Plant Families & their TherapeuticsPreview
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Rhubarb Root

See Turkey / Russian Rhubarb / Da Huang

and Rheum palmatum vs Rheum officinale Comparison

Overview

Part Used: root

Qualities Bitter, astringent, cold, dry, stimulating, astringing, decongesting, sinking (downward moving)

Properties Antacid, stimulant laxative

Tropism: stomach, small and large intestines, liver

Ground: all krases, biotypes and constitutions

In answer to a question about whether ordinary garden variety of rhubarb root can be used, Henriette Kress writes: Some 100+ years ago, herbal doctors checked the chemistry of various Rheum species. And found that your bog standard garden rhubarb would work the same as the exotic expensive "medicinal" rhubarbs.

The Garden Rhubarb can be happily used to yield the stems so prized for culinary use during early summer, remembering always to remove any flowering stems, and to leave at least a third of the top growth to die back later. Rhubarb is a greedy plant and needs a rich and well-manured soil. In mid-autumn of the third year it can be carefully unearthed and up to three-quarters of the fleshy roots trimmed off – leave the rest attached to the crown and replant. (You may also wish at this stage to divide the crown to propagate, or to keep existing plants in bounds). Mature plants can be harvested in this fashion every two years thereafter. Comminution of the soft roots is easy – a 1:2 tincture is possible from a fine mulch.

Garden Rhubarb was brought here from the Orient as a medicine centuries before either the stems came to be used as a culinary delight or the cheaper (and in truth inferior) Turkey Rhubarb, Rheum palmatum came to replace it for medicinal use.

There is ongoing confusion regarding the precise botanical origins of Garden Rhubarb, which may be either R. rhaphonticum or R. officinale, or a hybrid of the two. Either way, you are likely to be growing one of a variety of cultivars developed since Victorian times, any of which will provide the combination of gentle laxative and astringent for which Rhubarb roots in general are prized. Growing Turkey rhubarb is possible but is problematical and there hardly seems any point.

Rhubarb Botanical Information

Medicinal uses of Rhubarb

Constituents:

Anthraquinones and derivatives (incl. emodin, chrysophanic acid, rhein, rheochrysidin, physcion, sennosides A,B,C,D), tannins, oxalic/gallic/cinnamic acids, stilbene glycosides, minerals (incl. iron, magnesium calcium), essential oil (incl. diisobutyl ), phthalate, cinnamic/ferulic acids, rutin, calcium oxalate, fatty acids, vitamins B & C

Volatile components of the rhizomes of Rheum palmatum L.

Tissue State Relevance of Rheum officinale

(Root & rhizome — anthraquinones, tannins, catechins, gallic acid)

1. Heat / Excitation — Strong relevance (PRIMARY)

Search results show Rheum officinale is formally used to clear body heat, cool blood, detoxify, and reduce high fevers. MDPI naturemakeswell.com

Energetic translation:
Cools hot, irritated, inflamed tissues; reduces excitation in GI and hepatic systems.

2. Damp / Stagnation — Strong relevance (PRIMARY)

The herb is explicitly used to relieve dampness, clear “torpor/putrefaction,” and purge severe GI stagnation. MDPI naturemakeswell.com

Energetic translation:
Clears damp‑heat, moves stagnation, resolves boggy GI congestion and microbial accumulation.

3. Wind / Tension — Mild relevance

Not a direct antispasmodic, but:

Energetic translation:
Secondary tension relief through resolving irritation and stagnation.

4. Cold / Depression — Low relevance

Energetic translation:
Not indicated for cold/depression; may aggravate cold GI patterns.

5. Dry / Atrophy — Low relevance

Energetic translation:
Drying; contraindicated for atrophic or depleted tissues.

Summary Table

Tissue StateRelevanceKey Actions
Heat / Excitation⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Cold, bitter; anti‑inflammatory; drains heat
Damp / Stagnation⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Purgative; clears damp‑heat; moves GI stagnation
Wind / Tension⭐⭐Indirect relief via reduced irritation
Cold / Depression⭐Cold; may worsen depression
Dry / Atrophy⭐Drying; astringent; no rebuilding action

Plain‑English Summary

Rheum officinale is a cold, bitter, purgative, damp‑heat clearing root.
It excels in hot, boggy, congested GI patterns — feverish constipation, toxic accumulation, damp‑heat stagnation — and is inappropriate for cold, dry, or atrophic constitutions unless carefully balanced.

Uses

Promotes bowel movement, resolves accumulation and clears heat; reduces inflammation

intestines dry heat (Yang Ming heat): sweating, hard distended abdomen, constipation, fever, thirst

stomach fire: great appetite, thirst and drinking cold water, fetid breath

CONSTIPATION (esp. acute & biliary) FEBRILE & INFLAMMATORY digestive conditions, incl. ACUTE GASTRITIS

gallbladder heat: sour belching, right subcostal pain, vomiting, jaundice, fever CHOLECYSTITIS, cholangitis, appendicitis, pancreatitis, stomatitis, gallstones

SKIN INFLAMMATIONS, burns , scalds, conjunctivitis

Per Sloan-Kettering

Note: the following also applies to Rheum officinale,

To reduce the severity of side effects from anticancer therapy

One study suggested that a rhubarb extract may reduce side effects associated with radiation therapy in lung cancer patients.

To relieve constipation

Rhubarb acts as a laxative, although clinical trials have not tested this use.

As a fever reducer

There is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

To suppress the immune system

Laboratory data shows that rhubarb decreases the activity of isolated immune cells.

To reduce inflammation

Some studies suggest that rhubarb has anti-inflammatory effects.

To treat infections

There is not scientific evidence to support this claim.

To treat ulcers

Rhubarb was shown to be useful for treating oral ulcers. More studies are needed.

CLINICAL SUMMARY

Rhubarb, a perennial herb, is cultivated in many parts of the world. The stalks are consumed as food, and the rhizome and root are widely used in Traditional Chinese medicine for a variety of conditions including cancer, immunosuppression, constipation, diarrhea, gastrointestinal ulcers, and hypertension . The anthraquinones and tannins in rhubarb are thought responsible for its laxative and constipating effects, respectively.

Rhubarb demonstrated anticancer , antimetastatic , radioprotective , and estrogen receptor modulating effects in preclinical studies. Limited clinical findings indicate that it may be effective in improving feeding tolerance and relieving gastrointestinal dysfunction in critically ill patients ; in preventing the incidence of post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) and hyperamylasemia in high risk patients ; for treating recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) ; and may benefit patients with acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP) . A rhubarb extract was shown to reduce radiation-induced lung toxicity and increased pulmonary function in lung cancer patients.

Aloe-emodin, one of the constituents, demonstrated anticancer and anti-leishmanial effects. It was also shown to enhance the effects of sorefenib and cisplatin .

Rhubarb is considered to be a stimulant laxative. It is also a component of Essiac tea. Patients and physicians should be aware of the potential for additive effects.

MECHANISM OF ACTION

When used in small doses, the tannin content in rhubarb has a constipating effect. At higher doses, however, the hydrolyzed metabolites of emodin and sennidin stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and produce a laxative effect .

The actions of anthraquinones on rheinanthrone, which is transformed from sennoside A, may promote the purgative effects of sennoside A . The anti-inflammatory activity of emodin may mediate rhubarb’s hepatoprotective effects in rats with cholestatic hepatitis . Lindeyin, a phenolic gallylglucoside, exhibits analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties in animal models. Catechin, epicatechin, procyanidins, and gallylglucose were also shown to inhibit hyaluronidase.

Additional studies show that aloe-emodin exerts anti-proliferative activity, inducing cell cycle arrest in cancer cell lines . Anthraquinone extracts of rhubarb were shown to induce cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines and tumor (sarcoma 37, mammary, and Ehrlich) necrosis in mice , although this has not been demonstrated in humans. Another study showed that emodin inhibits human cancer cell invasiveness by specifically antagonizing the adenosine 5’- triphosphate (ATP)-gated Ca(2+)-permeable channel P2X7 receptor (P2X7R).

Physio-Medical Therapeutics, Materia Medica and Pharmacy BY T. J. LYLE, A.M.M. 1897

The root is a mild, stimulating tonic to the alvine mucous mernbrane, the liver and gall ducts. In large doses it is cathartic, but its tonic influence borders on astringency, hence some slight constipation may follow its use. It is therefore not the agent to assist in overcoming chronic constipation, but its tonic hepatic influence is valuable in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera infantum. Heat somewhat increases its astringency. In such cases it is therefore best boiled or roasted. Calcined Radix Rhei is prepared by burning the root in an iron vessel till easily pulverized. Give doses of 3 to 5 grs., or use one dram to a half teacup of boiling water. Give a teaspoonful as required from fifteen minutes to three hours for cholera, infantum, or use Rheum, Prunus and Mentha, Piperita in equal parts, with one-fourth part Bicarbonate Soda. Triturate well and add a heaping teaspoonful to a, half tea cup of boiling water. Give one or two teaspoonfuls after each operation of the bowels.

