Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Actinidia polygama is a climbing vine from East Asia. It is better known as silver vine or matatabi. Its fruit, leaves and odd swollen galls have long been used as folk remedies.
The galls are the part most used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. They form when a small midge lays eggs in the flower. Dried and sold as mu tian liao, they were used for joint pain and cold limbs.
Human evidence is very thin. Nearly all research sits in cells and in mice. Long use in tradition is not proof that it works, and it is not proof that it is safe.
No study has shown how, or whether, silver vine works in people.
In mice, fruit extracts lowered uric acid. Uric acid is the waste product that builds up in gout. That result has not been repeated in good human trials.
In cell and animal tests, some plant compounds appear to calm inflammation. Lab work also hints at effects on allergy-related immune cells. Whether any of this happens in your body is unknown.
The effect on cats is real and well described. A compound called nepetalactol sets off the rolling and rubbing. That tells you nothing about effects in humans.
Most human-use products are dried galls, or a powder made from them.
Forms you may meet: - dried galls, whole or sliced, simmered into a tea - powdered gall in capsules - liquid extracts and tinctures - fresh, salted or pickled fruit, eaten as food in Japan - matatabi sticks, chew twigs and powders sold as cat toys
The cat products are made for cats, not for people. Strength differs a lot between brands. Few labels give a measured amount of active compounds.
Dried galls appear in classical Chinese medical texts under the name mu tian liao. Healers gave them for joint pain, cold hands and feet, and sluggish circulation.
In Japan, matatabi has a long folk record. Warm baths and hot drinks made from the plant were used for tiredness and aching joints. The fruit was pickled and eaten through the winter.
Older writers called it a warming remedy for the lower back. These are recorded customs, not test results.
Stop taking it and get urgent medical help if your lips, tongue or throat swell, or if you struggle to breathe. These are signs of a serious allergic reaction.
Stop and book a doctor's appointment if you get a spreading rash, bad stomach pain, vomiting, or yellowing of the skin or eyes.
See your doctor if a gout attack gets worse or keeps coming back. Gout damages joints when it is left untreated.
In the United States it may be sold as a dietary supplement. It is not approved to treat or prevent any disease. In the UK and EU there is no authorised medicine made from it, though the fruit is a traditional food in Japan.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
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