Shi Jian Chuan
Quick Facts
- What it is: A Chinese herb made from the dried whole Salvia chinensis plant, used to move blood and ease swelling and pain.
- Main uses: Part of herb mixes given beside cancer care (traditional use), Painful periods, Liver complaints, Bruises and joint pain
- Best for: People already working with a qualified Chinese medicine practitioner, Short, supervised courses as part of a herb mix
- Active ingredients: Rosmarinic acid, Caffeic acid, Luteolin and other flavones, Ursolic acid and other triterpenes
- Forms: Dried cut herb for boiling, Instant granules, Liquid extract, Ready-made Chinese pills containing it
- Time to effect: Not known; herbalists usually review after two to four weeks.
- Side effects: Mostly mild stomach upset; the main risk is easier bruising and bleeding.
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What is Shi Jian Chuan?
Shi Jian Chuan is a Chinese herb. It is the dried whole plant of Salvia chinensis, a small plant in the mint family. Herbalists use it to move blood, ease swelling, and calm pain.
It is a single herb, not a set formula. You will nearly always meet it inside a mix of other herbs. Such mixes are used beside cancer care, and for liver trouble, period pain, and sore joints.
Here is the short verdict. Its place in Chinese herb use is long and clear, but human trial proof is thin. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works.
How does Shi Jian Chuan work?
The honest answer: no one has shown how it works in people.
In Chinese medicine terms, it is said to move stuck blood and clear damp heat. Damp heat is an old word for heavy, hot, sticky symptoms. These are ideas from an old system, not lab facts.
Lab tests show that some of its plant acids slow cell growth in a dish. A few mouse studies point the same way. Dish and mouse work does not tell you what a tea will do in a person.
What forms does Shi Jian Chuan come in?
Most often it is sold as dried cut herb. This is boiled to make a decoction, which is a strong tea made by boiling.
It also comes as instant granules and as a liquid extract. Some Chinese ready-made pills list it on the label.
It is rare on shop shelves in the West. When you do find it, it is usually part of a blend.
Where it comes from:
Shi Jian Chuan shows up in Chinese herb books from the Ming era on. Folk healers in east China used it before that.
Old texts list it for lumps and swellings, for jaundice, and for pain that will not shift. Jaundice means yellow skin and eyes.
From the 1970s, Chinese hospitals began adding it to herb mixes given beside cancer care.
Who should avoid Shi Jian Chuan?
- Do not use if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, as blood-moving herbs are avoided in pregnancy
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding, because there is no safety information
- Do not use if you take warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, heparin, aspirin, clopidogrel or any other blood thinner
- Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (blood that does not clot properly) or a low platelet count (too few of the cells that help blood clot)
- Do not use if you have surgery, dental surgery or a biopsy booked within the next two weeks
- Do not use if you have heavy periods or any bleeding that has not been explained
- Do not use if you are having chemotherapy or radiotherapy, unless your cancer doctor has agreed to it
- Do not use if you have liver or kidney disease, unless a doctor is watching over your treatment
- Do not use if you have ever reacted badly to sage, mint or other mint-family plants
- Never give it to a child unless a qualified practitioner has prescribed it
- Never use it in place of treatment for cancer, liver disease or an unexplained lump
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor straight away if you bruise easily, bleed from the gums or nose, see blood in your urine or stool, or pass black tarry stools. Also see a doctor if your skin or eyes turn yellow, if you get a rash or swelling of the face or throat, or if you feel sick and tired for more than a few days. Stop the herb first, then get checked. Any lump, ongoing pain or period change that lasts more than a few weeks needs proper medical testing, not a herb.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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