He Ye (Lotus Leaf)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of He Ye (Lotus Leaf)?

  Roughly 9–15 g in decoction, up to about 30 g when used alone or in a small formula. The leaf (folium) is the part used; it is typically added to the pot with the other herbs rather than requiring special preparation.

  • Fresh leaf — traditionally used topically as a compress or wash to help stop bleeding from minor wounds.
  • Charred leaf (He Ye Tan) — the processed form favored when the hemostatic (stop-bleeding) action is the goal, rather than the Summerheat-clearing action.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references; standard materia medica dosage ranges (Bensky; Chen & Chen).

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for He Ye (Lotus Leaf)?

  He Ye is a cooling herb, so it is used cautiously when bleeding or diarrhea stems from cold due to deficiency rather than from heat. Because its core traditional actions (clearing Summerheat, raising yang, cooling the blood) are matched to heat-type presentations, using it in a clearly cold, deficient pattern runs against its nature and traditional practice reserves it for heat-associated bleeding and Summerheat patterns.

  Lotus leaf is otherwise widely consumed as a food and tea ingredient across East Asia with a long history of ordinary dietary use, and no significant toxicity is reported in the traditional literature at customary doses.

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references; standard materia medica cautions (Bensky; Chen & Chen). Reference only, not a substitute for practitioner guidance.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. He Ye has a long history of dietary use (lotus-leaf tea and lotus-leaf-wrapped foods are common across East Asian cuisine) and is not associated with significant toxicity at customary culinary or decoction doses in the traditional literature. Modern pharmacological interest (see Research) has focused on its alkaloid and flavonoid constituents' metabolic effects rather than on adverse findings.

  Source: materia medica consensus; dietary-use history. Reference note, not a safety guarantee.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for He Ye. Because preclinical research (below) reports effects on lipid and glucose metabolism, practitioner awareness is reasonable for patients on lipid-lowering or antidiabetic medication — this is precautionary based on preclinical signal, 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 He Ye (Nelumbo nucifera leaf), including the popular weight-loss/lipid use?

  Yes — lotus leaf and its alkaloid nuciferine are actively studied for metabolic effects, but the evidence is preclinical (cell and animal), not human clinical proof of weight loss. Lotus-leaf tea and extracts have become popular in the wider marketplace as a weight-management aid; that popularity is real, but it is a separate question from what has actually been demonstrated in controlled human research.

  • Anti-obesity, animal model — a widely cited study in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2006) found that Nelumbo nucifera leaf extract reduced body-weight gain and liver-fat accumulation in high-fat-diet-induced obese mice and rats, proposed mechanisms including inhibition of digestive enzymes and increased energy expenditure. Animal model, not clinical evidence.
  • Nuciferine review — a 2022 pharmacology review (Pharmacological Research) on nuciferine, the signature aporphine alkaloid of lotus leaf, summarizes preclinical evidence for anti-obesity, anti-dyslipidemia, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-inflammatory activity across multiple metabolic pathways, while noting that pharmacokinetics and safety work supports further drug-development interest. The review itself is a synthesis of laboratory and animal data, not a clinical trial.

  Taken together, the research base for lotus leaf's metabolic effects is genuine but preclinical; it does not establish lotus leaf as a proven human weight-loss treatment, and it should be read as research context rather than a therapeutic claim.

  Sources: PMID 16495025 (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, anti-obesity effect in mice and rats, animal study); PMID 34826599 (Pharmacological Research, 2022, nuciferine review, preclinical). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• Is Lotus Leaf (He Ye) the same herb as Lotus Seed or Lotus Stem?

  No — the lotus plant (Nelumbo nucifera) is divided into several distinct Chinese medicinals, each with its own name, part used, and action, and He Ye is only the leaf. This is a common point of confusion for students, so the map is worth keeping straight:

  • He Ye (Lotus Leaf) — the leaf; clears Summerheat, raises clear yang, and (charred) stops bleeding.
  • Lian Zi (Lotus Seed) — the seed; tonifies the Spleen and Kidney and calms the spirit.
  • Lian Zi Xin (Lotus Plumule) — the small green embryo/“heart” inside the seed; clears Heart heat and calms the spirit, used for restlessness and insomnia.
  • Ou Jie (Node of the Lotus Rhizome) — the node of the underground rhizome; stops bleeding, especially of the upper body.
  • Lian Geng (Lotus Stem) — the stem; unblocks qi circulation in the chest and diaphragm.
  • Lian Fang (Mature Lotus Receptacle) and Lian Xu (Lotus Stamen) — the seed-pod receptacle and the flower stamens, each used less commonly for their own indications (bleeding, and Kidney-astringing/essence-securing actions, respectively).

  Formula context: He Ye appears in classical formulas including Qing Luo Yin (Clear the Collaterals Decoction, for residual Summerheat), Shi Hui San (Ten Partially Charred Substances Powder, a hemostatic formula built around charred herbs), and Si Sheng Wan (Four Fresh Pill, for heat-related bleeding). (Traditional formula context, not treatment advice.)

  Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (herb identity and formula links); cross-referenced against multiple online sources.