Buddleja officinalis. Buddleia officinalis  密蒙花  Mì méng huā- "Dense mist flower"   Pale butterfly bush   Family: Buddleiaceae   
PART USED: Flower bud- harvested in Spring before the flowers have bloomed.
Nature: Cool    FLAVOR: Sweet. Pleasant    CHANNEL: Liver
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Clearing Internal Heat- Reducing Fire
1. Disperse Wind Heat.[1,2,3] Clear Liver.
2. Strengthen eyes.[1,2,3,4] Restores clarity of vision.[1]
3. Clears fevers.[1] Antipyretic.
INDICATIONS- Can be used for treating both excess and deficient conditions.[4]
1. Red and swollen eyes with pain:[1,2,3,4] Yellowish secretion of eyes, keratitis. Edematous eyes.[1] Blood shot eyes.[3] Excess lachrymation.[3,4] Blurred vision.[3] Painful red eyes.[1]
2. Photophobia.[1,2,3,4] Bleary eyes, blinding cataracts.[1] Superficial visual obstruction.[4]
3. Deficient Heat conditions:[3] Chronic conjunctivitis.
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Decoction. Dry flower in the bud 3-9 g.[1,2,3,4] Good quality is dense, soft, greyish yellow, and has thin hairs.
NOTES: If symptom above naval take after meal. If symptom below naval, take before meal.[3]

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

Neuroprotective effect of Buddleja officinalis extract on transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.
Lee DH, Ha N, Bu YM, Choi HI, Park YG, Kim YB, Kim MY, Kim H.
Abstract
The flower buds of Buddleja officinalis MAXIM (Loganiaceae) are used to treat headache and inflammatory diseases in traditional Korean medicine. In the present study, the neuroprotective effects of the methanolic extract of B. officinalis (BOME) and of its hexane fraction (BOHF) were investigated in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo, 120 min occlusion, 24 h reperfusion) Sprague-Dawley rat model. BOME or BOHF (100 mg/kg, p.o.) was twice administered 30 min before the onset of MCAo and 2 h after reperfusion. BOME and BOHF treated groups showed infarct volumes reduced by 33.9% and 68.2%, respectively, at 2 h occlusion. In BOHF treated animals, cyclooxygenase-2 and iNOS inductions were inhibited in ischemic hemispheres at both the mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that BOME and BOHF both inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide production in BV-2 mouse microglial cells. These results suggest that the anti-inflammatory and the microglial activation inhibitory effects of B. officinalis extract may contribute to its neuroprotective effects in brain ischemia.
PMID: 16880613 Biol Pharm Bull. 2006 Aug;29(8):1608-12. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Anti-Inflammatory effect of Buddleja officinalis on vascular inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.
Lee YJ, Moon MK, Hwang SM, Yoon JJ, Lee SM, Seo KS, Kim JS, Kang DG, Lee HS.
Abstract
Vascular inflammation process has been suggested to be an important risk factor in the initiation and development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated whether and by what mechanisms an aqueous extract of Buddleja officinalis (ABO) inhibited the expressions of cellular adhesion molecules, which are relevant to inflammation and atherosclerosis. Pretreatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with ABO (1-10 microg/ml) for 18 hours dose-dependently inhibited TNF-alpha-induced adhesion U937 monocytic cells, as well as mRNA and protein expressions of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Pretreatment with ABO also blocked TNF-alpha-induced ROS formation. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) is required in the transcription of these adhesion molecule genes. Western blot analysis revealed that ABO inhibits the translocation of the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB to the nucleus. ABO inhibited the TNF-alpha-induced degradation of IkappaB-alpha, an inhibitor of NF-kappaB, by inhibiting the phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha in HUVEC. Taken together, ABO could reduce cytokine-induced endothelial adhesiveness throughout down-regulating intracellular ROS production, NF-kappaB, and adhesion molecule expression in HUVEC, suggesting that the natural herb Buddleja officinalis may have potential implications in atherosclerosis.
PMID: 20503474 DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X1000807X  
Am J Chin Med. 2010;38(3):585-98. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of extract of Buddleja officinalis eye drops on androgen receptors of lacrimal gland cells of castrated rats with dry eye
Qing-Hua Peng, Xiao-Lei Yao, Quan-Long Wu, Han-Yu Tan, and Jing-Rong Zhang
Abstract
To evaluate the effects of the extract of Buddleja officinalis eye drops in basic tears secretory volume, tear film stability, expression of androgen receptors (AR) in castrated rats with dry eye, and to investigate the therapeutic effects of the extract of Buddleja officinalis on dry eye caused by gonadal hormones level imbalance.
METHODS
Forty-five Wistar masculinity rats were divided at random into nine groups, including normal groups (A1, A2 and A3); model groups (B1, B2 and B3); therapy groups with extract of Buddleja officinalis eye drops (C1, C2 and C3). The “1” stood for being fed for 1 month, and “2” for 2 months, and “3” for 3 months. The dry eye model was established with orchiectomy on groups B and C. Group C was treated with Buddleja officinalis extract eye drops for one month. All rats were checked with Schirmer I test (SIT) and tear film break-up time (BUT). Expression of AR was analyzed by flow cytometer (FCM).
RESULTS
The SIT value of group C was significantly higher than that of group B (P<0.01) and the BUT value of group C was significantly longer than that of group B (P<0.01), which indicated the eye drop could significantly keep basic tears secretory volume and tear film stability. And the expression of AR of group C was much higher than that of group B, which showed that available composition of the eye drops maybe display androgen-like activity.
CONCLUSION
The main components of the extract of Buddleja officinalis is the flavonoids that can significantly inhibit happening of dry eye of rat after androgen level lowered. Its mechanism is like androgen's and it can display androgen-like activity to keep basic tears secretory volume and tear film stability.
Int J Ophthalmol. 2010; 3(1): 43–48.
Published online 2010 Mar 18. doi: 10.3980/j.issn.2222-3959.2010.01.10
PMCID: PMC3340645 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov