Xian He Cao (Agrimony)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Xian He Cao?

  3–15 g in decoction. Larger doses (up to 30–60 g) are used traditionally where a stronger effect is wanted. For parasites and topical indications it is prepared as an external application rather than swallowed.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (3–5 qian, up to 10–20 qian); standard materia medica ranges. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions for Xian He Cao?

  Xian He Cao is generally well tolerated, but large oral doses may provoke nausea or vomiting. As an astringent, it treats the symptom of bleeding rather than its root, so it is used alongside herbs that address the underlying pattern. Where bleeding involves marked blood stasis, pair it with blood-invigorating herbs so the stasis is not simply retained.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (noted caution: may cause nausea/vomiting).

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. No significant toxicity is reported at normal therapeutic doses; a comprehensive pharmacology-and-toxicology review of Agrimonia pilosa found no notable toxicity signal in the surveyed literature. High oral doses may cause gastrointestinal upset (nausea/vomiting).

  Source: PubMed 36046524 (Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb.: review of traditional uses, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology); owner’s Five Branches notes. Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented. Laboratory work has screened Agrimonia constituents for effects on blood coagulation (thrombin-binding, antithrombotic components), so practitioner caution is reasonable alongside anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation — absence of documented interactions is not proof of safety.)

  Note on nuance: Xian He Cao is a traditional hemostatic (used to stop bleeding), yet modern screening has also isolated antithrombotic constituents that bind thrombin. This is a genuine complexity in the research, not a contradiction in traditional use; the two describe different constituents and models.

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 Agrimonia pilosa (Xian He Cao)?

  Yes, though it is largely preclinical. Reviews catalogue a range of laboratory activities for Agrimonia pilosa — antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor. Specific studies report anti-influenza-A activity from an Agrimonia extract mixture, thrombin-binding constituents identified by affinity ultrafiltration mass spectrometry, and suppression of non-small-cell lung cancer growth in cell models. Human clinical evidence remains limited.

  Sources: PubMed 36046524 and 35529922 (reviews); PubMed 36271555 (anti-influenza A activity); PubMed 39932147 (thrombin-binding constituents by ultrafiltration MS); PubMed 40311718 (NSCLC cell-model study). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• How does Xian He Cao compare with other herbs that stop bleeding?

  Among the astringent hemostatics, Xian He Cao sits between Bai Ji and Zi Zhu in strength. All three are astringent substances that stop bleeding: Bai Ji is the strongest, Xian He Cao is next strongest, and Zi Zhu is the weakest. Xian He Cao’s distinguishing merit is its broad applicability — because it is neutral, it can be used for bleeding of any temperature or root pattern.

  How practitioners position it:

  • vs Bai Ji — Bai Ji is the strongest astringent hemostatic, favored for lung and stomach bleeding and for sores.
  • vs Zi Zhu — Zi Zhu is milder and is singled out for blood in the urine.
  • vs San Qi — San Qi stops bleeding while transforming stasis, preferred when blood stasis accompanies the bleeding.

  Key principle: astringent hemostatics stop the bleeding but do not treat its cause — they are combined with herbs that address the underlying pattern (cool the blood for heat, tonify the Spleen for qi deficiency, warm for cold, invigorate blood where stasis is a factor).

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (comparative-functions set: Bai Ji > Xian He Cao > Zi Zhu).