Ye Jiao Teng (Fleeceflower Vine, Polygonum Vine)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Ye Jiao Teng?

  9–30 g in decoction (commonly 15–30 g). For itchy skin conditions it is also used externally as a wash or soak.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (5–10 chien); standard materia medica ranges. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions or contraindications for Ye Jiao Teng?

  Ye Jiao Teng is generally well tolerated. The owner’s classroom notes and standard materia medica record no specific contraindications. As a sweet, moistening, blood-nourishing herb, it is used with more care where there is pronounced phlegm or dampness. See the toxicity note below on its plant-part relationship to He Shou Wu.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (“Contra: None Noted”); standard materia medica.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low for the vine at normal therapeutic doses. No contraindications are noted for Ye Jiao Teng in the owner’s notes, and it is not associated with a specific toxicity signal at standard doses.

  Note on the plant part: Ye Jiao Teng is the vine (Caulis) of Polygonum multiflorum (also classified as Reynoutria/Fallopia multiflora). The well-documented reports of idiosyncratic, immune-mediated liver injury linked to this plant in the modern literature concern the root — He Shou Wu (Radix Polygoni Multiflori), especially raw or improperly processed material — not the vine. We flag the shared botanical source: quality sourcing and practitioner awareness are reasonable, even though the toxicity data describe the root rather than Ye Jiao Teng.

  Source: Polygonum multiflorum hepatotoxicity reviews — PubMed 32123300 (Acta Pharmacol Sin, 2021); PubMed 29713283 (Front Pharmacol, 2018). Research context on the root, not a claim about the vine.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for Ye Jiao Teng specifically. Because it shares a botanical source with He Shou Wu — whose root carries documented liver-injury reports — practitioner caution is reasonable alongside hepatotoxic medications or in patients with liver disease. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation — absence of documented interactions is not proof of safety.)

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 Ye Jiao Teng (Polygonum multiflorum vine)?

  Yes, but it is limited and preclinical — and most Polygonum multiflorum research studies the root (He Shou Wu), not the vine. Work specifically on the vine, Polygoni Multiflori Caulis, notes its long folk use for “sleep-enhancing” and anti-obesity effects; a 2022 study identified polyphenols such as emodin and physcion and reported lipid-lowering and antioxidant activity in cell, C. elegans and high-fat-diet mouse models. Human clinical evidence is lacking.

  Source: PubMed 35562092 (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2022 — polyphenols from Polygoni Multiflori Caulis). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• What is the difference between Ye Jiao Teng and He Huan Pi for insomnia?

  Both calm the spirit for insomnia, but they address different roots. Ye Jiao Teng is chosen for insomnia from blood problems (usually deficiency) — nourishing Heart blood for restless, dream-disturbed sleep; He Huan Pi is chosen for insomnia from qi constraint (pent-up emotion, unresolved frustration), moving constrained Liver qi to settle the spirit.

  • vs He Huan Pi — blood-deficiency insomnia (Ye Jiao Teng) versus qi-constraint insomnia (He Huan Pi).
  • Plant-part relationship — Ye Jiao Teng is the vine/stem of Polygonum multiflorum, the same plant whose root is He Shou Wu; hence its alternate name Shou Wu Teng (“Shou Wu vine”). The vine calms the spirit and unblocks the channels, while the root is the stronger blood- and essence-tonifying herb.

  Common combinations: with Suan Zao Ren, Bai Zi Ren and other Nourish-the-Heart / Calm-the-Spirit herbs for blood- or yin-deficiency insomnia with palpitations; with blood tonics such as Dang Gui for numbness, soreness and pain from blood deficiency (unblocking the channels); applied externally as a wash with wind-dispelling herbs for itchy skin.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (differentiation set & category groupings).