined with other substances toxic to the kidney or liver — is retained only…
Toxicity: Yes — it contains aristolochic acid, which is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen and is both nephrotoxic and genotoxic. The injury pattern is a rapidly progressive interstitial fibrosis of the kidney…
- He ShiGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedCarpesium Fruit (Fructus Carpesii Seu Dauci)Toxic / Restricted Herb
As a slightly toxic anthelmintic intended for short-course, practitioner-supervised use, general caution applies alongside other agents that stress the liver, GI tract, or cardiac system, but no specific interaction has been…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic — classified as such in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and standard materia medica. Traditional sources note possible side effects such as dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, and headache at higher…
- Hong Da JiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedKnoxia Root (Radix Knoxiae)Blood PressureToxic / Restricted Herb
The primary documented interaction is the classical/regulatory incompatibility with Gan Cao (licorice, Radix Glycyrrhizae) and licorice-containing preparations under the Eighteen Incompatibilities (十八反), which practitioners observe when…
Toxicity: Toxic; classified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia tradition as a slightly toxic (有小毒) harsh expellant, though Western and database references commonly label it simply toxic — the same substance under different…
- Jing Da JiHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedPeking Spurge Root (Radix Euphorbiae Pekinensis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The best-characterised interaction is herb–herb: the classical prohibition on combining it with Gan Cao (licorice, Radix Glycyrrhizae), one of the Eighteen Incompatibilities and a pair our own incompatibility records hold. What modern…
Incompatible with 十八反: Gan Cao
Toxicity: High, and mechanistically well characterised. The toxicity of Jing Da Ji and its purgative effect come from the same chemistry — the effect and the harm are not separable. Documented targets are the…
- Ku Lian Gen PiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedChina Tree Root Bark (Cortex Meliae Radicis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the demonstrated hepatotoxic mechanisms of its marker compound toosendanin (see Toxicity), practitioner awareness is reasonable when a patient is also taking other hepatotoxic medications or has impaired liver function — this is a…
Toxicity: Documented toxic herb. Cortex Meliae's marker limonoid, toosendanin, has repeatedly been shown in laboratory research to be hepatotoxic — damaging liver cells via disrupted autophagy/lysosomal function,…
- Lei WanGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedFruiting Body of Omphalia (Scierotium Omphaliae Lapidescentis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given Lei Wan s slightly toxic classification and its narrow, enzyme-dependent effective dose, practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients on other medications with GI or hepatic burden, or anyone with pre-existing GI compromise;…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic. Lei Wan s this site s own properties record and every cross-checked materia medica source classify it as bitter, cold, and slightly toxic — the toxic designation is a core part of its…
- Li LuHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedVeratrum Root and Rhizome (Radix Et Rhizoma Veratri)Blood PressureToxic / Restricted Herb
Because its toxic alkaloids act on cardiac sodium channels and produce vagally mediated bradycardia and hypotension, reference sources would reasonably flag added caution alongside antiarrhythmic medications, beta-blockers or other…
Incompatible with 十八反: Bai Shao, Bei Sha Shen, Chi Shao, Dan Shen, Dang Shen, Ku Shen, Ren Shen, Xi Xin, Xuan Shen, Sha Shen
Toxicity: Yes — Li Lu is classed as very toxic, and the site flags it accordingly. Its toxicity is attributed to steroidal ester alkaloids — principally veratramine and jervine (reported as the two largest fractions…
- Liu HuangHigher interaction十九畏 AntagonizesToxic / restrictedSulpher (Sulphur)Liver Metabolism (CYP / P-gp)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the overdose mechanism described above — conversion toward hydrogen sulfide, with potential sulfhemoglobin formation and cytochrome-oxidase inhibition at high exposure — theoretical caution is reasonable for concurrent use with…
Antagonizes / antagonized by 十九畏: Po Xiao
Toxicity: Toxic — use is restricted to small, professionally processed and professionally supervised internal doses, with a defined dose ceiling. As mined, sulphur commonly carries arsenic-trioxide contamination from…
- Ma Dou LingHigher interactionToxic / restrictedBirthwort Fruit (Aristolochiae Fructus)Liver Metabolism (CYP / P-gp)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The relevant hazard is not a conventional drug interaction — it is the aristolochic acid itself — but one laboratory finding is worth recording: fruit extract inhibited several drug-metabolising cytochrome P450 enzymes in rat liver…
