Asarum heterotropoides. A. sieboldi  细 辛 Xì xīn   Chinese wild ginger   Family: Aristolochiaceae  
PART USED: Whole plant- Harvested in Summer
Nature: Warm    FLAVOR: Pungent, acrid    CHANNEL: Lung, Kidney
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Exterior Clearing- Warming
1. Clears Wind, disperse Cold.[1] Analgesic.[3] Clears external diseases and Warms the Lung, disperses Wind Damp.[4] Disperse phlegm.[3]
2. Disperse Cold and alleviates pain.[4] Clears Cold.[3]
2. Promotes moisturisation of the body system.[1] Disperses and unblocks the Qi of the nasal ofifices.[4]
ACTIONS: Sedative. Analgesic. Antipyretic. Anesthetic. Antibiotic. Xi xin has an inhibitory effect in vitro against hemolytic Stephococcus, Shigella and Salmonella typhi.
INDICATIONS
1. Cough due to Phlegm (Full condition).[3] Any exterior Cold pattern, especially with the addition of Dampness or underlying Yang deficiency.[4]
2. Headache-[1,2]caused by Damp Wind.[3]
3. Cold Wind leading to nasal obstruction:[3] Nasal congestion.[1,2,4] Running nose and throat phlegm obstruction. Cough, panting.  Productive coughing and wheezing.[1]
4. Toothache,[1,2] and infection of the gums associated with Stomach Heat.[3]
4. Rheumatic pains.[1,2] Pain in various part of the body, most commonly headache, toothache, or painful abstruction, due to Wind or Wind Cold.[4]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Dry cough (tuberculosis) due to Yin deficiency.[3,4 Qi deficiency with profuse sweating.[4] headache due to Blood deficiency.[4] ] Use with caution in patients with renal problems as it can be nephrotoxic.[4]
Xi xin cannot be combined with Veratrum nigrum- Li lu. According to some traditional sources, this herb antagonizes Cornus officinalis- Shan zhu yu, and Astagalus membranaceus- Huang qi, and counteracts Talcum- Hua shi.
PATENT COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Dry whole plant  1-3 g.[1,2,4] Whole plant, mainly roots.[3] For nasal and oral problems it is often powdered and sucked directly into the affected area. Good quality has a greyish yellow root and green leaves that are acrid and make the tongue slightly numb.
   
ORIGIN: Grown throughout NorthEastern China, Shaani, Henan, Shandon, Zhejian, Fujian.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
Research Asarum heterotropoides and Asarum sieboldi have low concentrations of Aristolochic Acids below 1 ug/g for both AAI and AAII. This is in contrast to Asarum fukienense 17 mg/g of AAI,or Asarum crispulatum 3377 mg/g of AAI.[1]
Asarum sieboldi has shown an antipyretic effect in experiments on animals. When the essential oils of the herb were mixed with gum arabic and given orally to rabbits, both those with normal temperatures and those with artificially induced fevers showed a reduction in body tempatures.[2]
References
[1] ctca.de
[2] Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica- Dan Bensky and Andrew Gamble- Eastland Press 1986 Seattle Washington ISBN 0-939616-15-7.

Analysis of aristolochic acid in nine sources of Xixin, a traditional Chinese medicine, by liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization/tandem mass spectrometry.
Jong TT, Lee MR, Hsiao SS, Hsai JL, Wu TS, Chiang ST, Cai SQ.
Abstract
Aristolochic acid I (AA-I), which is a known nephrotoxin, is found in a commonly used Chinese medicine, Xixin, that originates from nine Asarum species (Aristolochiaceae) found in China. A method has been developed using reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) tandem mass spectrometry under the positive ion detection mode [LC/(+)APCI/MS/MS] to determine the amount of AA-I in Xixin. The limit of detection of AA-I, estimated by monitoring with LC/MS/MS, was at the low microg/l level. By applying this method to methanol extracts of nine Asarum species, the concentrations of AA-I were found to range from 3.3 ng/mg (Asarum sieboldii) to 3376.9 ng/mg (Asarum crispulatum). J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2003 Nov 24;33(4):831-7. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of the fragrance inhalation of essential oil from Asarum heterotropoides on depression-like behaviors in mice.
Park HJ, Lim EJ, Zhao RJ, Oh SR, Jung JW, Ahn EM, Lee ES, Koo JS, Kim HY, Chang S, Shim HS, Kim KJ, Gwak YS, Yang CH.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Psychological stressors may cause affective disorders, such as depression and anxiety, by altering expressions of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), serotonin (5-HT), and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the brain. This study investigated the effects of essential oil from Asarum heterotropoides (EOAH) on depression-like behaviors and brain expressions of CRF, 5-HT, and TH in mice challenged with stress.
METHODS:
Male ICR mice received fragrance inhalation of EOAH (0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 g) for 3 h in the special cage capped with a filter paper before start of the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). The duration of immobility was measured for the determination of depression-like behavior in the FST and TST. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine as positive control was administered at a dose of 15 mg/kg (i.p.) 30 min before start of behavioral testing. Immunoreactivities of CRF, 5-HT, and TH in the brain were also measured using separate groups of mice subjected to the FST.
