Bofu
Quick Facts
- What it is: Bofu is the dried root of Saposhnikovia divaricata, used in Kampo for chills, fever, aches and itchy rashes.
- Main uses: Colds with chills and fever, Muscle and joint aches, Itchy skin rashes
- Best for: Traditional Kampo cold and skin formulas, used with guidance
- Active ingredients: Chromones (cimifugin and visamminol glucosides), Coumarins, Plant oils
- Forms: Dried root for tea, Extract granules or powder, Capsules and tablets in blends
- Time to effect: Tradition says hours to a few days for fever and aches; weeks for skin. Untested.
- Side effects: Mostly mild stomach upset or loose stools; rash if you are allergic to the plant.
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What is Bofu?
Bofu is the dried root of a plant named Saposhnikovia divaricata. It is a single drug in Kampo, the old herb medicine of Japan. Healers used it for chills, fever, body aches and itchy skin rashes.
In Kampo it is said to "dispel wind" and to act as an antipyretic (a fever-lowering herb). Bofu is rarely taken on its own. Most often it is one part of a mixed formula, such as Bofutsushosan.
The proof is thin. We could not find human trials of Bofu by itself. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works, and that point is not repeated below.
How does Bofu work?
The honest answer is that no one knows. Lab tests show the root holds chromones and coumarins, two groups of plant compounds. In dishes and in mice, these seem to damp down swelling and pain signals.
That work does not prove the same thing happens in your body. Doses used in the lab are often far higher than a tea.
In Kampo terms, "wind" covers signs that come on fast or move around. Chills, fever, aches and shifting rashes all fit that old idea. It is a way of sorting symptoms, not a test of how the herb acts.
What forms does Bofu come in?
Dried sliced root, boiled into a tea (a decoction).
Granules or dry powder made from an extract. This is the usual Kampo form in Japan, and Bofu is nearly always mixed with other herbs in it.
Capsules and tablets, sold mostly as part of blends.
Tinctures (alcohol extracts) are uncommon for this root.
Where it comes from:
Bofu has been used in China for roughly 2,000 years, under the name fangfeng. It appears in the Shennong Bencao Jing, an early Chinese herb text. Korean medicine uses it as well.
Japan took the root into Kampo, where it sits in well-known formulas for colds, aches and skin trouble.
Who should avoid Bofu?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, because safety has not been tested.
- Do not use if you take warfarin or any other blood thinner, unless your doctor agrees.
- Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (a condition where blood does not clot properly).
- Do not use if you have surgery or dental surgery booked in the next two weeks.
- Do not use if you have ever had a rash or swelling from Bofu, or from carrot-family plants such as celery, parsnip or angelica.
- Do not use if you have liver or kidney disease, unless your doctor has checked it first.
- Do not use if you would be giving it to a child, unless a trained practitioner has told you the dose.
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure or heart trouble and the product also holds ephedra (mao) or licorice (kanzo).
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor if a fever lasts more than three days, or goes above 39 C. Get help the same day for a bad headache with a stiff neck, trouble breathing, chest pain or a fast heartbeat.
Stop the herb and call your doctor if you bruise easily, bleed from the nose or gums, or see blood in your stool or urine. Also call if your skin or eyes turn yellow, your urine turns dark, or you feel sick and very tired. Get urgent help for swelling of the face, lips or throat, or for hives that spread fast.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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