Kanbakutaisoto
Quick Facts
- What it is: A three-herb Kampo formula of wheat, jujube and licorice, used in Japan for restlessness, easy crying and unsettled sleep.
- Main uses: Night crying and irritability in children, Anxious restlessness and easy crying, Trouble settling at night
- Best for: Short courses under a prescriber's supervision, People not already taking heart, blood pressure or water tablets
- Active ingredients: Glycyrrhizin from licorice root, Jujube saponins and flavonoids, Wheat starch, protein and B vitamins
- Forms: Granule extract sachets, Powder, Tablets or capsules, Traditional decoction
- Time to effect: Traditionally days to two weeks; no trial evidence confirms this.
- Side effects: Usually mild, but the licorice can raise blood pressure, cause swelling and lower potassium.
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What is Kanbakutaisoto?
Kanbakutaisoto is a Kampo herbal formula from Japan. It is made from just three herbs. People use it for restlessness, easy crying, anxious agitation and trouble sleeping.
It is given most often to children and to older adults. It sits on the list of 148 Kampo formulas covered by national health insurance. That list is kept by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW).
The three herbs are wheat grain, jujube (red date) and licorice root. Kampo practice picks it for a person who is worn out in mood. Such a person cries easily, yawns, fidgets and cannot settle at night.
It is not a sedative drug. It is not a treatment for any mental illness.
On the evidence: the formula has a long, well-recorded past in East Asian medicine. But we could not find good placebo-controlled human trials that show it works. Long use is not proof of effect, and that holds for everything on this page.
How does Kanbakutaisoto work?
Honestly, no one has shown how this formula works in people. No one has shown that it works at all.
In Kampo theory, it is said to "moisten and calm" a person whose nerves are dry and overstretched. Old texts call this pattern visceral agitation. That is a traditional way to describe a person, not a tested body mechanism.
In lab and animal studies, the licorice and jujube parts may act on stress and sleep pathways in the brain. Wheat starch and sugars may have a mild calming role.
This work is early. Most of it was done in rodents and in cells. It does not tell you what happens when a person takes the granules.
What forms does Kanbakutaisoto come in?
In Japan, the usual form is a dried granule extract in sachets. It is sold under a maker's number such as TJ-72. A doctor or pharmacist hands it out.
You may also meet other forms. These include fine powder, tablets or capsules of the same extract. There is also a traditional decoction, a tea made by simmering the three herbs in water.
Granules are the form behind nearly all Japanese clinical use and research. Loose-herb teas vary a lot in strength from batch to batch.
Where it comes from:
The formula comes from the Jingui Yaolue, a Chinese medical text from about 200 CE. The title means Essentials of the Golden Chamber. There it is called Gan Mai Da Zao Tang.
It entered Japanese Kampo practice centuries ago. Doctors still give it today for children who cry at night and for adults with agitation.
It is also a standard formula in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine. That gives it an unusually broad classical footing.
Who should avoid Kanbakutaisoto?
- Do not use if you have aldosteronism (a hormone disorder that raises blood pressure and lowers potassium).
- Do not use if you have been told you have low potassium (hypokalaemia).
- Do not use if you have myopathy (a muscle disease causing weakness or muscle breakdown).
- Do not use if you take digoxin or another heart-rhythm medicine, unless a heart specialist has approved it.
- Do not use if you take water tablets (diuretics) or steroid tablets, unless your doctor is monitoring your potassium.
- Do not use if you are already taking another Kampo formula or supplement containing licorice.
- Do not use if you have high blood pressure that is not under control.
- Do not use if you have heart failure or serious kidney disease.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless a doctor who knows Kampo has told you to.
- Never give it to a baby or child without a doctor first checking why the child is distressed.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop taking it and see a doctor if your ankles, feet or face swell, if your blood pressure climbs, or if you feel unusually weak, cramp easily or notice heavy, aching muscles.
Get urgent medical help if your heartbeat feels irregular or racing, if you feel faint, or if you pass dark brown urine along with muscle pain, as these can mean potassium has dropped too low or muscle tissue is breaking down.
Also see a doctor if the anxiety, crying or sleep problem is getting worse, if a child's distress continues, or if there is any thought of self-harm. This formula is not a treatment for a mental health condition.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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