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Shokenchuto

Traditionally used for: Thin children with cramping belly pain; Adults with mild, recurring belly cramps who tire easily. Weak appetite and low weight.

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What is Shokenchuto? Shokenchuto is a herb mix used in Kampo, the herbal medicine of Japan. It is sweet, because malt sugar is its biggest part. It is given most often to people with a weak, achy belly and low energy. Kampo doctors pick it for people who tire fast, feel cold, and get belly cramps. It is a common choice for thin, pale children who eat poorly, cry at night, or wet the bed. Long use is not the same as proof. Good human trials of Shokenchuto are few, so no one can say how well it works. This page treats its long history and its thin trial record as two separate things. How does Shokenchuto work? No one knows how Shokenchuto works. Kampo teaches that it warms the belly and eases a tight, cramping gut. Lab work gives a few clues. Peony root and licorice root both relax smooth muscle (the muscle in the wall of the gut) in animal tests. Ginger and cinnamon bark are warming herbs used for upset stomachs. Malt sugar adds calories and a sweet taste, which may help a child who eats little. None of these ideas has been proven in people in a strong trial. What forms does Shokenchuto come in? Most people take dried granules made by Japanese firms. Each sachet holds one dose, and you stir it into hot water. A tea boiled from raw herbs is the older form. Tablets and capsules exist but are less common. Products vary in strength. Check the label for how much kanzo (licorice root) each daily dose gives you. Where it comes from: The recipe comes from old Chinese medical books written around 200 CE. Its Chinese name is Xiao Jian Zhong Tang. Japanese doctors took it up and call it Shokenchuto, the romanised Japanese name. It is one of the 148 Kampo formulas approved by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the national health insurance (NHI) list. That means doctors in Japan can prescribe it. It has been used in both Chinese and Japanese practice for many centuries.

Helps

What does Shokenchuto help with? Cramping belly pain in children: This is the classic use, and the one Japanese doctors reach for most. The idea is that the mix eases a tight, cramping gut in a child who is thin and tires easily. Published evidence is limited to small reports and doctor experience, not controlled trials. Belly pain with no clear cause in adults: Kampo doctors use it for a soft belly with tight muscles along the sides, plus cramping pain that eases with warmth. Any belly pain that is new, severe or lasting needs a medical check first. Trial evidence for this use is very thin. Weak appetite and low body weight: In Kampo, Shokenchuto is a build-you-up formula for people who eat little and stay thin. The malt sugar adds calories and makes it easy to swallow. No good human trial shows that it raises weight or appetite. Tiredness and feeling cold: Traditional use targets people who feel cold, tire fast and look pale. This is a pattern in Kampo, not a modern diagnosis. There is no trial evidence that it lifts energy, and lasting tiredness needs a doctor's check for causes such as low iron or thyroid problems. Bedwetting in children: Shokenchuto is a long-standing Kampo choice for bedwetting in a child who is thin and easily tired. The evidence is traditional use and small Japanese case reports. Bedwetting has many causes, so see a doctor before treating it at home. Night crying in babies and small children: Old Kampo texts list it for babies who cry hard at night and seem to have belly pain. This use rests on tradition alone. Never give it to a baby without a doctor's guidance, and get a baby who cries in pain checked first.

Shokenchuto

Quick Facts

  • What it is: A sweet six-ingredient Kampo herbal formula, built on malt sugar, cinnamon bark and peony root, used for a weak, cramping belly and low energy.
  • Main uses: Cramping belly pain, Weak appetite and low weight, Tiredness with feeling cold, Bedwetting and night crying in children
  • Best for: Thin children with cramping belly pain, Adults with mild, recurring belly cramps who tire easily
  • Active ingredients: Koi (malt sugar), Keihi (cinnamon bark), Shakuyaku (peony root), source of paeoniflorin, Taiso (jujube date), Shokyo (ginger), Kanzo (licorice root), source of glycyrrhizin
  • Forms: Granule extract sachets, Boiled herb tea (decoction), Tablets, Capsules
  • Time to effect: Belly cramps may ease in a few days to two weeks; appetite and energy changes take four to eight weeks, if they come at all.
  • Side effects: Usually mild stomach upset or rash; the licorice in it can raise blood pressure, cause swelling and lower potassium (a blood mineral).
  • Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Avoid unless your clinician advises otherwise.

Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.

What is Shokenchuto?

Shokenchuto is a herb mix used in Kampo, the herbal medicine of Japan. It is sweet, because malt sugar is its biggest part. It is given most often to people with a weak, achy belly and low energy.

Kampo doctors pick it for people who tire fast, feel cold, and get belly cramps. It is a common choice for thin, pale children who eat poorly, cry at night, or wet the bed.

Long use is not the same as proof. Good human trials of Shokenchuto are few, so no one can say how well it works. This page treats its long history and its thin trial record as two separate things.

How does Shokenchuto work?

No one knows how Shokenchuto works. Kampo teaches that it warms the belly and eases a tight, cramping gut.

Lab work gives a few clues. Peony root and licorice root both relax smooth muscle (the muscle in the wall of the gut) in animal tests. Ginger and cinnamon bark are warming herbs used for upset stomachs.

Malt sugar adds calories and a sweet taste, which may help a child who eats little. None of these ideas has been proven in people in a strong trial.

What forms does Shokenchuto come in?

Most people take dried granules made by Japanese firms. Each sachet holds one dose, and you stir it into hot water.

A tea boiled from raw herbs is the older form. Tablets and capsules exist but are less common.

Products vary in strength. Check the label for how much kanzo (licorice root) each daily dose gives you.

Where it comes from:

The recipe comes from old Chinese medical books written around 200 CE. Its Chinese name is Xiao Jian Zhong Tang. Japanese doctors took it up and call it Shokenchuto, the romanised Japanese name.

It is one of the 148 Kampo formulas approved by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the national health insurance (NHI) list. That means doctors in Japan can prescribe it. It has been used in both Chinese and Japanese practice for many centuries.

Who should avoid Shokenchuto?

  • Do not use if you have aldosteronism (a hormone problem that raises blood pressure and lowers potassium). This is an absolute bar, not a judgement call.
  • Do not use if you have myopathy (a muscle disease that causes weakness). This is an absolute bar.
  • Do not use if you have hypokalaemia (low potassium in your blood).
  • Do not use if you are taking a glycyrrhizin or glycyrrhizinic acid medicine, such as the Japanese injection Stronger Neo-Minophagen C.
  • Do not use if you are already taking another Kampo formula containing kanzo (licorice root), unless a doctor has added up your total licorice dose.
  • Do not use if you take a water pill (diuretic), digoxin or another digitalis heart drug, unless your doctor agrees and checks your potassium.
  • Do not use if you have high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or swollen ankles, unless a doctor says it is safe for you.
  • Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless a doctor who knows Kampo has told you to.
  • Do not use if you have diabetes and have not asked your doctor, because the formula is mostly malt sugar.
  • Do not give it to a baby or child on your own. A doctor or pharmacist must set a child's dose.
  • Do not use if you have ever had an allergic reaction to any herb in the mix.
  • Do not use it to treat sudden, severe or worsening belly pain. Get that checked the same day.

When should you see a doctor?

Stop taking it and see a doctor if your face, hands or ankles swell, if you gain weight fast, or if your muscles feel weak or keep cramping. These can be early signs of pseudoaldosteronism, a licorice reaction that raises blood pressure and lowers potassium (a blood mineral).

Also see a doctor if your blood pressure readings climb, if you feel your heart fluttering or pounding, or if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow.

Go to hospital straight away for severe belly pain, belly pain with fever or vomiting, blood in your stool or vomit, or a faint, racing heartbeat. Tell any doctor treating you that you are taking a licorice-containing Kampo formula.

Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.

Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →

The published evidence for Shokenchuto is weak or absent. That usually means no controlled trial has tested it, not that a trial found it ineffective — the two are different, and we grade only what has been published.

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