What is Kyukikyogaito?

Kyukikyogaito is a Japanese Kampo medicine used for slow, ongoing bleeding. People take it most often for bleeding from piles (swollen veins around the back passage) and for long or heavy periods.

Shops list it as one named item, so it is sold as a single Kampo product. Inside, it is a set blend of seven herbs. These include cnidium root (Ligusticum) and mugwort leaf (ai ye), plus licorice root and gelatin.

The proof is thin. It has been used for many hundreds of years, but we found no human trial we can name and cite. A long record of use is not proof that a medicine works, and that holds for every claim below.

How does Kyukikyogaito work?

No one has shown how this blend works in the body. Lab and animal work hint at a few actions, but that work was not repeated in people.

In Kampo, the blend is said to warm and hold the blood and to slow light bleeding. That is an old way of speaking, not a lab finding.

Two effects are real and worth knowing. Licorice root makes the body hold salt and water, which can raise blood pressure. Cnidium and angelica roots may thin the blood a little.

What forms does Kyukikyogaito come in?

In Japan the usual form is a dried extract granule, sold in small sachets. Tablets, capsules and loose powder are also made.

Some practitioners still boil the raw herbs into a tea. Home-boiled teas vary a lot in strength, so the dose is harder to judge.

There is no cream, oil or injection form of this blend.

Where it comes from:

The recipe comes from the Jingui Yaolue, a Chinese medical text written by Zhang Zhongjing around 200 CE. There it is called Jiao Ai Tang.

Japanese doctors took it up and kept it in daily use, and it became a fixed Kampo formula under the name Kyukikyogaito.

It is now a licensed Kampo extract in Japan and is used by doctors and sold in pharmacies there.

What does Kyukikyogaito help with?

• Bleeding from piles (swollen veins around the back passage): This is the most common reason it is used in Japan today. Kampo doctors pick it for slow, repeated bleeding rather than a sudden heavy bleed. We found no trial that tested it against a dummy pill for this, so the support is use and practice, not proof.
• Long or heavy monthly periods: Kampo texts use it for periods that drag on or come with pale skin and tiredness. This is a classic use going back to the original Chinese text. No human trial we can point to has tested it, and heavy periods always need a medical check first.
• Light bleeding between periods: Tradition uses it for light spotting outside the normal period. Bleeding between periods can have serious causes, so see a doctor before you try any herb. There is no trial evidence for this use.
• Tiredness and feeling cold that comes with slow blood loss: Kampo describes the target person as pale, tired and easily chilled. The blend is meant to build blood back up over weeks. This idea has not been tested in a trial, and low iron needs a blood test, not a guess.
• Light bleeding in early pregnancy (traditional use only, doctor-led): Old texts used it for spotting in pregnancy, and that is the formula's best-known classical role. We do not repeat that as advice. Bleeding in pregnancy needs urgent medical care, and this blend holds licorice, which is not a herb to take on your own while pregnant.

Which foods are rich in Kyukikyogaito?

1. Black licorice sweets: they hold the same licorice compound as this blend
2. Licorice root tea: adds to the same licorice load
3. Throat lozenges and herbal cough syrups: licorice is a common hidden ingredient

Practical Tips:

These are not sources of the medicine; they are foods that add more licorice on top of it, so keep them low while you take it.

What are the side effects of Kyukikyogaito?

• Upset stomach, nausea or loss of appetite
• Loose stools or diarrhoea
• Rash or itching
• Swollen ankles or puffy face from held water
• Rising blood pressure
• Low potassium in the blood, which can cause muscle weakness or cramps
• Heart rhythm changes (an uneven heartbeat), if potassium falls far
• Rare reports of liver injury with Kampo extracts
• Easier bruising or bleeding, in theory, from the blood-thinning herbs
• Allergy to the gelatin, which is made from animal hide

Good to know:

Most people who take it for a short time have no trouble, and stomach upset is the usual small complaint.

The serious risks come from the licorice in the blend. Licorice can cause pseudoaldosteronism (a licorice reaction that makes the body hold salt, raises blood pressure and drops potassium). Low potassium can lead to weak muscles and an uneven heartbeat.

This risk grows with higher doses and longer use. Stop the medicine and speak to a doctor if you notice puffy ankles, weak muscles or a racing heart.

How much Kyukikyogaito should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by human trials. The common Japanese pack dose of the dried extract granules is about 7.5 g a day, split into two or three doses. Other brands and forms use different strengths. Follow the pack, or a practitioner who knows Kampo. Because of the licorice in it, do not take more than the pack says and do not stack it with other licorice products.
• Best time of day: Japanese practice is to split the day's amount into two or three doses, spread morning, midday and evening.
• With or without food: Kampo extracts are usually taken on an empty stomach, before meals or between them, with warm water. If it upsets your stomach, take it with food instead.
• Time to effect: Kampo use suggests days to a couple of weeks for slow bleeding. This timing comes from practice, not from measured trial results.
• How long to take it: Treat it as a short trial, not a daily habit. Two to four weeks is a fair test, then stop and think again. Longer use raises the risk from licorice, so anything past about a month should be watched by a doctor who can check your blood pressure and potassium. Stop and get advice if the bleeding has not settled.