Hai Feng Teng (Kadsura Stem)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Hai Feng Teng?

  Roughly 5–12 g in decoction, with the two standard references differing slightly at both ends of the range. The material is a woody stem, so it is sliced and decocted rather than taken as a powder, and it is often cooked with the main decoction from the start.

  • 5–10 g in decoction (Chen & Chen).
  • 6–12 g in decoction (Bensky, 3rd ed.).
  • It also appears in medicated wine preparations for chronic bi syndrome, a traditional format for wind-damp vines.

  Source: Sacred Lotus dosage record (both references); cross-referenced against multiple online sources. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for Hai Feng Teng?

  No traditional contraindications are recorded for Hai Feng Teng in the standard materia medica, and our own record lists none. The usual general cautions for the wind-damp category apply: these herbs are acrid and drying, so prolonged use in someone with marked yin or blood deficiency is inadvisable, and the category as a whole is used under practitioner supervision in pregnancy.

  • Yin or blood deficiency — acrid, drying wind-damp vines can aggravate dryness on long courses; this is a category-level caution rather than one specific to this herb.
  • Pregnancy and chronic use — use with a qualified practitioner.
  • Authenticity is the real-world issue — see below.

  Sourcing and authenticity (documented). This is the substantive caution for Hai Feng Teng. DNA-barcoding work on samples collected from Chinese medicine markets found that 18.4% of samples sold as Piper kadsura were not that species; the authors state plainly that the herb is often substituted by other materials in the market and identify psbA-trnH as the barcode region capable of separating it from its close relatives and common adulterant. Buying from a supplier who can identify the botanical species — not merely the trade name — is therefore a genuine quality issue for this herb, and the name confusion described in the notes is part of why.

  On aristolochic acid: aristolochic-acid substitution is a well-known problem for certain other Chinese vine and root medicines. We looked specifically for evidence that Piper kadsura / Hai Feng Teng is among the herbs affected and found none. We therefore make no such claim about this herb. The documented adulteration issue for Hai Feng Teng is species substitution as described above, without a specified aristolochic-acid-bearing adulterant in the literature located.

  Source: Sacred Lotus cautions record (“none noted”); category cautions per published materia medica; PMID 27626403 (DNA barcoding of market samples; 18.4% found to be other species). Neutral reference facts, not usage instructions.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. Hai Feng Teng is not classified as a toxic herb in the Chinese materia medica, and our record does not flag it as toxic or endangered. No toxicity signal was located in the pharmacological literature for the authentic herb. A 2025 comprehensive review of Piper kadsura notes that pharmacokinetic research on the herb remains a significant gap and that standardised quality control is still needed — so the honest position is that authenticity and standardisation, rather than intrinsic toxicity, are the open questions.

  Source: Sacred Lotus herb record; PMID 40505754 (review noting pharmacokinetic and quality-control gaps); PMID 27626403 (market authenticity). Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for Hai Feng Teng. No human interaction reports were located. One preclinical pharmacokinetic study is worth recording for completeness: in rats, co-administration of ciclosporin A (a P-glycoprotein inhibitor) did not significantly change the hepatobiliary excretion ratio of kadsurenone, the herb’s marker neolignan — the authors concluded that kadsurenone undergoes biliary excretion but does not appear to be P-glycoprotein-regulated. That is a negative finding in animals and should not be read as clinical guidance either way. Patients on prescription medication — particularly anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy, given the herb’s platelet-activating-factor antagonist chemistry — should confirm use with their prescriber and a qualified practitioner.

  Source: PMID 19111511 (kadsurenone pharmacokinetics and ciclosporin A co-administration in rats); PMID 2997065 (PAF-antagonist chemistry). Precautionary reference note, not a demonstrated clinical interaction.

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 Hai Feng Teng (Piper kadsura)?

  Yes — and unusually, this herb contributed a landmark compound to mainstream pharmacology. In 1985, researchers isolated kadsurenone from haifenteng and characterised it as an orally active, specific and competitive receptor antagonist of platelet-activating factor (PAF), a potent inflammatory mediator. Kadsurenone became a reference tool compound in PAF research, used to distinguish PAF receptor subtypes and as the template for a published structure–activity series. Anti-inflammatory activity is the through-line connecting the modern chemistry to the traditional bi-syndrome use.

