Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Keppuchikuketsuto is a fixed herbal recipe from Kampo, the herbal medicine tradition of Japan. It blends about eleven dried plants into one extract. The same recipe is known in China as Xuefu Zhuyu Tang.
It was built for what Kampo calls "blood stasis", a traditional idea of stuck or sluggish blood. Practitioners matched it to chest and side pain, stubborn headache, period pain, bruising and restless nights. Long traditional use is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
Here is the honest verdict. Human evidence for this exact formula is thin, and most trials are small and weakly designed. Treat it as unproven rather than promising.
In Japan it sits on the list of Kampo extracts covered by public health insurance. Outside Japan it is hard to find, and it was not in our live product catalogue when this page was written.
No one has shown how this formula works in the body. "Blood stasis" is a traditional pattern, not something a test can measure.
In test tubes and animal studies, the Chinese form of this recipe appears to slow clotting and widen small blood vessels. Safflower and peach kernel extracts seem to act on platelets, the cells that help blood clot. Whether any of this happens at the amounts people swallow is not established.
One ingredient does have a clear, measured effect in people. Licorice root (kanzō) can raise blood pressure and push potassium down. That is a side effect to watch, not a benefit.
Bitter orange (kijitsu) contains synephrine, a mild stimulant. The amount in a daily sachet is small. Even so, it is one more reason to be careful if you have heart trouble.
In Japan it is mostly sold as a dried granule extract in single-dose sachets. You stir a sachet into hot water and drink it.
Forms you may meet:
- Granules or fine powder, the standard prescription form.
- Tablets or capsules pressed from the same extract.
- A decoction, which is a tea boiled from raw herbs by a practitioner.
Strength is not the same across brands. A granule sachet is a concentrate, so it does not compare spoon for spoon with home-brewed tea.
Check the label for the extract ratio and the licorice content. If the label does not say, treat that as a reason to pass.
The recipe was written down in 1830 by the Chinese doctor Wang Qingren, in his book Yilin Gaicuo. He named it Xuefu Zhuyu Tang, the "drive out stasis from the blood mansion" decoction.
Japanese Kampo doctors later took the formula up and gave it a Japanese name. It was used for chest and flank pain, headache that would not shift, night restlessness and period problems.
In modern Japan, a defined list of Kampo extracts is covered by health insurance under the MHLW, Japan's health ministry. This formula belongs to the wider blood-stasis family. It is prescribed far less often than keishibukuryōgan or tōkakujōkitō.
Stop taking it and speak to a doctor if any of these appear:
- Swollen ankles, a puffy face, or sudden weight gain.
- Muscle weakness, cramps, or legs that feel heavy and odd.
- Bruising that comes easily, nosebleeds, or bleeding gums.
- A rash that spreads, or any swelling of the face or throat.
Get urgent medical help the same day for black or tarry stools, blood when you cough or vomit, yellow skin or eyes with dark urine, or a new dry cough with fever and breathlessness.
Chest pain is never something to manage with a herb alone. If it is new, worse, or spreads to your arm or jaw, call emergency services.
In Japan it is a regulated Kampo extract listed for public health insurance cover under the MHLW, the health ministry. In the United States, the United Kingdom and the EU it has no approved drug status and is not a licensed medicine. Where it is sold at all outside Japan, it is an unlicensed herbal product.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
One email with the summary. We'll also send a short weekly evidence update — unsubscribe any time.
