Sophora Root – 1 lb (454 g)

Sophora Root, known in Chinese as 山豆根 (Shāndòugēn) and scientifically as Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Sophora Root carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Sophora Root helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Sophora Root provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Sophora Root has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Sophora Root, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Guangdougen, Nandougen, and Little Coptis. It is the root and rhizome of the Fabaceae plant Sophora tonkinensis Gagnep., native to Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. Harvested in autumn, impurities are removed, then it is washed and sun-dried.

[Properties] Bitter in taste, cold in nature. Enters the Heart, Lung, and Large Intestine meridians.

[Actions] Detoxifies and benefits the throat, clears heat and promotes diuresis, kills parasites and has anticancer effects.

[Applications]
1. Used for sore throat, swollen gums and toothache, lung-heat cough. For sore throat, often combined with Arctii Fructus (Niubangzi), Platycodonis Radix (Jiegeng), Isatidis Radix (Banlangen), and Lonicerae Flos (Jinyinhua); for acute throat wind syndrome with jaw clenching, combined with Bletillae Rhizoma (Baiyaozi); for toothache, one piece of Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis is held at the painful site or decocted with Gypsum Fibrosum (Shigao) and Pulsatillae Radix (Baitouweng); for lung-heat cough and asthma, decocted with Trichosanthis Fructus (Gualou) and Fritillariae Bulbus (Beimu).
2. Used for dysentery with red or white stools and jaundice; the former may be combined with Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian), the latter can be taken alone as powder or decocted with Artemisiae Scopariae Herba (Yincheng).
3. Used topically for hot swelling carbuncles, hemorrhoids, tinea, scabies, and insect bites by grinding into powder and applying to affected areas. In recent years, Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis has been trialed for treating malignant tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, lung cancer, and cervical cancer, often combined with Houttuyniae Herba (Yuxingcao) and Oldenlandia Diffusa (Baihuasheshecao), showing certain efficacy.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 3–6 g; or juice; or incorporated into pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount for gargling or topical application after crushing.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases of deficiency fire throat pain, deficiency cold cough, surgical yin syndrome, and spleen-stomach deficiency.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: Contains alkaloids, flavonoids, and triterpenoids. Alkaloids include matrine, oxymatrine, sophocarpine, sophoridine, sophoramine, and sophoramidine; flavonoids include levorotatory sophoricoside, dalbergin, levorotatory pterocarpan, sophorone, and sophorachalcone; triterpenoids include sophoradiol, soyasapogenol, Guangdong acacia triol, acacia saponin, and sophoragenin. Also contains β-sitosterol and polysaccharides.
2. Pharmacological effects: Alkaloids exhibit antitumor activity; central nervous system inhibition demonstrated by twisting test, indicating analgesic effects; sophorachalcone shows strong anti-gastric ulcer and gastric acid secretion inhibitory effects.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Chronic active hepatitis: an injection named “Ganyanling Injection” made from effective extracts of Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis, 2 ml per dose (containing 50 mg alkaloids), intramuscularly twice daily for 3 months as one course. Treated 110 cases with 95 effective (86.36%), 83.7% effective in HBsAg positive group, 93.33% in HBsAg negative group. [Journal of Guangxi Medical College, 1982,(2):36] 2) Acute tonsillitis: 20 g Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis decocted to 300 ml, gargled 3 times daily, 100 ml each time. Treated 30 cases; sore throat disappeared in 4 days, tonsil swelling normalized in 5 days, body temperature normalized in 4 days, white blood cell count normalized in 5 days. [Hunan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2002, 8(10):606]