Matrine regulates Th1/Th2 inflammatory responses by inhibiting the Hsp90/NF-κB signaling axis to alleviate atopic dermatitis.
Huang P, Hu F, Yang ZB, et al. Matrine regulates Th1/Th2 inflammatory responses by inhibiting the Hsp90/NF-κB signaling axis to alleviate atopic dermatitis. Kaohsiung J Med Sci 2023;39(5):501-510.
Study type: Animal + in vitro · Added to this library August 23, 2026
What the researchers did
Matrine, Ku Shen's main alkaloid, in eczema mice and inflamed human keratinocytes.
What they found
Lowered Th2 cytokines and the eczema chemokine TARC; blocked the Hsp90/NF-κB axis; stopped T cells differentiating toward the allergic Th2 type.
Why it matters
The bitter cold "stop itch" herb works upstream, on the allergic polarisation itself.
Relates to the patterns: Damp-Heat · Wind (itch)
This summary is educational and does not replace care from your child's pediatrician. Evidence tiers matter: a finding in cells or animals is a reason a treatment could work, not proof that it does.
More in Ku Shen cream
The effects of Chinese botanical lotion and pimecrolimus cream in the treatment of chronic perianal eczema: a randomized clinical trial.
Lai L, et al. The effects of Chinese botanical lotion and pimecrolimus cream in the treatment of chronic perianal eczema: a randomized clinical trial. Front Pharmacol 2025;16:1673112.
Study type: RCT (n=99, three hospitals, vs pimecrolimus)
What: A Ku Shen-based herbal lotion head-to-head against pimecrolimus (a standard prescription cream) for chronic perianal eczema.
Found: Higher response rate (100% vs 88%), better itch relief, and — the striking number — relapse at 12 weeks: 6% on the herbal lotion vs 20% on pimecrolimus. No serious adverse events.
Why it matters: A third of the relapses. That pattern — the herb changing the terrain rather than just muting the symptom — is the entire premise of pattern-based treatment.
The mechanism of oxymatrine on atopic dermatitis in mice based on SOCS1/JAK-STAT3 pathway.
Han X, Ma T, Wang Q, et al. The mechanism of oxymatrine on atopic dermatitis in mice based on SOCS1/JAK-STAT3 pathway. Front Pharmacol 2023;13:1091090.
Study type: Animal (dose-controlled)
What: Oxymatrine, Ku Shen's second alkaloid, in the calcipotriol eczema model.
Found: Dose-dependent falls in IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α and IgE; worked by boosting SOCS1, the body's own brake on the JAK-STAT inflammation pathway.
Why it matters: JAK inhibitors are dermatology's newest eczema drug class; Ku Shen's alkaloid reaches the same pathway through the body's own off-switch.
Antipruritic Effects of Sophora flavescens on Acute and Chronic Itch-Related Responses in Mice.
Yamaguchi-Miyamoto T, et al. Antipruritic Effects of Sophora flavescens on Acute and Chronic Itch-Related Responses in Mice. Biol Pharm Bull 2003;26(5):722-6.
Study type: Animal
What: The classic screening study of Ku Shen against acute and chronic itch.
Found: Dose-dependent suppression of both induced and spontaneous chronic scratching, without sedation; more potent than She Chuang Zi in the same screen.
Why it matters: "Stops itch" survived a modern behavioural assay two decades ago — this is the study that put Ku Shen on pharmacology's map for pruritus.
Osthole ameliorates chronic pruritus in 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis by inhibiting IL-31 production.
He S, Liang X, Chen W, et al. Osthole ameliorates chronic pruritus in 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene-induced atopic dermatitis by inhibiting IL-31 production. Chin Herb Med 2025;17(2):368-379.
Study type: Animal + in vitro
What: Osthole, She Chuang Zi's main active, against the modern "itch cytokine" IL-31.
Found: Less scratching, thinner lesions; IL-31 and its receptor suppressed in skin and cells; IgE, TNF-α and histamine all down; works through PPAR and NF-κB.
Why it matters: IL-31 is the antihistamine-resistant itch signal — the itch TCM calls Wind. The warm partner herb hits it directly.