What is Xiao Ji?

Xiao Ji is a small thistle. Herbalists use the dried plant, stem and leaf and all. In Chinese medicine it is used to cool the blood and to help slow bleeding.

The best known use is blood in the urine. It is also used for nose bleeds, blood in the stool, and coughing up blood. Fresh juice or crushed leaf is sometimes laid on cuts and boils.

Human proof is thin. Most of what we know comes from lab and animal work. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works, and we say that here once rather than in each part of this page.

How does Xiao Ji work?

The short answer: no one is sure.

Lab work points to plant chemicals called flavonoids. In test tube and animal work they seem to shorten the time blood takes to clot. They may also tighten small blood vessels.

Whether any of this helps a person who is bleeding has not been shown in good human trials. In Chinese medicine the idea is different. Xiao Ji is seen as a cold herb that clears heat from the blood, so the blood stays in its vessels.

What forms does Xiao Ji come in?

Xiao Ji comes as dried cut herb, sold loose for tea. The tea is usually a decoction, which means the herb is boiled for 20 to 30 minutes.

Other forms are fresh juice pressed from the plant, powders, granules, and the charred herb (Xiao Ji Tan), which tradition favours for bleeding.

It is also one part of a classic mixed formula, Xiao Ji Yin Zi. Injected herbal forms are sold in some countries. Do not use those.

Where it comes from:

Xiao Ji has been used in China for well over a thousand years. Early notes on it appear in Tang era herb books, and it stays in Chinese herb texts today.

It is usually paired with, or swapped for, its larger cousin Da Ji. The two are often listed side by side in the same chapter.

In parts of China the young spring shoots are eaten as a wild green. That is food use, not medicine.

What does Xiao Ji help with?

• Blood in the urine: This is the classic use. Xiao Ji is the lead herb in the old formula Xiao Ji Yin Zi, given for burning, painful peeing with blood in it. We found no good human trial that tests this. Blood in the urine always needs a doctor first, because causes include infection, stones and cancer.
• Nosebleed: Tradition uses the tea, or fresh juice dripped into the nose, for nosebleeds seen as coming from heat. Evidence is limited to tradition and small case reports. Simple first aid, such as pinching the soft part of the nose for ten minutes, is better tested.
• Coughing up blood: Chinese texts list Xiao Ji for spitting or coughing blood. There is no reliable human trial for this. Coughing up blood can point to a serious lung problem, so it needs medical checking, not self care.
• Blood in the stool or from piles: Used in tradition, alone or with other cooling herbs, for bright red blood from the back passage. Human evidence is lacking. Dark or black stool is a different and more urgent problem and needs same day care.
• Heavy or long menstrual bleeding: Some herbalists use Xiao Ji for heavy periods linked to heat signs. This rests on tradition alone. Heavy bleeding can be a sign of fibroids, hormone problems or low iron, all of which need testing.
• Boils, cuts and skin sores: Crushed fresh plant or juice is put on small sores and grazes in folk use, to cool and clean them. This use is old and widespread in China, but untested in trials. Do not put it on deep, dirty or spreading wounds.
• High blood pressure and liver complaints: Some modern Chinese sources claim Xiao Ji lowers blood pressure or helps hepatitis (swelling of the liver). Reports on blood pressure go both ways, and animal work has hinted at a raising effect too. We do not think the evidence supports either use.

Which foods are rich in Xiao Ji?

1. Young thistle shoots: eaten as a wild spring green in parts of China, boiled or stir fried

Practical Tips:

Food use of the young shoots is a small amount of plant and is not the same as taking a medicinal tea.

What are the side effects of Xiao Ji?

• Upset stomach or belly ache
• Loose stools or diarrhoea
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling chilly
• Skin rash or itch in people who react to plants in the daisy family
• Rare but serious allergic reaction, mainly with injected products

Good to know:

Most people who drink the tea for a short time have no trouble. The most common complaints are stomach upset and loose stools, because the herb is cold and bitter in Chinese terms.

Allergy is possible. Xiao Ji is in the daisy family, along with ragweed, chamomile and marigold.

The serious reports involve injected herbal products, not tea. Stop the herb and get help if you get a rash, swelling of the face or mouth, or trouble breathing.

How much Xiao Ji should you take?

• Recommended daily: No dose has been set by trials. Chinese herb texts and pharmacopoeias give 5 to 12 grams of the dried herb per day, boiled as a tea and split into two or three drinks. Fresh plant or fresh juice is used at a much higher weight, often 30 to 60 grams, because most of it is water. On the skin, the crushed fresh plant is laid on the spot. Doses inside mixed formulas are set by a trained practitioner.
• Best time of day: Split the daily tea into two or three drinks, morning and evening. There is no known best hour.
• With or without food: Take it after food. It is a cold, bitter herb, and food makes stomach upset and loose stools less likely.
• Time to effect: If it is going to help, herbalists expect some change within a few days. If nothing has changed in three to five days, stop and see a doctor.
• How long to take it: Use is meant to be short. Herbalists generally give it for days to two weeks, while the bleeding is the problem. Stop and get checked if bleeding is still there after a few days, or if it comes back. Long daily use has not been studied and is not advised.