Keishikajutsubuto
Quick Facts
- What it is: Keishikajutsubuto is a seven-herb Japanese Kampo formula on the MHLW-approved list of 148 insurance-covered Kampo medicines, used for cold, achy joint and nerve pain.
- Main uses: Joint pain and stiffness made worse by cold or damp, Nerve pain, Stiff shoulders and low back pain
- Best for: People who feel cold, tire easily and sweat with little effort, Long-standing aching pain rather than sudden injury
- Active ingredients: Cinnamon bark (cinnamaldehyde), Peony root (paeoniflorin), Licorice root (glycyrrhizin), Processed aconite root (aconite alkaloids), Atractylodes rhizome, Ginger, Jujube
- Forms: Dried extract granules, Tablets, Fine powder, Raw herbs brewed as a tea
- Time to effect: Some notice warmth in days; Kampo practice allows two to four weeks for a fair trial.
- Side effects: Usually mild stomach upset or rash; rarely low potassium, heart rhythm trouble, liver or lung problems.
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What is Keishikajutsubuto?
Keishikajutsubuto is a herbal formula from Kampo, the herbal medicine of Japan. It is a set blend of seven herbs in fixed amounts. Doctors in Japan give it for aching joints, stiff shoulders and nerve pain.
It is aimed at people who feel cold, tire easily and sweat with little effort. Their pain often gets worse in cold or damp weather. It sits on Japan's approved list of 148 Kampo formulas.
Good human trial proof is thin. The formula has a long record of use in Japan, but long use is not proof that it works. Two of its herbs, licorice and processed aconite, need real care.
How does Keishikajutsubuto work?
No one has shown how this formula works in the body. The Kampo idea is that it warms the body and moves "wind, cold and damp" out of the joints. That is a traditional way of describing a pattern of cold, achy, stiff pain.
Lab work points to a few plausible actions. Peony and cinnamon may calm swelling and ease muscle spasm. Processed aconite acts on nerve signals and may dull pain.
These are lab and animal findings. They do not prove that the finished formula eases pain in people.
What forms does Keishikajutsubuto come in?
Most people take it as dried extract granules that you stir into hot water. This is the form Japanese pharmacies dispense.
You can also find it as tablets or fine powder. Some Kampo doctors still brew the raw herbs as a tea.
Buy only from a licensed maker or pharmacy. The aconite in it must be properly processed, and home-made versions are not safe.
Where it comes from:
The parent formula, Keishito, comes from the Shanghan Lun, a Chinese text from about 200 CE. Kampo doctors in Japan took that base and added two herbs: atractylodes and processed aconite.
The new blend was aimed at cold, damp joint pain in weak or elderly patients. Japanese doctors have used it in this form for centuries.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) now lists it among the 148 Kampo formulas covered by national health insurance.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Keishikajutsubuto need urgent care. Call your local emergency number or go to an emergency department straight away — do not wait to see whether it passes.
Who should avoid Keishikajutsubuto?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or might be pregnant, because the processed aconite in it is not considered safe in pregnancy.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding, unless a doctor who knows Kampo tells you otherwise.
- Do not use if you have low potassium (hypokalaemia, meaning too little of a salt your muscles and heart need).
- Do not use if you have aldosteronism (a hormone problem that raises blood pressure and drops potassium).
- Do not use if you have ever had muscle weakness or a myopathy (muscle damage) caused by licorice.
- Do not use if you have an arrhythmia (an uneven or irregular heartbeat) unless a doctor is supervising you.
- Do not use if you take digoxin, a water tablet (diuretic), steroid tablets or a heart rhythm drug, unless a doctor has checked the combination first.
- Do not use if you already take another Kampo formula, supplement or injection that contains licorice or glycyrrhizin, unless a pharmacist has added up the total.
- Do not use if you take any other product containing aconite (bushi or bushi); never double up on aconite.
- Do not use if you have serious liver or kidney disease without your doctor's agreement.
- Do not use if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension).
- Do not use if you are allergic to cinnamon, peony, licorice, ginger or any other herb in the blend.
- Do not use if you plan to give it to a child, unless a Kampo-trained doctor prescribes and doses it.
- Do not use if your product is home-made or of unknown origin; never use raw, unprocessed aconite root.
When should you see a doctor?
Stop taking it and get urgent medical help the same day if your heart pounds, races or beats unevenly, if your lips, tongue or face tingle or go numb, or if you feel sick and dizzy after a dose. These can be signs of too much aconite.
Call your doctor within a day or two if your ankles or face swell, you gain weight quickly, your blood pressure climbs, or your muscles feel weak and crampy. These can be signs of low potassium from licorice.
Get checked promptly for yellow skin or eyes, dark urine and deep tiredness, which can mean liver trouble. Also get checked for a new dry cough, fever or breathlessness, which can mean lung inflammation.
See your doctor if your pain is new, severe, or comes with fever, weight loss, leg weakness or bladder problems. Do not self-treat those.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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