Da Ji (Japanese Thistle, Cirsium)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Da Ji?

  Roughly 9–15 g in decoction (dried herb), up to a maximum of about 30 g dried or 60 g fresh short-term for more severe bleeding. Charred Da Ji (Da Ji Tan) is traditionally considered stronger for stopping bleeding, while the raw, unprocessed herb better preserves its blood-cooling and swelling-reducing action; the root portion is sometimes noted as more specifically useful for lowering blood pressure.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references, cross-referenced against multiple online sources (standard materia medica dosage ranges and processing notes). Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for Da Ji?

  Da Ji is contraindicated in cases of Spleen and Stomach deficiency and cold — its cooling, blood-cooling nature can aggravate loose stools, poor appetite, and digestive weakness in a cold-type constitution. Nausea and vomiting have been noted as a possible effect of ingesting the herb, and use during pregnancy calls for caution given its blood-moving, blood-cooling action.

  As with any bleeding presentation, use under a qualified TCM practitioner is advised, since persistent, heavy, or unexplained bleeding warrants proper diagnosis — and confirming this is the thistle Da Ji 大薊, not the toxic spurge Jing Da Ji 京大戟 or Hong Da Ji 红大戟, matters for safety (see identity note above).

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references, cross-referenced against multiple online sources (materia medica cautions). Traditional-use framing; not medical advice.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. This thistle Da Ji (Cirsium japonicum) is a non-toxic herb with a long history of both medicinal and, in its young form, food/vegetable use in East Asia, and no significant toxicity is reported at typical medicinal doses. This is unrelated to the toxicity classification of the similarly-named Jing Da Ji (Euphorbia pekinensis) and Hong Da Ji (Knoxia valerianoides) purgatives, which are documented as toxic in their own separate records.

  Source: materia medica consensus; identity cross-reference with the Jing Da Ji and Hong Da Ji records. Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for this thistle Da Ji. Given its traditional hemostatic use and preclinical findings of shortened coagulation and bleeding time (below), practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy such as warfarin — this is precautionary, based on traditional and preclinical mechanism data, not a demonstrated clinical interaction. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation.)

Western / Biomedical Research

Chinese Herb Clinical Studies & Research

Provided as research context — a summary of published biomedical study, not a therapeutic or medical claim.

• Is there modern research on Da Ji (Cirsium japonicum)?

  Yes — decades of Japanese and Chinese pharmacology research, plus recent studies, support a genuine hemostatic and anti-inflammatory effect, alongside hepatoprotective and hypotensive findings, though rigorous modern human clinical trials remain limited. Key constituents include the flavonoid glycosides pectolinarin and pectolinarigenin, along with other flavonoids such as linarin and acacetin.

  • Classic antihemorrhagic-principle study — a 1987 study in a series specifically investigating antihemorrhagic substances in Chinese hemostatic herbs identified pectolinarin as an active hemostatic principle isolated from Cirsium japonicum, providing an early chemical basis for the herb’s traditional bleeding-stopping use.
  • Combined-extract hemostatic/anti-inflammatory study (2024) — a study of combined Cirsium japonicum and Cirsium setosum (Da Ji + Xiao Ji) extracts profiled 51 constituents by UHPLC-MS and found the combination significantly shortened coagulation and bleeding time in rabbit models and reduced xylene-induced ear swelling plus serum TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β versus control, with the combined extract outperforming either single-species extract. Preclinical (animal) evidence.
  • Pectolinarigenin metabolism (2024) — a human-tissue metabolism study identified 7-O-glucuronidation, via liver enzymes UGT1A1/1A3/1A9, as the major metabolic pathway for pectolinarigenin (described as the major active constituent of Da Ji), and found the resulting glucuronide metabolite has substantially weaker activity at the Nrf2 and PPAR pathways than the parent compound — a pharmacokinetic/mechanistic finding, not a clinical outcome study.
  • Hepatoprotective flavonoids (2017) — a study of flavonoids isolated from a related Cirsium japonicum variety reported protective effects relevant to liver health in laboratory models, consistent with the traditional use of the broader thistle group for Damp-Heat/jaundice patterns.

  Overall, modern chemistry and animal research support Da Ji’s traditional hemostatic and anti-inflammatory reputation; controlled human clinical trials specific to the single herb have not been identified.

  Sources: PMID 3594697, DOI 10.1248/cpb.35.861 (Chem Pharm Bull, 1987, antihemorrhagic principle); PMID 38731410, PMC 11085329, DOI 10.3390/molecules29091918 (Molecules, 2024, combined-extract hemostatic/anti-inflammatory study); PMID 37797876, DOI 10.1016/j.jep.2023.117280 (J Ethnopharmacol, 2024, pectolinarigenin metabolism); PMID 28735729 (J Ethnopharmacol, 2017, hepatoprotective flavonoids). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• Is Da Ji the same herb as Jing Da Ji? How is it different from Xiao Ji?

  No — “Da Ji” is a pinyin collision between two completely unrelated plants, and this record covers only the non-toxic thistle. This Sacred Lotus record is Da Ji 大薊 (Herba Cirsii Japonici, Cirsium japonicum, family Asteraceae), the mild, sweet, cool, non-toxic blood-cooling hemostatic thistle that is traditionally paired with Xiao Ji. It is not the same herb as Jing Da Ji 京大戟 (Euphorbia pekinensis) or Hong Da Ji 红大戟 (Knoxia valerianoides) — both toxic, harsh water-expelling purgatives from entirely different plant families, held in Sacred Lotus sources as separate herb records. The two name groups share only the romanized syllables, not botany, category, or safety profile.

  • Da Ji 大薊 (this record) — Cirsium japonicum, Asteraceae; non-toxic; cools the Blood and stops bleeding; used in formulas such as Shi Hui San.
  • Jing Da Ji 京大戟 — Euphorbia pekinensis, Euphorbiaceae; toxic harsh expel-water purgative; an entirely different herb despite the shared pinyin.
  • Hong Da Ji 红大戟 — Knoxia valerianoides, Rubiaceae; also a toxic harsh expel-water purgative; likewise unrelated to this thistle.

  Da Ji vs. Xiao Ji: the two are both sweet, cool, blood-cooling hemostatics from related thistle species, frequently combined together, but Da Ji has broader and generally stronger hemostatic and swelling-reducing power (plus traditional use for jaundice and hypertension not shared by Xiao Ji), while Xiao Ji (Herba Cirsii, Cirsium setosum) is milder and more specifically indicated for lower-burner bleeding, above all hematuria.

  Shi Hui San (Ten Partially Charred Substances Powder): Da Ji is one of ten charred hemostatic ingredients — alongside Xiao Ji, He Ye, Da Huang, Zhi Zi, Qian Cao Gen, Bai Mao Gen, Ce Bai Ye, Mu Dan Pi, and Zong Lu Pi — combined to cool the Blood and stop bleeding for heat-type hemorrhage. (Traditional formula context, not treatment advice; see the Shi Hui San formula entry.)

  Note: a prior Sacred Lotus data correction re-pointed the formulas Shi Zao Tang and Zhou Che Wan away from this thistle record to the toxic spurge Jing Da Ji (Euphorbia pekinensis), since both formulas use the harsh purgative herb, not the hemostatic thistle. Shi Hui San correctly keeps its link to this thistle record. Readers researching Shi Zao Tang or Zhou Che Wan should consult the Jing Da Ji record, not this one.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (Da Ji/Xiao Ji differentiation and Jing Da Ji/Hong Da Ji identity distinction), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; Sacred Lotus formula link (Shi Hui San ingredient list).

This herb is incompatible with:

• Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae)