Witnessed by: Ayurveda · Unani
China root (chobchini) (Smilax china), of the Smilacaceae family. Prickly climbing shrub with tough stems, tendrils and hard knotted tubers underground; native range: east and southeast Asia — China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the Himalaya — in hill thicket and open forest. Globally recognized as madhusnuhī · dvīpāntara-vacā · pāraṅkī in Sanskrit, chobchini in Hindi, chobchini in Urdu, ba qia (菝葜) in Chinese, and china root, chinaroot greenbrier in English. The part used is rhizome (the tuberous root). Hard, heavy, reddish-brown knotted tubers, cutting mealy and pale within; nearly odourless and faint on the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
CHINA ROOT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- china root (chobchini)
- Scientific name
- Smilax china L.
- Family
- Smilacaceae
Form
- Part used
- rhizome (the tuberous root)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · sweet (madhura) · astringent (kashaya)
Temperature
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- blood · skin · joints · nerves
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Ayurveda
- raktashodhaka (purifies the blood), vatarakta-hara (relieves gout), kushthaghna (heals skin disease), vranaropana (heals wounds), vrishya (aphrodisiac), kaphavatahara
- Unani
- musaffi-e-dam (blood purifier), muarriq (diaphoretic), muhallil-e-waram (resolvent of swellings), daf-e-atishak (antisyphilitic), muqawwi-e-bah (aphrodisiac), mufatteh-e-sudad (deobstruent)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- pitta-predominant and hot conditions; hot temperaments; pregnancy
- Toxicity
- low toxicity; the long course dries and may weaken a lean patient
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