Euphorbia kansui. E. sieboldiana   甘 遂 Gān suì  Siebold's spurge Family: Euphorbiaceae    
PART USED: Dry Root- harvested in Spring before the flowers bloom, or Autumn after the aerial parts have withered.
Nature: Cold   FLAVOR: Bitter.   TOXICITY: Toxic.   CHANNEL: Spleen, Lung, Large Intestine, Kidney
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Cathartic hydrogogue- This is a violent, cathartic herb that causes one to pass water anally.[4]
1. Drains water downwards and drives out congested fluids.[4] Laxative.[1]
2. Emperor herb for dispensing accumulated water fron the chest and abdomen. Sedate water. Diuretic.[1] Expel sputum.
3. Topically for clearing Heat and reducing swelling.[4]
INDICATIONS
1. Severe cases of accumulation of fluids in the chest and abdomen.[4] Schistosomiasis- A parasitic disease due to infestation white blood flukes belonging to the genus Schistosoma which causes- ascites and edema.[1] Generalised edema, facial edema, and abdominal distention.[4]
2. Constipation.[1]
3. Epilepsy.
4. Topically for swollen, painful, nodular skin lesions due to Damp Heat and reduce toxicity.[4]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Pregnancy.[4] Only use this herb in cases of severe patterns of excess in robust clients.[4] Edema associated with Cold from deficiency.[4] Use with caution in weak patients.[4] In some texts this herb is incompatible with Glycyrrhiza uralensis- Gan cao (see below), and antogonizes Polygala tenuifolia- Yuan zhi.[4]
TOXICITY: Side effects include nausea, vomiting, palpitations, abdominal pain, backache, and hematuria.[4]
PATENT COMBINATIONS
- Edema and ascites- use with Ipomoea nil- Qian niu zi- Morning glory seed- Decoction of two drugs for edema and ascites- Er qi tang.
- Retention of fluid in chest and abdomen and accumulation of phlegm- use with Ten Jujube decoction- Shi zao tang. 
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: Roots are crushed 3-4 g each time and swallowed with water.[1] Dried root 0.6-1.5 g.[2] 0.3-1 g as a powder taken directly.[4] More effective as a pill or powder than cooked.[4] Should be roasted for ingestion as this reduces its tendency to cause vomiting.[4] Use raw for topical application.[4] At present it is rarely used in decoctions as the active ingredients are thought not to be water soluble.[4] Good qualilty is big, thick, and white with a powdery texture.[4]
    
HABITAT: Grows wild along enbankments, and edges of fields.
DESCRIPTION: Perennial herb. Secretes white milky juice when broken. Tap root; cylindrical. Stem; erect, 20-40 cm in height, green or slightly purplish. Leaves; alternate, long oval or slightly obovate, apexes slightly tuncate or retuse, bases cuneate, margins intact, no petioles. Flowers; in late spring, 5-9 flowers stems appear in clusters, each branch subdividing further into 2 branches, showing 2 bracteal leaves at bases of each branch which are opposite and deltoid ovate. The flowers form a cymose inflorescence, and 5 leaves whorled and spreading at base of inflorescence. Capsule; deltoid globular.
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