Rheum cleanses the rnucous membrane of viscid mucous, and while large doses prove cathartic, small and frequent doses are tonic hepatic. The addition of some alkaline preparation as Bicarbonate Soda, Bicarbonate Potassa or Bitartrate Potassa., relieves acidity and increases its cathartic power.

The Physiomedical Dispensatory by William Cook, M.D., 1869

In the same Family with smart weed and yellow dock. A plant with perennial roots, and annual herbaceous stems; native to Tibet and Chinese Tartary, but now much cultivated through all Asia and in Turkey. One species, sported into several varieties, is extensively cultivated in Europe and America under the common names of pie-plant and garden rhubarb. Genus RHEUM: Corolla wanting; calyx petaloid, six-parted, withering. Stamens nine, inserted into the base of the calyx; styles three, reflected; stigmas peltate, entire. R. PALMATUM :Leaves large, roundish-cordate, half palmate; lobes pinnatifid, acuminate; dull green, uneven and much wrinkled above, minutely downy beneath; petioles pale green, marked with short purple lines, round, obscurely channeled above. There are several other species of Asiatic rhubarb, which furnish a medicinal root; of which the UNDULATUM has oval and wavy leaves that are quite downy beneath, and blood-red and downy petioles; and the COMPACTUM has thick, heart-shaped, smooth, and almost shining leaves, and green petioles which are slightly compressed at the sides. The undulatum was long considered the best, but that distinction is now accorded to the palmatum; though it is probable that there are but few differences between the three.

The root of this article is gathered in the latter part of summer, from plants which are six years old. It varies in diameter from an inch and a half to three inches at the collum, gradually tapering, somewhat porous, covered with a thin dirty-brown cortex, yellow or brownish-yellow within, and of a peculiarly agreeable and rather spicy aroma. After being dug and washed, the cortex is peeled or scraped off, a hole bored through the center and the roots strung on threads, and then dried in the sun. Two leading qualities come to market, as follows:

Russian or Turkey Rhubarb. This has been furnished through the medium of a treaty between the Russian and Chinese governments, by which the former received in barter all the rhubarb grown in Buchara and Tartarian China, accepted only such as passed satisfactorily under the inspection of a Medical Commission from Russia, and burnt all inferior samples. It came to market either by way of St. Petersburg or Constantinople, and its superior excellence was uniformly insured by the rigidity of inspection. It is in somewhat roundish pieces, three to four inches long, flattened irregularly from having the cortex sliced off, yellow mixed with reddishwhite externally, yellow marbled with grayish and reddish wavy lines internally, light, of a rather bitter and but faintly astringent taste, somewhat gritty under the teeth, and of a strong aroma. It is imported in square chests covered with a hempen cloth and then a hide; and the pieces are usually covered with a fine yellow dust. This is by far the choicest article, and yields a light yellow powder.

East Indian or Chinese Rhubarb. This is exported from Canton, Shanghai, and other parts of Eastern China. It is usually in somewhat top-shaped pieces, smooth and round from having the cortex scraped off rather than peeled, more dense than the Russian, dull yellow or yellowishbrown without, the veins of a dull reddish-brown; the aroma much fainter, and the taste less bitter but more astringent, than the Russian. Some pieces are worm-eaten, and these are of inferior quality. An angular-looking quality is imported from Singapore, which in the rough resembles the Russian; but may be distinguished by its duller color and less marked aroma. The great cost of the Russian variety, brings the Indian rhubarb into most general use; and the difference in medical power is too limited to justify the purchase of the former in lieu of a good quality of the latter. Yet the poor qualities of India rhubarb are of little worth; and its powder is so almost universally adulterated with an inferior English article, as well as being made from rejected roots, as seldom to represent more than half the strength of a good article. At present, the powder of rhubarb is extensively adulterated with flour and colored with turmeric.

RHEUM RHAPONTICUM is the species now so much cultivated in the gardens of Europe and America for its very large and acidulous petioles, which are used in early spring for family pies. By cultivation, several varieties have been produced; of which the principal are known among gardeners as Linnaeus, Victoria, and Calhoun. Its root is gathered from the fourth to the sixth year. It has a muddy yellowish-red epidermis, beneath which the root has a pinkish-yellow hue, and internally has parallel pinkish veins. The density is less than that of the Asiatic species, and the center of the root is sometimes soft and even spongy. The odor of this species is faint, and not so agreeable as that of the foreign roots; the taste is bitterish astringent, mucilaginous, and not gritty nor always pleasant.

