Ma Qian Zi
Quick Facts
- What it is: Ma Qian Zi is a restricted, poisonous seed that contains strychnine, and a small overdose can kill.
- Main uses: Long-term joint and nerve pain (traditional claim), Numb limbs and loss of feeling (traditional claim), Weak or limp limbs after a stroke (traditional claim), Lumps and swellings, used on the skin (traditional claim)
- Active ingredients: Strychnine, Brucine
- Forms: Whole dried seeds, Powder inside ready-made Chinese pills and tablets, Plasters, oils and rubs for joints
- Side effects: Muscle spasms, an arched back, failure to breathe and death; a small overdose can kill.
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What is Ma Qian Zi?
Ma Qian Zi is the dried seed of a tree called Strychnos nux-vomica. It contains strychnine, a poison that causes violent muscle spasms. A small overdose can kill an adult.
The gap between the amount once used in old medicine and a deadly amount is very small. Deaths have followed seeds taken by mouth. Harm has also followed products rubbed on the skin.
This page gives no amount and no method. Traditional use is not proof that a herb works, and it is not proof of safety. Here you will find what it is, what old texts claimed, and what to do if someone has swallowed it.
How does Ma Qian Zi work?
Strychnine turns off the body's brake on nerves. Nerves in your spine use a signal called glycine to tell muscles to relax. Strychnine blocks that signal.
With the brake gone, tiny things set the muscles off. A sound, a light or a touch can start a spasm over the whole body.
Death comes when the muscles used for breathing lock up. The person cannot take a breath. The mind often stays clear through it.
The same nerve effect is why old texts valued the seed. Very small amounts were said to stir feeling in numb limbs and to dull pain. But the line between that and poisoning is far too thin to judge at home.
The body breaks strychnine down in the liver. If your liver or kidneys work poorly, the poison lingers longer. That makes harm more likely.
What forms does Ma Qian Zi come in?
You may meet Ma Qian Zi as whole dried seeds. They are flat, round and disc shaped, with a grey silky coat.
It also turns up as a powder inside ready-made Chinese pills and tablets, often ones sold for pain or stiff joints. Some plasters, oils and rubs for sore joints list it too.
Some labels use other names. Look for nux vomica, semen strychni, poison nut, or strychnine itself.
A separate product, homeopathic Nux vomica, is sold in very high dilutions and is a different thing. Labels can look alike, and mix-ups happen. If a product is not a homeopathic dilution and lists any of these names, treat it as a poison.
Where it comes from:
Ma Qian Zi came into Chinese medicine fairly late. It appears in materia medica texts of the Ming dynasty, around the 1500s, including Li Shizhen's great herbal.
Old doctors placed it among herbs said to move blood and open blocked channels. They gave it for pain that would not shift, for swollen joints, and for limbs that had gone numb or limp.
It was always listed as a poison herb. Texts hedged it with warnings. It was used in very small amounts, inside made-up pills, and never as a casual home remedy.
It also had a long life as an outside remedy, smeared or plastered on sore joints and lumps. Skill in old handling methods did not make the seed safe, and it does not make it safe now.
If this is an emergency
Some reactions to Ma Qian Zi 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 Ma Qian Zi?
- Do not use if you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding
- Do not use if you are a child, or if you are thinking of giving it to a child
- Do not use if you have epilepsy or have ever had a fit (seizure)
- Do not use if you have liver disease or kidney disease
- Do not use if you have heart disease, an uneven heartbeat, or high blood pressure
- Do not use if you have a lung problem such as asthma or COPD (a long-term lung disease)
- Do not use if you have a muscle or nerve disease such as myasthenia gravis (an illness that makes muscles weak)
- Do not use if you take tramadol, bupropion, or any medicine that makes fits more likely
- Do not use if you take medicine for fits, sleeping pills, or drink alcohol regularly
- Do not use if you are older, frail, or very underweight
- Do not use if you are planning to put it on your skin, in a plaster, oil or rub, because it soaks through skin
- Do not use if you bought it online, or if no licensed doctor or pharmacist is watching over you
- Do not use if you cannot read a full ingredient list on the product
When should you see a doctor?
Call emergency services now if someone has taken this seed or a product containing it. Do not wait for symptoms to get worse.
Get emergency help straight away for any of these signs:
- A stiff jaw or neck, or twitching muscles - A spasm set off by a noise, a light or a touch - The back arching so the body bends backwards - A fixed grin, with the face muscles locked - Trouble breathing, or lips turning blue - A very high temperature, or dark brown urine - Confusion, fear, or passing out
While you wait for help: do not make the person vomit. Keep the room dark and quiet, and touch them as little as you can, because light, sound and touch can trigger a spasm. Take the packet or the pills with you to hospital.
Is Ma Qian Zi legal where you live?
In the United States, strychnine is regulated as a poison and is not permitted in dietary supplements, and the FDA has acted against products containing nux vomica. In the United Kingdom, nux vomica and strychnine fall under medicines law, and sale to the public is restricted. In mainland China, Ma Qian Zi is on the official list of toxic medicinals and may only be supplied by licensed pharmacies and practitioners under strict rules. Rules differ elsewhere, so check the law where you live.
Options to discuss with a clinician
Nothing here is a swap for Ma Qian Zi. These are safer routes to the problems it was once used for. Talk each one over with a doctor or a registered practitioner before you start.
For nerve pain: a doctor can look for the cause and can prescribe medicines made for nerve pain.
For sore joints: everyday pain relief, heat packs, and rubs with menthol or capsaicin (the hot part of chilli) are much safer. A physio (a movement therapist) can help you move better too.
For weak limbs after a stroke or nerve injury: rehab and physio have the strongest track record. Ask your doctor for a referral.
If you want Chinese medicine: a registered practitioner can build a formula from non-toxic herbs. Ask them plainly to leave out Ma Qian Zi, Chuan Wu and Cao Wu.
With any patent pill, check for a full ingredient list. If the list is missing or vague, do not take it, and show it to a pharmacist.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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