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Yin Chai Hu

Traditionally used for: Traditional Chinese formulas for "deficiency heat" patterns, chosen by a trained practitioner. Low fever that comes and goes.

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What is Yin Chai Hu? Yin Chai Hu is the dried root of a small plant called Stellaria dichotoma. In Chinese medicine it is used for a low fever that comes and goes. It is linked most of all to a fever that climbs in the late afternoon or at night. It is also used for a child who runs a low fever, looks thin, and eats poorly. Herbalists nearly always put it in a mix with other herbs. It is rarely taken on its own. Do not mix it up with Chai Hu (Bupleurum). The names look alike, but they are two different plants with two different jobs. Here is the short verdict. It is a long-used herb in one tradition, but human studies are almost absent. Long use is not proof that a herb works, and that is true here. How does Yin Chai Hu work? The honest answer is that no one knows. In Chinese medicine, Yin Chai Hu is called a cool herb that clears "deficiency heat". That name covers a slow, low fever seen in someone who is dry, thin and worn down. It is a way of sorting symptoms, not a test of what the root does inside the body. Lab and animal work hints at mild effects on fever and swelling. That work is early. It does not tell us what a normal dose does in a person. What forms does Yin Chai Hu come in? You will most often meet it as dried, sliced root. It is boiled in water with other herbs to make a decoction (a strong tea brewed by simmering). Other forms: Granules or powder that you stir into hot water. Part of a ready-made mixed formula, such as Qing Gu San. A raw root that a herbalist weighs out for you by hand. It is not sold as a common capsule or drink in most shops outside Chinese herbal suppliers. Where it comes from: Yin Chai Hu shows up in Chinese herb books from the Ming era, about 400 to 500 years ago. The famous herb text Ben Cao Gang Mu (1596) lists it as its own root, apart from Chai Hu. It sits in the classic formula Qing Gu San, written down in 1602. That formula was aimed at what old texts call "steaming bone" fever, a heat that seems to rise from deep inside at night. It has stayed a standard, if minor, herb in Chinese practice ever since.

Helps

What does Yin Chai Hu help with? Low fever that returns in the late afternoon or at night: This is the main traditional use, and it is where almost all of its standing comes from. Chinese texts pair it with herbs like Di Gu Pi and Qing Hao for this pattern. There are no published human trials that test the root on its own for this. Night sweats that come with that kind of fever: Tradition treats the sweats and the fever as one picture, not two problems. Yin Chai Hu is never the whole answer here; it is one part of a formula. No human trial supports it for night sweats. Fever that lingers after a long illness: Classic texts use it when a fever drags on in someone who is weak, dry and tired. A fever that will not go away needs a medical cause found first. Herbs should not stand in for that. Low fever in a thin child who eats poorly: Old texts call this "gan re", a fever tied to poor feeding and wasting in children. Today, a thin child with a lasting fever needs a doctor, not a herb shop. Do not give this root to a child without a qualified Chinese medicine practitioner guiding the dose.

Yin Chai Hu

Quick Facts

  • What it is: The dried root of Stellaria dichotoma, used in Chinese medicine for a low fever that rises in the late afternoon or at night.
  • Main uses: Low fever that comes and goes, Night sweats with afternoon fever, Fever lingering after a long illness
  • Best for: Traditional Chinese formulas for "deficiency heat" patterns, chosen by a trained practitioner
  • Active ingredients: Sterols (stigmasterol, spinasterol), Dichotomins (ring-shaped peptides), Flavonoids, Alkaloids
  • Forms: Dried sliced root for decoction, Granules, Powder, Part of ready-made formulas such as Qing Gu San
  • Time to effect: Not known from research; traditional use expects days to two weeks inside a formula.
  • Side effects: Rarely reported; mostly loose stools or stomach upset, plus rare allergic rash.
  • Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Not studied in pregnancy; avoid unless your clinician advises otherwise.

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

What is Yin Chai Hu?

Yin Chai Hu is the dried root of a small plant called Stellaria dichotoma. In Chinese medicine it is used for a low fever that comes and goes. It is linked most of all to a fever that climbs in the late afternoon or at night.

It is also used for a child who runs a low fever, looks thin, and eats poorly. Herbalists nearly always put it in a mix with other herbs. It is rarely taken on its own.

Do not mix it up with Chai Hu (Bupleurum). The names look alike, but they are two different plants with two different jobs.

Here is the short verdict. It is a long-used herb in one tradition, but human studies are almost absent. Long use is not proof that a herb works, and that is true here.

How does Yin Chai Hu work?

The honest answer is that no one knows.

In Chinese medicine, Yin Chai Hu is called a cool herb that clears "deficiency heat". That name covers a slow, low fever seen in someone who is dry, thin and worn down. It is a way of sorting symptoms, not a test of what the root does inside the body.

Lab and animal work hints at mild effects on fever and swelling. That work is early. It does not tell us what a normal dose does in a person.

What forms does Yin Chai Hu come in?

You will most often meet it as dried, sliced root. It is boiled in water with other herbs to make a decoction (a strong tea brewed by simmering).

Other forms:

Granules or powder that you stir into hot water.

Part of a ready-made mixed formula, such as Qing Gu San.

A raw root that a herbalist weighs out for you by hand.

It is not sold as a common capsule or drink in most shops outside Chinese herbal suppliers.

Where it comes from:

Yin Chai Hu shows up in Chinese herb books from the Ming era, about 400 to 500 years ago. The famous herb text Ben Cao Gang Mu (1596) lists it as its own root, apart from Chai Hu.

It sits in the classic formula Qing Gu San, written down in 1602. That formula was aimed at what old texts call "steaming bone" fever, a heat that seems to rise from deep inside at night.

It has stayed a standard, if minor, herb in Chinese practice ever since.

Who should avoid Yin Chai Hu?

  • Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, because it has never been tested in pregnancy or in nursing mothers.
  • Do not use if you have a fever with chills, a stiff neck, confusion, a rash that stays visible when you press a glass on it, or trouble breathing. Get emergency care instead.
  • Do not use if you are being treated for tuberculosis (a serious lung infection), HIV, cancer, or an autoimmune disease (where the body attacks its own tissue), unless your doctor agrees.
  • Do not use if you have loose stools, a poor appetite and a cold, heavy feeling in the belly, which Chinese medicine calls weak cold digestion.
  • Do not use if you want to give it to a child, unless a qualified Chinese medicine practitioner has assessed that child.
  • Do not use if you have had a rash, swelling or breathing trouble after this root or related plants in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae).
  • Do not use if you are taking any prescription medicine and have not told your doctor or pharmacist about this herb.
  • Do not use it in place of medicine your doctor has prescribed for a fever or an infection.

When should you see a doctor?

See a doctor if a fever lasts more than a few days, keeps coming back, or rises above 39C (102F). Get help sooner if you also have night sweats, weight loss you did not plan, a cough that will not go, or blood when you cough. These can point to an infection or another illness that needs testing, not a herb. Go to emergency care for a stiff neck, confusion, a rash that does not fade under pressure, chest pain, or trouble breathing. Stop the herb and get medical help if you get a rash, itching, or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.

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

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