Toxicity: Yes. The fruit contains aristolochic acids, and the harm they cause is among the best-characterised in the whole of herbal toxicology: a progressive, irreversible interstitial kidney fibrosis, and…
- Ma Qian ZiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedNux Vomica Seeds (Semen Strychnotis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given strychnine s action as a CNS excitatory agent (glycine-receptor antagonism), reference sources support practitioner caution around other drugs or substances that lower seizure threshold or otherwise increase CNS/neuromuscular…
Toxicity: Yes — Ma Qian Zi is classified as very toxic. Its two main alkaloids, strychnine and brucine, are both toxic principles, with strychnine reported as substantially more potent than brucine. Strychnine acts…
- Meng ChongHigher interactionToxic / restrictedtabanus, gadfly (Tabanus)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
Caution with anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs is reasonable, and unusually for a herb of this kind there is a real human safety signal behind it rather than only an inference from chemistry. Our record holds no interaction note of…
Toxicity: Our record classifies Meng Chong as slightly toxic, and the reference doses it carries — 1–1.5 g decocted, 0.3 g as powder — are among the smallest in the materia medica, which is the practical expression…
- Mi Tuo SengHigher interactionToxic / restrictedLitharge (Lithargyrum)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The relevant concern is not a pharmacologic interaction but cumulative heavy-metal exposure: patients undergoing chelation therapy, those with impaired renal function (lead is renally excreted), or anyone with other sources of lead…
Toxicity: Mi Tuo Seng is essentially pure lead(II) oxide (PbO, CAS 1317-36-8) — a recognized heavy-metal toxin with no established safe exposure level. Lead compounds are absorbed through inhalation, ingestion, and,…
- Mu Bie ZiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedMomordica Seeds (Semen Momordicae Cochinchinensis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the preclinical signals of cardiac and hepatic toxicity at higher doses (see toxicity), practitioner caution is reasonable when combining with other cardiotoxic or hepatotoxic substances/medications — this is precautionary, not a…
Toxicity: Documented toxic. Momordicae Semen (Mu Bie Zi) contains saponins and cochinchinin, concentrated mainly in the seed kernel, identified in preclinical studies as its principal toxic constituents. Reported…
- Qian DanHigher interactionToxic / restrictedLead Oxide (Minium)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The clinical literature instead documents lead poisoning itself as the adverse event of concern, sometimes alongside co-exposure to other toxic minerals present in the same traditional preparation — one reported topical case involved a…
Toxicity: Lead tetroxide is systemically toxic, and no safe exposure level has been established. Its traditional external use in Chinese medicine is a documented real-world pathway to clinical lead poisoning:…
- Qian Niu ZiModerate interaction十九畏 AntagonizesToxic / restrictedMorning Glory Seeds or Pharbitis (Semen Pharbiditis)Blood PressureToxic / Restricted Herb
Given its potent cathartic/diuretic mechanism, theoretical additive effects with other laxatives, diuretics, or purgative agents are a reasonable practitioner consideration, and its documented teratogenicity means it should not be…
Antagonizes / antagonized by 十九畏: Ba Dou
Toxicity: Toxic. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia and much of the modern pharmacology literature classify Qian Niu Zi as toxic; the Sacred Lotus records it as slightly toxic, reflecting real variation across sources in how…
- Qing FenHigher interactionToxic / restrictedCalomel (Calomelas)Toxic / Restricted Herb
As a general toxicological point rather than a documented interaction: mercury body burden is cumulative and additive across exposure sources, so concurrent exposure to other mercury-containing products (other mercurial patent…
Toxicity: High — Qing Fen is mercurous chloride (Hg₂Cl₂), a mercury compound, and both historical and modern case reports document mercury poisoning linked to calomel exposure. Calomel is photolabile:…
- Quan XieHigher interactionToxic / restrictedScorpion, Buthus (Buthus Martensis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the neurotoxic peptides in scorpion venom (see Research and Toxicity), practitioner caution is reasonable alongside drugs acting on the nervous system (e.g., anticonvulsants and sedatives) and in any setting where the substance s…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic — used in small doses and short courses. The Sacred Lotus identity record flags Quan Xie as toxic, consistent with the standard classification of slightly toxic. Its venom contains neurotoxic…
- Shan Ci GuModerate interactionToxic / restrictedBulb of Chinese Tulip (Pseudobulbus Shancigu)Liver Metabolism (CYP / P-gp)Toxic / Restricted Herb
No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for the authentic orchid-derived Shan Ci Gu (Cremastra/Pleione spp.), whose chemistry is dominated by phenanthrenes and bibenzyls rather than colchicine. Because the…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic, with a real identification/substitution risk that is more clinically significant than the authentic herb s own toxicity. The Chinese-Pharmacopoeia-recognized source plants (Cremastra…
- Shang LuHigher interactionToxic / restrictedPoke Root or Phytolacca (Radix Phytolaccae)Blood PressureToxic / Restricted Herb
Given its traditional diuretic and purgative action, concurrent use with other diuretics, laxatives, or antihypertensive medication is a reasonable precaution for practitioner awareness — this is precautionary reasoning from its…
Toxicity: Shang Lu is classified as toxic; its principal toxic constituents are phytolaccatoxin and triterpenoid saponins (the esculentosides), which affect the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system.…
- Shi Liu PiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedPomegranate Husk (Penicarpium Punicae Granati)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given its very high tannin content, general tannin pharmacology (protein/mineral binding, potential to reduce absorption of co-administered iron or alkaloid-type medications when taken together) is a reasonable basis for practitioner…
Toxicity: Shi Liu Pi is classified as slightly toxic in Chinese materia medica , and traditional sources describe dose-related adverse effects with excessive intake — including dizziness, weakness, muscle…
- Shui ZhiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedLeech (Hirudo seu Whitmania)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
Caution with anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs is reasonable, but the honest position is that the interaction is inferred rather than demonstrated for the dried herb. Our record states that Shui Zhi may interfere with anticoagulant…
Toxicity: Our record classifies Shui Zhi as slightly toxic and describes an overdose picture beginning 1–4 hours after ingestion: nausea, vomiting, abnormal uterine bleeding, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, severe…
- Tu Bie ChongHigher interactionToxic / restrictedWingless Cockroach (Eupolyphaga Seu Opistholpatia)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersToxic / Restricted Herb
The plausible interaction is with blood thinners. Laboratory work has isolated fibrinolytic factors from this insect that act as plasminogen activators, and proteomic analysis identified more than a hundred serine proteases, several of…
Toxicity: It is classified in the traditional literature as slightly toxic, and our records list reported effects of sinus bradycardia, general weakness, nausea, dizziness and irritation of the digestive tract, with…
- Wu GongHigher interactionToxic / restrictedCentipede (Scolopendra Subspinipes)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the ion-channel-active peptides identified in centipede venom (see Research and Toxicity), practitioner caution is reasonable alongside drugs acting on the nervous system (e.g., anticonvulsants and sedatives) and in anyone with a…
Toxicity: Toxic — a fuller toxicity classification than the closely related Quan Xie (Scorpion), which is graded slightly toxic. The Sacred Lotus identity record flags Wu Gong as toxic, consistent with standard…
- Wu Zhu YuModerate interactionToxic / restrictedEvodia Fruit (Fructus Evodiae Rutaecarpae)Liver Metabolism (CYP / P-gp)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Caution is reasonable. Preclinical studies indicate Evodia alkaloids can modulate cytochrome P450 drug-metabolizing enzymes (notably CYP1A2), a theoretical basis for altered levels of drugs cleared by that pathway. (Flagged for…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic — used deliberately in small, short-term doses. Wu Zhu Yu is classified as a slightly toxic, warm herb. Modern reviews report that irrational or high-dose use can cause dose-related adverse…
- Xian MaoHigher interactionToxic / restrictedGolden Eye Grass Rhizome (Rhizoma Curculiginis Orchioidis)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given that Xian Mao is slightly toxic and warm-drying, and that very high long-term doses injured the liver and kidney in animals (see toxicity), caution alongside hepatotoxic or nephrotoxic medications is reasonable. (Flagged for…
Toxicity: Slightly toxic — classified as toxic in the Chinese materia medica, and warm and drying by nature. In toxicological testing, Curculigo orchioides given to rats at a very high dose (120 g/kg) for 180 days…
- Xing RenGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedApricot Seed or Kernel (Semen Pruni Armeniacae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
On mechanistic grounds, its cyanogenic constituent and Lung-qi–descending action make practitioner caution reasonable alongside central respiratory or CNS depressants (e.g. opioids/sedatives), and it should not be combined with other…
Toxicity: Yes — bitter apricot kernel is classified as slightly toxic and is dose-limited. It contains amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside that releases hydrogen cyanide (HCN) on hydrolysis, which is the basis of its…
- Xiong HuangHigher interactionToxic / restrictedRealgar (Realgar)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Given the documented systemic absorption and accumulation of arsenic with repeated exposure (see Toxicity), general toxicological reasoning would flag concurrent use of other arsenic-containing preparations, or conditions/agents that…
