Hwangchil
Quick Facts
- What it is: Hwangchil is a Korean tree whose leaves, stems and bark are brewed as a folk tonic tea.
- Main uses: Daily tonic tea, Tiredness, Sore joints
- Best for: People who want a traditional Korean tonic drink and accept that the health proof is missing
- Active ingredients: Polyacetylenes such as dendropanoxide, Flavonoids, Phenols
- Forms: Tea bags, Dried stems and leaves, Powder, Capsules, Bottled extract drinks, Tincture
- Time to effect: Not known; no study has measured it.
- Side effects: Usually mild stomach upset; bleeding and low blood sugar are the real concerns when mixed with drugs.
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What is Hwangchil?
Hwangchil is a tree from the warm south of Korea. Its Latin name is Dendropanax morbifera. People dry the leaves, twigs and bark, then brew them as a tea.
It is taken as a daily tonic drink. Folk use links it to tired limbs, sore joints and all-round good health. You can buy it as tea bags, powder, capsules or a bottled drink.
The proof is thin. Nearly all of the study work has been done in lab dishes and in mice. Long use in Korea is not proof that it works, so treat health claims about it with care.
How does Hwangchil work?
No one has shown how Hwangchil works in the body. What we know comes from lab dishes and mice, not from people.
The plant holds antioxidants (things that mop up cell damage). In lab tests, extracts calmed swelling and slowed some cell growth. Extracts also seemed to lower blood sugar in mice.
A lab result rarely carries over to a cup of tea. Treat all of this as an idea, not a fact.
What forms does Hwangchil come in?
Hwangchil comes in a few simple forms. Tea bags and loose dried stems are the most common.
You can also find powder, capsules, bottled extract drinks and tinctures (drops in alcohol). The sap is used as a golden lacquer for wood and metal, not as a medicine. Do not swallow the lacquer.
Where it comes from:
The name Hwangchil means yellow lacquer. Korean craft workers tapped the sap to varnish wood and metal. That use is old, and goes back well over a thousand years.
The leaf and stem tea is a folk custom of Jeju Island and the south coast. It spread across Korea as a bottled health drink in the last few decades.
Who should avoid Hwangchil?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, as it has never been tested in pregnancy.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding.
- Do not use if you are under 12, and do not give it to a child.
- Do not use if you take a blood thinner such as warfarin, aspirin or clopidogrel, unless your doctor says it is safe.
- Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder (a problem where your blood does not clot well).
- Do not use if you have surgery or dental work booked within the next two weeks.
- Do not use if you take drugs that calm the immune system, such as after a transplant.
- Do not use if you have liver disease, or if a blood test has shown your liver is not working well.
- Do not use if you have diabetes and take insulin or other blood sugar drugs, unless your doctor agrees and checks your levels.
- Do not use if you are allergic to ivy, ginseng or other plants in the same family (the Araliaceae family).
- Do not swallow Hwangchil lacquer or raw sap. It is a varnish for wood, not a drink.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor soon if you bruise easily, bleed from the gums or nose, or notice blood in your stool or urine. Get help the same day if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow, if your urine turns dark, or if you get bad pain on the right side of your belly. If you have diabetes and feel shaky, sweaty or confused, check your blood sugar at once and treat a low reading. Get emergency help for a rash with swelling of the face, lips or throat, or any trouble breathing.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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