When it comes to Epimedium, everyone is familiar with it. From its name, it is known that it is a Chinese herbal medicine that strengthens yang and tonifies the kidneys. It is said that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, a shepherd discovered that free range rams would become abnormally excited after eating a strange grass on the mountain, and would mate with ewes more frequently. Famous pharmacologist Tao Hongjing repeatedly verified the aphrodisiac effect of this strange herb after hearing about it, and named it "Epimedium".
Epimedium generally refers to perennial herbaceous plants in the Epimedium Linn. genus of the Berberidaceae family. With the continuous discovery of new species, there are already 55 species of this genus worldwide, with over 40 species in China, distributed in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Hubei and other places. Among them, Epimedium sagittatum is the most widely distributed species in the Epimedium genus, with the northern boundary being Mount Taibai on the southern slope of Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province and the western boundary being Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
Epimedium, as a nourishing traditional Chinese medicine, was first recorded in the "Shennong Bencao Jing" and has a history of over two thousand years of use. Li Shizhen recorded in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" that Epimedium has a sweet and fragrant taste, a warm and non cold nature, and can nourish essence and qi. It is also a medicinal herb for Yangming, Sanjiao, and Mingmen in the hands and feet. This medicine helps with fire and yang, although it nourishes the gate of life, it is a fragrant and dry product that is prone to damage yin, surpassing that of Morinda and Cistanche. Those with insufficient true yin should be cautious. The 2020 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China includes Epimedium sagittatum (Siebold&Zucc.) Maxim., Epimedium E. breviconum Maxim.
In recent years, with the increasing awareness of health care in China and the gradual improvement of the medical status of Chinese herbal medicine, the demand for Chinese herbal medicine and health products containing Chinese herbal ingredients has surged, leading to a rapid increase in adverse reactions, including the use of Epimedium. Some people may experience symptoms such as dry mouth and tongue, dizziness, vomiting, yellow and red urine, and nosebleeds due to its strong medicinal properties.
In recent years, clinical reports have found that traditional Chinese medicine preparations containing Epimedium have the potential to cause liver damage in patients. For example, from January 2004 to September 2017, the Beijing Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Center received 17 reports of liver injury related to Xianling Gubao Capsules (with a 70% content of Epimedium); The National Center for Adverse Drug Reaction Testing issued a document in 2017 titled 'Beware of the Risk of Liver Injury Caused by Xianling Gubao Oral Preparations'. Medical research has shown that in vitro experiments, the active ingredients of Epimedium have cytotoxicity against human normal liver cells and human liver cancer cells; After continuous gavage of active ingredients from Epimedium in mice for 4 weeks, liver damage symptoms such as increased transaminase and hepatic lipid deposition may occur.
Therefore, Epimedium is like a double-edged sword, although it has the effect of "strengthening yang", it is not a "divine medicine". When choosing Epimedium for treating diseases or health care, one should follow the advice of professional physicians to avoid blindly nourishing and causing liver damage.