Toxicity: Realgar (As4S4) is an inorganic arsenic mineral and is classified as toxic; both traditional and modern sources treat it as a substance requiring strict control. Intact arsenic disulfide/tetrasulfide is…
- Ya Dan ZiHigher interactionToxic / restrictedJava Brucea Fruit (Fructus Bruceae Javanicae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
The absence of documented interactions should not be read as reassurance for a herb with this toxicity profile. Two considerations follow from what is known rather than from interaction studies: the herb is contraindicated where liver…
Toxicity: Toxic — and this is a property of the herb itself, not of a contaminant or an adulterant. Our own properties line for Ya Dan Zi reads Bitter, Cold, Toxic . The toxicity is carried by its quassinoids, the…
- Ying Su KeHigher interactionToxic / restrictedOpium Poppy Husk (Pericarpium Papaveris Somniferi)Sedatives / CNSToxic / Restricted Herb
Because it contains natural opiate alkaloids, Ying Su Ke carries the same interaction profile as other opium-derived substances. Combining it with other CNS depressants (sedatives, benzodiazepines, alcohol, other opioids) would be…
Toxicity: Toxic. Ying Su Ke (opium poppy pericarp) contains natural opium (benzylisoquinoline) alkaloids — chiefly morphine, along with codeine, papaverine, noscapine (narcotine), and thebaine — the same constituents…
- Yuan HuaHigher interaction十八反 IncompatibleToxic / restrictedGenkwa Flower (Flos Daphnis Genkwae)Bleeding / Blood ThinnersLiver Metabolism (CYP / P-gp)Toxic / Restricted Herb
There is experimental evidence that it can. In rats, genkwa decoction significantly increased the absorptive transport of rhodamine 123 — a standard marker substrate for the P-glycoprotein efflux transporter — across jejunum membranes,…
Incompatible with 十八反: Gan Cao
Toxicity: Yes — genuinely and specifically. The toxicity of Daphne genkwa comes from daphnane-type diterpenes, in particular the daphnane orthoesters, a compound class whose irritant and tumour-promoting relatives…
- Zao JiaoToxic / restrictedChinese Honeylocust Fruit (Gleditsiae Sinensis Fructus)
Toxicity: Yes — it is flagged slightly toxic in our own record, and the mechanism is well understood: the pods are rich in bisdesmosidic triterpenoid saponins, which are surface-active molecules that disrupt cell…
- Ze QiGeneral interactionToxic / restrictedEuphorbia (Euphorbiae Helioscopiae)Toxic / Restricted Herb
We do not have a demonstrated interaction to report, and we do not invent one. Two areas of theoretical caution follow from the pharmacology rather than from clinical reports. First, the herb is described in our record as promoting…
Toxicity: Yes — classified slightly toxic, with a documented overdose picture on ingestion and well-established contact irritancy from the latex. The important distinction is that the contact irritancy is documented…
- Zhang NaoHigher interactionToxic / restrictedCamphor (Camphora)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Because camphor is proconvulsant in overdose, practitioner caution is reasonable when combining topical camphor products with other agents that lower seizure threshold, and because high-concentration or occlusive topical use increases…
Toxicity: High — Zhang Nao is classified as toxic in materia medica and is a well-documented cause of serious, occasionally fatal poisoning in Western toxicology, which is why it is treated as an external-use-only…
- Zhi Tian Nan XingHigher interactionToxic / restrictedPrepared Jack in the Pulpit Rhizome (Arisaematis Rhizoma preparatum)Toxic / Restricted Herb
We report the absence rather than filling it. Given the sedative, analgesic and anticonvulsant activity reported for arisaema rhizome in animal studies, practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients taking sedative, anticonvulsant…
Toxicity: Yes — our record classifies the herb toxic even in its processed form, and states that the entire plant is toxic and unsuitable for ingestion unless pre-processed. Documented as a reference fact and not as…
- Zhu ShaHigher interactionToxic / restrictedCinnabar (Cinnabar)Toxic / Restricted Herb
Zhu Sha is documented to react dangerously with iodide- and bromide-containing medications. TCM pharmacology references describe mercury from cinnabar combining with iodide or bromide ions (for example, potassium-iodide-based…
Toxicity: Zhu Sha is a documented mercury-toxicity hazard. Its principal component, mercuric sulfide (HgS), is chemically more inert and less readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract than soluble mercury…
Please read — this list is not complete
While we have made every effort to catalog herb interactions, incompatibilities, and toxicities, these are deep, complex, and still-developing fields. These lists cannot be exhaustive. Cautions beyond those documented here undoubtedly exist, new ones are reported as research advances, and a herb's absence from a list is not evidence that it is safe. Treat this as a starting point for a conversation with a qualified practitioner, pharmacist, or physician — never as a final clearance.
For how we research, cross-reference, and grade the evidence behind these entries, see How we source our content .