  • Scope of the chemistry — a 2025 comprehensive review reports 208 identified compounds plus 379 essential-oil constituents from Piper kadsura, dominated by phenylpropanoids (neolignans), alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids and flavonoids, and confirms the herb’s primary traditional application to rheumatic conditions.
  • Anti-inflammatory neolignans — multiple isolation studies have reported neolignans from the stems with anti-inflammatory activity in cell models; galgravin, one such neolignan, reduced endotoxaemia in mice.
  • Neuroprotection (preclinical) — neolignans and amide alkaloids from the stems showed neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory activity in cell models, with recent work in amyloid-beta neurotoxicity models. Early-stage laboratory research only.
  • Antioxidant / cytoprotection (preclinical) — extract protected human chondrocyte-derived SW1353 cells against hydrogen-peroxide-induced oxidative stress.
  • Authentication — DNA barcoding using the psbA-trnH region reliably separates Piper kadsura from close relatives and its common adulterant; applied to market samples, 18.4% were found to be a different species (see cautions).
  • Analytical differentiation — high-resolution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with molecular networking has been used to distinguish Piperis Kadsurae Caulis from the related Piperis Herba, addressing exactly the kind of substitution problem this herb faces.

  Human evidence: none located. No clinical trials of Hai Feng Teng were found; all efficacy evidence is preclinical.

  Sources: PMID 2997065 (isolation and characterisation of kadsurenone from haifenteng as an oral PAF receptor antagonist); PMID 3006857 and PMID 2172742 (kadsurenone as a PAF receptor tool compound); PMID 3027330 (structure–activity relationships of kadsurenone analogues); PMID 40505754 (comprehensive review: botany, traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacology, quality control); PMID 16724856, PMID 38623908, PMID 19900811, PMID 35933005 (anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective neolignans); PMID 38068895 (galgravin in murine endotoxaemia); PMID 34684868 (cytoprotection against oxidative stress in vitro); PMID 27626403 (psbA-trnH DNA barcoding of market samples); PMID 38257353 (LC-MS differentiation of Piperis Kadsurae Caulis from Piperis Herba). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• What plant is Hai Feng Teng, and how is it distinguished from Qing Feng Teng and the Kadsura vines?

  Hai Feng Teng (海风臼) is the stem of Piper kadsura (Choisy) Ohwi, in the pepper family (Piperaceae) — the plant behind the pharmaceutical Latin recorded here, Caulis Piperis Futokadsurae (Piper futokadsura is an older synonym of Piper kadsura). This is one of the more confusable names in the materia medica, and three separate mix-ups are worth keeping straight.

  • Hai Feng Teng vs. Qing Feng Teng — Qing Feng Teng (青风臼) is Sinomenium acutum, a moonseed-family (Menispermaceae) vine whose principal alkaloid is sinomenine. It shares the wind-damp bi-syndrome indication and a near-identical name, but it is an entirely different plant with a different chemistry. The two are commonly confused in English-language sources and are sometimes used together in practice, which compounds the confusion. Qing Feng Teng is not currently a separate entry in our herb collection.
  • Hai Feng Teng vs. the Kadsura vines — the species epithet kadsura is misleading. The genus Kadsura (Schisandraceae) contains different plants altogether, including the source of Hong Mu Xiang / Xue Teng type materials. Hai Feng Teng is a Piper, not a Kadsura.
  • Hai Feng Teng vs. Luo Shi Teng — Trachelospermum jasminoides stem, another wind-damp vine in our records, but cool rather than slightly warm and used where there is heat in the obstruction.

  Formula context: in our own formula records Hai Feng Teng appears in Juan Bi Tang (Remove Painful Obstruction Decoction, from Medical Revelations), alongside Qiang Huo, Du Huo, Qin Jiao, Sang Zhi, Dang Gui, Chuan Xiong, Ru Xiang, Mu Xiang, Rou Gui and Zhi Gan Cao — a wind-damp formula that also nourishes and moves blood. (Traditional formula context, not treatment advice.)

  Identity flag — the common-name field reads “Kadsura Stem.” The Chinese characters and the pharmaceutical Latin on this record are correct and internally consistent, and both identify Piper kadsura. The English common name “Kadsura Stem,” however, invites confusion with the unrelated genus Kadsura (Schisandraceae), which supplies different herbs. A less ambiguous rendering would be “Futokadsura stem” or “Japanese pepper vine stem.” We have not altered the identity field; this is flagged for owner decision.

  Source: Sacred Lotus herb and formula records (Latin, Chinese, translation, Juan Bi Tang composition); botanical identity per PMID 2997065 (which names the herb “haifenteng, Caulis piperis futokadsurae”) and PMID 40505754 (comprehensive review of Piper kadsura, “Haifengteng”); Sinomenium acutum per PMID 35681262. Identity note for owner review, not a correction.