Dong Kui Zi (Musk Mallow Seeds, Abutilon Seeds)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the dosage of Dong Kui Zi?

  10–15 g in decoction for the seed (Dong Kui Zi); 3–9 g in decoction for the fruit (Dong Kui Guo). The distinction matters — these are two graded materials from the same plant, and our record carries both, which is why two different ranges appear.

  • Dong Kui Zi (the seed) — 10–15 g in decoction.
  • Dong Kui Guo (the fruit, the papery capsule enclosing the seeds) — 3–9 g in decoction. This is the form listed in modern Chinese pharmacopoeial practice and in Mongolian medicine.
  • The seed is normally crushed before decocting so the mucilage is released.

  Source: Sacred Lotus dosage record (both entries, seed and fruit); published materia medica ranges, cross-referenced against multiple online sources. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for Dong Kui Zi? Is it safe in pregnancy?

  Use with caution in pregnancy, and in anyone with loose stools from cold or Spleen deficiency. These are the two cautions our own record carries, and both follow from the herb’s nature: it is cold and slippery, so it loosens the bowel and moves things downward — unhelpful in a cold, weak digestion, and a reason for care in pregnancy.

  • Loose stools, cold-type or Spleen-deficiency diarrhoea — the moistening, downward-moving effect will aggravate this.
  • Pregnancy — caution; use only under a qualified practitioner.
  • Correct material matters — because of the substitution issue described above, sourcing from a supplier who identifies the botanical species (not merely the trade name) is the practical safeguard.

  Source: Sacred Lotus cautions record; published materia medica, cross-referenced against multiple online sources. Neutral reference facts, not usage instructions.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. Dong Kui Zi is not classified as a toxic herb in the Chinese materia medica, and our record does not flag it as toxic or endangered. Malva verticillata is a food plant — the leaves are eaten as a vegetable in China and Korea — and the seed has a long dietary and medicinal history without reports of significant toxicity at customary doses. The recorded concerns are functional (cold, slippery, laxative) rather than toxicological.

  Source: Sacred Lotus herb record; published materia medica; food-plant status per the Malva verticillata literature. Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for Dong Kui Zi. No interaction case reports or clinical pharmacokinetic studies were located. Two mechanism-based precautions are reasonable and are stated as precaution only, not as demonstrated interactions: as a mucilaginous seed it may in principle slow the absorption of medicines taken at the same time, so separating doses is sensible; and preclinical work reports hypoglycaemic and AMPK-activating activity for the seed extract, which is worth practitioner awareness in anyone on diabetes medication. Patients on prescription medication should confirm use with their prescriber and a qualified practitioner.

  Source: PubMed search (no clinical interaction reports located); PMID 2353063 and PMID 21952368 (preclinical hypoglycaemic / AMPK findings). Precautionary reference note.

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 Dong Kui Zi (Malva verticillata seed)?

  Yes — a well-defined chemistry literature centred on the seed’s polysaccharides, plus scattered preclinical pharmacology. There are no clinical trials. The best-characterised constituents are the seed mucilage polysaccharides: a series of papers isolated and structurally characterised the major neutral polysaccharide (MVS-I) and the major acidic polysaccharide (MVS-VI) from Malva verticillata seed and reported anti-complementary activity and stimulation of phagocytic activity in the reticuloendothelial system. That mucilage content is the chemical correlate of the herb’s traditional “slippery, moistening” character.

  • Polysaccharide immunology (preclinical) — acidic and neutral seed polysaccharides showed anti-complementary and phagocytosis-stimulating activity in laboratory assays; degradation studies mapped which structural fragments carry the activity.
  • Metabolic activity (preclinical) — seed glycans showed hypoglycaemic activity in early work, and a seed extract activated AMP-activated protein kinase with antidiabetic effects in later cell and animal models.
  • Bone (preclinical) — a water extract of the seeds suppressed RANK-ligand-stimulated osteoclast formation and bone resorption in vitro.
  • Hair growth (preclinical/cosmetic) — seed extracts upregulated Wnt signalling in human dermal papilla cells, with linoleic acid identified as an active component; this is cosmetic-science research, not a traditional indication.
  • Chemistry and antioxidant profiling — UPLC-Q-TOF-MS profiling of Malva verticillata has been published, along with flavonoid glucuronides and glycosyl glycerides isolated from the aerial parts (a different plant part from the medicinal seed).

  On the substituted species: the research literature on Abutilon theophrasti — the plant named in our common-name field, properly Qing Ma Zi — is overwhelmingly agronomic, concerning it as a competitive crop weed; its pharmacology is sparse, with an isolated report of an aqueous extract reducing gastric-ulcer damage in rats. The two plants therefore have almost no overlapping evidence base, which is a further reason to keep them distinct.

  Sources: PMID 3451817, PMID 1806283, PMID 2076561, PMID 2141426, PMID 1423786 (seed polysaccharide structure and immunological activity, preclinical); PMID 2353063 (anti-complementary and hypoglycaemic glycans); PMID 21952368 (AMPK activation, antidiabetic, preclinical); PMID 27580958 (osteoclastogenesis, in vitro); PMID 26249736 and PMID 33917070 (dermal papilla / hair-growth factors, cosmetic research); PMID 29289893 (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS chemical profiling); PMID 40606619 (Abutilon theophrasti extract in a rat gastric-ulcer model — the substituted species, for contrast). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• What plant is Dong Kui Zi, and how does it differ from other lin-syndrome herbs?

  Dong Kui Zi (冬葵子) is the seed of cluster mallow, Malva verticillata L. (Malvaceae) — the source plant behind the pharmaceutical Latin Semen Malvae recorded here. Its distinguishing feature among the herbs that treat painful urinary dribbling is that it also promotes lactation and moistens the intestines, so it is the choice when urinary blockage sits alongside dry stool or insufficient milk.

  • Hua Shi (talcum) — the standard partner for heat-type and stone-type lin; cooling and mineral, without the lubricating or lactation actions.
  • Tong Cao — also promotes urination and lactation, but is bland and cool and far lighter in dose; Dong Kui Zi is the oilier, more moistening option.
  • Wang Bu Liu Xing — a seed used specifically to unblock the breast and move blood in the channels; it is the blood-moving partner where Dong Kui Zi is the moistening one.

  Our record also notes that the fruit is a papery covering over the seeds, and that the herb’s combined effect on urination, defecation and lactation comes from its sweet, bland, cold and slippery nature.

  Identity flag — the common-name field on this record needs owner review. The Chinese characters (冬葵子) and the pharmaceutical Latin (Semen Malvae) are correct and consistent, and both point to Malva verticillata, cluster mallow. The English common-name field, however, reads “Musk Mallow Seeds, Abutilon Seeds,” and neither term matches that plant:
  • “Musk mallow” normally denotes Malva moschata or Abelmoschus moschatus, not Malva verticillata. The usual English name for the source plant is cluster mallow or whorled mallow.
  • “Abutilon seeds” denotes the seed of Abutilon theophrasti Medik., which is a different herb with its own name, Qing Ma Zi (萍麻子), also in Malvaceae. Qing Ma Zi has been used historically as a substitute for Dong Kui Zi in parts of the trade, and this substitution is a recognised source of confusion between the two materials — which is very likely how “Abutilon” entered this entry.
  The two plants are not interchangeable in identity terms: Abutilon theophrasti is best known internationally as an agricultural weed (velvetleaf) and has a distinct research profile. We have not altered any identity field; the flag is recorded for owner decision.

  Source: Sacred Lotus herb record (Chinese, Latin, common name, alt names, notes); botanical identity per published materia medica and the Malva verticillata research literature (see research), cross-referenced against multiple online sources. Identity note for owner review, not a correction.