Zhu Ma Gen
Quick Facts
- What it is: Zhu Ma Gen is the dried root of the ramie plant, used as a single herb in Chinese medicine to cool heat and slow bleeding.
- Main uses: Bleeding in pregnancy (traditional use only), Heavy uterine bleeding, Blood in the urine, Hot, sore skin
- Best for: People working with a trained Chinese herbalist, Short-term use inside a mixed formula
- Active ingredients: Flavonoids such as rutin (plant pigments), Chlorogenic acid, Tannins (compounds that tighten tissue), Plant sterols
- Forms: Dried root slices for a decoction (a strong herbal tea), Powder, Granules, Part of a mixed formula
- Time to effect: Not known; old texts expect a few days.
- Side effects: Mostly mild stomach upset, loose stools or chills; the herb is poorly studied.
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What is Zhu Ma Gen?
Zhu Ma Gen is the root of the ramie plant. Ramie is a tall fibre plant grown in China and much of Asia. The herb is also called ramie root, or boehmeria root.
It is a single drug, used on its own as one herb in Chinese medicine. Healers use it to cool heat in the body and to slow bleeding. The best known old use is for bleeding in pregnancy.
Modern proof is thin. We found no human trials of this root on its own. Long use in a tradition is not proof that a herb works.
How does Zhu Ma Gen work?
No one has shown how this root works in the body. Lab tests point to a few effects, but lab work is not proof in people.
In Chinese terms, the root is cold and sweet. It is said to cool the blood, stop bleeding, and calm a restless fetus (an unsettled baby in the womb). Those are ideas from an old system, not lab findings.
Some lab work on ramie root looks at clotting, at swelling, and at germs. The doses used in a dish are not the doses a person drinks.
What forms does Zhu Ma Gen come in?
The dried root, cut into slices, is the main form. You simmer it in water to make a decoction (a strong herbal tea).
You may also see it as a loose powder, or as granules that melt in hot water. It is often one item inside a mixed formula rather than a stand-alone product.
Fresh root juice was used in the past. Fresh juice is hard to judge for strength, so it is rare today.
Where it comes from:
Chinese herb books have listed this root for about 1,500 years. It shows up in early plant texts and again in the Ben Cao Gang Mu of the Ming era.
Its main old job was to steady a pregnancy and to check bleeding. Healers also laid the mashed root on hot, sore skin.
Ramie itself is a very old crop. People grew it for cloth long before the root was used as a herb.
Who should avoid Zhu Ma Gen?
- Do not use if you are pregnant and bleeding: bleeding in pregnancy needs urgent medical care, not a home remedy.
- Do not use if you are pregnant at all, unless a doctor and a trained Chinese herbalist are both guiding you.
- Do not use if you take warfarin, heparin or any other blood thinner (a drug that stops clots), unless your doctor agrees.
- Do not use if you take aspirin or clopidogrel every day to protect your heart or brain.
- Do not use if you have a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia (a condition where blood does not clot well).
- Do not use if you have surgery or dental surgery booked in the next two weeks.
- Do not use if you are breastfeeding, because no safety data exists for the baby.
- Do not use if you are under 18, unless a trained Chinese herbalist sets the dose.
- Do not use if you have kidney disease, unless your doctor says it is safe.
- Do not use if you feel cold most of the time, have loose stools or have weak digestion — this is a cold herb and may make that worse.
- Do not use if you have ever reacted to ramie plant, leaf or fibre.
When should you see a doctor?
Get medical help the same day if you bleed while pregnant, even a small amount. Go to an emergency department if the bleeding is heavy, or if you have belly pain, dizziness or fainting.
See a doctor if you have blood in your urine, blood when you cough, or a nosebleed that will not stop after 20 minutes of firm pressure. See a doctor too if your periods get heavier or last longer than usual.
Stop the herb and get help at once if you get a rash, swelling of the face, lips or tongue, or trouble breathing.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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