Chemical Constituents from Euphorbia kansui.
Zhang Q, Zhou QR, Lou JW, Chen PD, Yao WF, Tao WW, Tang YP, Dai GC, Wang K, Zhang L.
Abstract
In this research, a new triterpenoid, tirucalla-8,24-diene-3β,11β-diol-7-one (1), and eupha-8,24-diene-3β,11β-diol-7-one (2), which was isolated from Euphorbia kansui for the first time, together with twelve other known compounds (3-14), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Euphorbia kansui. Their structures were elucidated based on High resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data. Both constituents 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against colon cancer HCT-116, gastric cancer MKN-45 and breast cancer MCF-7.
PMID: 29292735 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22122176
Molecules. 2017 Dec 8;22(12). pii: E2176. doi: 10.3390/molecules22122176. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Anti-proliferation activity of terpenoids isolated from Euphorbia kansui in human cancer cells and their structure-activity relationship.
Hou JJ, Shen Y, Yang Z, Fang L, Cai LY, Yao S, Long HL, Wu WY, Guo DA.
Abstract
Euphorbia kansui is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of edema, pleural effusion, and asthma, etc. According to the previous researches, terpenoids in E. kansui possess various biological activities, e.g., anti-virus, anti-allergy, antitumor effects. In this work, twenty five terpenoids were isolated from E. kansui, including thirteen ingenane- and eight jatrophane-type diterpenoids (with two new compounds, kansuinin P and Q) and four triterpenoids. Eighteen of them were analyzed by MTS assay for in vitro anticancer activity in five human cancer cell lines. Structure-activity relationship for 12 ingenane-type diterpenoids in colorectal cancer Colo205 cells were preliminary studied. Significant anti-proliferation activities were observed in human melanoma cells breast cancer MDA-MB-435 cells and Colo205 cells. More than half of the isolated ingenane-type diterpenoids showed inhibitory activities in MDA-MB-435 cells. Eight ingenane- and one jatrophane-type diterpenoids possessed much lower IC50 values in MDA-MB-435 cells than positive control staurosporine. Preliminary structure-activity relationship analysis showed that substituent on position 20 was important for the activity of ingenane-type diterpenoids in Colo205 cells and substituent on position 3 contributed more significant biological activity of the compounds than that on position 5 in both MDA-MB-435 and Colo205 cells.
PMID: 29103462 DOI: 10.1016/S1875-5364(17)30108-5 Chin J Nat Med. 2017 Oct;15(10):766-774. doi: 10.1016/S1875-5364(17)30108-5. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Euphorbia kansui Attenuates Insulin Resistance in Obese Human Subjects and High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice.
Seung-Wook Lee, 1 Hyun-Young Na, 1 Mi Hyeon Seol, 1 Mia Kim, 2 and Byung-Cheol Lee 1
Abstract
Background
Obesity is a main cause of insulin resistance (IR), metabolic syndrome, and fatty liver diseases. This study evaluated Euphorbia kansui radix (Euphorbia) as a potential treatment option for obesity and obesity-induced IR in obese human and high-fat diet- (HFD-) induced obese mice.
Methods
In the human study, we analyzed the body weight change of 14 patients who took a single dose of 6 g of Euphorbia powder. In the animal study, male mice were divided into three groups: normal chow, HFD, and Euphorbia (high-fat diet and 100 mg/Kg Euphorbia once per week). Body weight, epididymal fat pad weight, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and oral glucose tolerance test were measured. Also, macrophage infiltration and expression of CD68, tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α, interferon- (IFN-) γ, and interleukin- (IL-) 6 genes in the liver and adipose tissue were analyzed.
Results
The human study showed that Euphorbia has a potential effect on body weight loss. In the in vivo study, body weight, epididymal fat weight, glucose level, IR, expression of CD68, TNF-α, IFN-r, and IL-6 genes, and macrophages in liver and adipose tissue were significantly reduced by Euphorbia.
Conclusions
These results suggest that Euphorbia attenuates obesity and insulin resistance via anti-inflammatory effects.
PMID:29234441 PMCID:pmc5646343 Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017; 2017: 9058956.
Published online 2017 Oct 4. doi: 10.1155/2017/9058956
PMCID: PMC5646343 PMID: 29234441 europepmc.org

Gancao-Gansui combination impacts gut microbiota diversity and related metabolic functions.
Yu J, Guo J, Tao W, Liu P, Shang E, Zhu Z, Fan X, Shen J, Hua Y, Zhu KY, Tang Y, Duan JA.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
The theory of "eighteen incompatible medicaments" (EIM) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the most representative case of herbal-herbal interactions. Gancao and Gansui are one of the incompatible herbal pairs in EIM. Gancao, also known as "licorice", is the most frequently used Chinese herb or food additive. Gansui, the root of Euphorbia kansui T.P. Wang, is another famous Chinese herb usually used to treat edema, ascites and asthma but could induce gastrointestinal (GI) tract irritation. Although Gancao and Gansui are incompatible herbal pairs, they are still used in combination in the famous "Gansui-Banxia" decoction.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
This study was conducted to investigate if Gancao-Gansui combination could exacerbate Gansui induced GI tract injury. Moreover, the impact of Gancao-Gansui combination to gut microbiota and related metabolism pathways were evaluated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Normal mice were divided into different groups and treated with Gancao extracts, Gansui extracts, and Gancao-Gansui combination extracts for 7 days. Serum biomarkers (diamine oxidase activity, lipopolysaccharide, motilin, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) were determined to reflect GI tract damage. Gut microbiota diversity was studied by 16S rDNA sequencing and metagenomes analysis were also conducted to reflect functional genes expression alteration. Fecal hydrogen sulfide concentrations were measured by spectrophotometry to confirm the alteration of Desulfovibrio genus. Fecal lipid metabolomics study was conducted by GC-MS analysis to confirm the change of metagenomes and Mycoplasma abundance.
RESULTS:
Gancao-Gansui combination did not exacerbate GI tract tissue or functional damage but caused gut microbiota dysbiosis and increased some rare genus's abundance including Desulfovibrio and Mycoplasma. Desulfovibrio genus proliferation was confirmed by the disturbance of fecal hydrogen sulfide homeostasis. Gancao-Gansui combination also dys-regulated the metabolic genes in metagenomes. Mycoplasma genus proliferation and the metagenomes changes were both confirmed by metabolic profile analysis of fecal lipids, especially cholesterol.
CONCLUSIONS:
Gancao-Gansui combination can impact the gut microbiota diversity and related metabolic functions. Further studies should be carried out when the combination of Gancao-Gansui is used in herbal formulations as this may alter the diversity of the microbiota.
PMID: 29198875 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2017.11.031 J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Mar 25;214:71-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2017.11.031. Epub 2017 Dec 1. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov