Tian Kui Zi 天葵子 — Chinese Herbal Medicine

Tian Kui Zi (天葵子) At a Glance

• Herb: Tian Kui Zi
• Chinese name: 天葵子 (Tian Kui Zi)
• Latin name: Semen Semiaquilegiae
• Nature: Cold
• Taste: Bitter, Sweet
• Meridian: Liver
• Category: Clearing heat and detoxifying

Tian Kui Zi, the dried tuber of Semiaquilegia adoxoides, has been recorded in Chinese materia medica since the Tang dynasty and is classified among herbs that clear heat and resolve toxicity. Its cold nature and bitter-sweet taste make it especially suited for dispersing accumulated heat-toxin lodged in the liver channel. Clinically, it is most prized for softening hardness and dissipating scrofula, mammary abscesses, and toxic swellings, with a secondary role in clearing damp-heat through the urinary tract.

Actions & Therapeutic Effects

• Clears heat and resolves toxicity — eliminates fire-toxin driving swellings, sores, carbuncles, and snake bites
• Dissipates nodules and reduces swelling — breaks up phlegm-fire accumulation in the neck and axilla, addressing scrofula and lymphadenitis
• Promotes urination and unblocks lin syndrome — drains damp-heat from the lower burner, relieving burning urinary difficulty
• Disperses mammary abscess — clears liver-channel heat and moves stagnant qi in early-stage rǔ yōng
• Neutralises venom toxicity — used internally and as a topical poultice for insect and snake bites

Clinical Applications in TCM

• Scrofula (luò lì) and cervical lymphadenitis: combined with Xia Ku Cao, Hai Zao, and Kun Bu to soften hardness and dissipate phlegm-fire nodules
• Mammary abscess (rǔ yōng), early stage: paired with Pu Gong Ying and Jin Yin Hua to clear liver-channel heat and reduce swelling before suppuration
• Carbuncles and toxic sores (yōng jū): used with Ye Ju Hua and Zi Hua Di Ding for heat-toxin accumulation in the skin and subcutaneous tissue
• Damp-heat lin syndrome with urinary burning and scanty output: combined with Che Qian Zi and Hua Shi to drain heat through the bladder
• Snake and insect bites: administered internally and applied fresh as a poultice alongside Da Huang and Huang Bai to neutralise venom-toxin
• Breast nodules with phlegm-heat: combined with Chuan Bei Mu and Xia Ku Cao to clear heat, resolve phlegm, and soften accumulation

Precautions & Safety

• Dosage: 9–15 g in decoction; fresh herb may be crushed and applied topically for external toxic swellings and bites
• Contraindicated in patterns of cold deficiency or spleen-stomach weakness; use with caution during pregnancy

Classical TCM Formulas

• Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin (五味消毒饮): Jin Yin Hua, Ye Ju Hua, Pu Gong Ying, Zi Hua Di Ding, Zi Bei Tian Kui Zi — severe Heat-toxin furunculosis. Source: Yi Zong Jin Jian.
• Tian Kui Zi San (天葵子散): Tian Kui Zi + Pu Gong Ying + Jin Yin Hua — acute mastitis.

Herb Combinations

• Tian Kui Zi (天葵子) + Pu Gong Ying (蒲公英) + Jin Yin Hua (金银花): clears Heat-toxin and reduces swelling for mastitis and furunculosis.
• Tian Kui Zi (天葵子) + Xia Ku Cao (夏枯草) + Xuan Shen (玄参): clears Heat and disperses masses for scrofula and lymphadenopathy.
• Tian Kui Zi (天葵子) + Zi Hua Di Ding (紫花地丁) + Ye Ju Hua (野菊花): the Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin detoxifying group.

Pharmacology & Research

Alkaloids: semiaquilegine and related bases inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and gram-positive bacteria in vitro.
Flavonoids: kaempferol glycosides suppress prostaglandin E2 synthesis, reducing acute inflammation.
Saponins: triterpenoid saponins demonstrate cytotoxic activity against hepatoma and sarcoma cell lines in vitro.

Classical Descriptions

• “Tian Kui … masters all kinds of swellings and toxic sores and snake bites; it can be taken internally or applied externally.”
• — Bencao Gangmu (本草纲目), Li Shizhen, 1578