Rhubarb contains a yellow coloring matter, volatile oil, tannic and gallic acids, and peculiar aromatic and bitter principles. Water acts on it rather freely; diluted alcohol much more effectually; and solutions of potassa, soda, and ammonia act on it thoroughly, changing the liquid to a deep red or brownish red by the solvency of the alkaline agents upon a yellow granular principle of an acid character, called crysophonic or rheic acid, or rhein. The red veins contain the tannic acid, whence the redden-hued roots are most astringent. Crystals of oxalate of lime, quite insoluble in water, also exist in the root; and the presence of starch is shown in all species, and especially in the rhaponticum, by iodine.

Properties and Uses: Turkey (Russian) rhubarb is the officinal standard, but the cheaper Indian root has almost superseded it. The two are nearly the same in general action; but the Turkey is pleasanter, a little less astringent, and of greater relative strength. The English and American, as above mentioned, are less agreeable to the taste, somewhat more astringent, and distinctly mucilaginous; yet their general impression upon the system is nearly identical with the foreign species, though about twice the quantity is required. I have used this for several years, and am well pleased with it; and think that, by due care in its cultivation, and the selection of a proper variety, the profession would find a suitably efficient quality of rhubarb at their own doors

Rhubarb root has the peculiar character of combining in itself relaxant, stimulant, and astringent powers–the first two enabling it to prove mildly tonic, and the last diminishing mucous discharges and leaving behind a full astringent impression. Its action is mild, its taste not unpleasant but rather agreeable to the stomach, and its impression on the alvine mucous membranes peculiarly soothing. The saliva is soon colored yellow by it; the faeces also become yellow in from ten to twenty hours, or when the rhubarb has fairly passed through the bowels; and it may even color the urine and the perspiration–both which secretions may leave a yellow stain upon the linen. In doses of from four to eight grains three times a day, it soothes irritability of the stomach and promotes digestion; and often proves peculiarly serviceable in those forms of indigestion which are accompanied by acidity, laxity of the gastric structures, morning looseness of the bowels, and sallow countenance. A portion of its good effects are due to its mild stimulation of the gall-ducts, leading to the ejection of bile. Doses of from twenty to forty grains prove gently laxative, increasing peristaltic motion, procuring the dislodgment of scybala or other offensive materials, and not causing exhaustion at any time. In sensitive persons, or when the alvine canal is sensitive, large doses occasionally cause griping; and in febrile conditions they not unfrequently accelerate the pulse. The alvine discharges it procures are never watery, but rather consolidated; and its action is peculiarly beneficial in diarrhea and dysentery by first procuring the dislodgment of crude materials, and afterwards gradually diminishing the fluidity of the discharges. The principal use now made of it, is for this class of cases, and for all other cases where the bowels are prone to looseness; the better method usually being to give two medium laxative doses (of about twenty grains each) at intervals of three hours, so as to procure the evacuation of alvine accumulations, and, when the stools become yellowish, showing that the rhubarb has passed through the bowels, to continue doses of from three to five grains at intervals of three or four hours for the astringent- tonic effect. If the alvine crudities have been removed previously, the cathartic doses are not to be given. The tendency of this agent to leave astringency, rarely produces constipation; yet is sufficient to make it unadvisable to use it as a common physic, though it is well adapted to children of a scrofulous habit with tumid abdomens. It is in similar cases that its tonic action is of most service; for it seems to improve the assimilative powers well, and, like geum, myrica, and a few other agents, to give firmness and activity to lax mesenteries in scrofulous constitutions. Certain it is that, in curdy diarrhea, cholera morbus, and similar difficulties, its action in diminishing the discharges and giving tone to the duodenum, small intestines, and possibly the pancreas, is most favorable.

Inhibitory effects of a rhubarb (Rhei rhizoma) solution and its fractions on the formation of calcium phosphate precipitates were studied. The rhubarb solution inhibited both the amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) formation and the rate of hydroxyapatite (HAP) transformation, and extended the induction time. When the solution was fractionated using membrane filters, a filtrate with the molecular weight between 3 and 10 kDa (with 2/3 recovery of polyphenols) was found to be responsible for both the ACP formation and the extension of the induction time. Another filtrate with the molecular weight below 3 kDa (with 1/3 recovery of polyphenols) may be responsible for the inhibition of both the ACP formation and the rate of HAP transformation, and the extension of the induction time. When the extract of rhubarb was fractionated using a Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, fraction IV greatly inhibited the formation of calcium phosphate precipitates, while fractions I, II and III slightly inhibited that reaction. Our finding suggests that fraction IV may contain useful substance(s) for the prevention of oral calcium phosphate precipitation (calculus formation). However, strong calcium chelating properties would limit the concentration that could be safely employed. Study