Tian xian teng (Aristolochia vine)
Modern sources record safety concerns for this herb. Reference information, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Modern authoritative sources classify aristolochic acids — present in the Aristolochia plant that is the source of tian xian teng — as carcinogenic and nephrotoxic. The U.S. NTP Report on Carcinogens lists aristolochic acids as known to be human carcinogens, and the U.S. FDA, in Import Alert 54-10, states that aristolochic acid is a potent carcinogen and nephrotoxin and that outbreaks of renal failure have been attributed to Chinese herbal medicines found to contain it. This is reference information drawn from modern sources, not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
Recorded for moving qi and quickening the blood to relieve heart and abdominal pain, and for wind-taxation.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十八·蔓草·天仙藤·主治（时珍）
- functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
- WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
- public pharmacopoeia & botanical facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.
传统中医记载：苏颂谓解风劳，同麻黄治伤寒发汗，同大黄堕胎气；时珍谓流气活血、治心腹痛。
Nature & flavor: 苦，温，无毒。
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·蔓草·天仙藤·集解Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·蔓草·天仙藤·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·蔓草·天仙藤·主治（时珍）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.