RESULTS:
EOAH at higher doses (1.0 and 2.0 g) reduced immobility time in the FST and TST. In addition, EOAH at a dose of 1.0 g significantly reduced the expected increases in the expression of CRF positive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus and the expression of TH positive neurons in the locus coeruleus, and the expected decreases of the 5-HT positive neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus.
CONCLUSION:
These results provide strong evidence that EOAH effectively inhibits depression-like behavioral responses, brain CRF and TH expression increases, and brain 5-HT expression decreases in mice challenged with stress.
PMID: 25881143 PMCID: PMC4354743 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-015-0571-1  BMC Complement Altern Med. 2015 Mar 6;15:43. doi: 10.1186/s12906-015-0571-1. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phenanthrene derivatives from roots and rhizomes of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum.
Jing Y, Zhang YF, Shang MY, Yu J, Tang JW, Liu GX, Li YL, Li XM, Wang X, Cai SQ.
Abstract
Five new phenanthrene derivatives: 9-ethoxy-7-methoxy-aristololactam IV (1), norcepharadione A N-β-d-glucopyranoside (2), aristololactamoside I (3), aristololactamoside II (4) and aristothiolactoside (5) together with eleven known phenanthrene derivatives (6-16) were isolated from the ethanol extract of the roots and rhizomes of Asarum heterotropoides var. mandshuricum. The aristololactams with substitution of ethoxy at C-9 position (1, 9, and 10) and the sulfur-containing phenanthrene derivative (5) were reported in the genus Asarum for the first time. Furthermore, six phenanthrene glucoside derivatives (2-5, 13 and 14) were also found in this genus for the first time and compounds 7 and 9-15 were isolated from the genus Asarum for the first time. Six of them (1, 2, 9, 10, 13 and 14) were submitted to cytotoxicity test against human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell lines (HK-2) using MTT and LDH assays. Compounds 1 and 10 showed significant cytotoxic activity against HK-2 cell lines with IC50 values of 18.18 and 20.44μmol/L in MTT assay and 84.36 and 35.06μmol/L in LDH assay, respectively. Compound 9 showed moderate cytotoxicity in MTT assay with IC50 values of 95.60μmol/L, but no cytotoxicity in LDH assay. Compounds 2, 13 and 14 showed cytotoxic effect in neither MTT assay nor LDH assay. Considering the other nephrotoxic phenanthrene derivatives (6, 8, 12, 15 and 16) previously tested, the results implied the potency of renal toxicity of this herb used as a medicine.
PMID: 28126415 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2017.01.008 Fitoterapia. 2017 Mar;117:101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2017.01.008. Epub 2017 Jan 24. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Enhanced toxicity of binary mixtures of larvicidal constituents from Asarum heterotropoides root to Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae).
Perumalsamy H, Kim JR, Kim S, Kwon HW, Ahn YJ.
Abstract
The toxicity of pellitorine alone or in combination with (-)-asarinin, alpha-asarone, methyleugenol, or pentadecane (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:1, and 3:1 ratios) to third instars from an insecticide-susceptible KS-CP strain and -resistant DJ-CP colony of Culex pipiens pallens Coquillett was evaluated using a direct-contact mortality bioassay. The binary mixture of pellitorine and (-)-asarinin (3:1 ratio) was significantly more toxic against KS-CP larvae (0.95 mg/liter) and DJ-CP larvae (1.07 mg/liter) than either pellitorine (2.08 mg/liter for KS-CP and 2.33 mg/liter for DJ-CP) or (-)-asarinin (11.45 and 12.61 mg/liter) alone. The toxicity of the other binary mixtures (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 2:1 ratios) and pellitorine did not differ significantly from each other. Based on the co-toxicity coefficient (CC) and synergistic factor (SF), the three binary mixtures (1:3, 2:1, and 3:1) operated synergistically (CC, 250-390 and SF, 1.4-2.2 for KS-CP; CC, 257-279 and SF, 1.1-2.1 for DJ-CP). The binary mixtures of pellitorine and (-)-asarinin merit further study as potential larvicides for the control of insecticide-resistant mosquito populations.
PMID: 22308778  J Med Entomol. 2012 Jan;49(1):107-11. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mechanism of anti-nociceptive effects of Asarum sieboldii Miq. radix: potential role of bradykinin, histamine and opioid receptor-mediated pathways.
Kim SJ, Gao Zhang C, Taek Lim J.
Abstract
The radix of Asarum sieboldii Miq. (AR) has been used to treat pain and inflammation in Korea. The present study was conducted to gain insights into the mechanism of actions regarding anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of AR. Administration of methanol extract of AR caused dramatic anti-nociceptive effects based on acetic acid writhing and tail-flick assay. When naloxone (Nx) was pre-treated, AR extract failed to exert such anti-nociceptive effect in the tail-flick assays. These results suggest that AR extract have opioid-like activity. It also exerted significant anti-inflammatory effects in the rat paw edema assay. AR extract caused inhibition in the bradykinin (BK)/histamine-mediated ileum contractions of guinea pig. Taken together, these results provide evidence that the methanol extract of AR exerts anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects by activating opioid receptor as well as by inhibiting bradykinin and histamine-mediated actions.
PMID: 12902045  J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Sep;88(1):5-9. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov