Sophorae japonicae

Sophorae japonicae flos immaturus according to the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur. 9), the drug is considered to be the whole flower buds of Styphnolobium japonicum (L.). The flower buds and flowers of the Japanese pagoda tree contain flavonoids (Wenzhong Shi (2017). Flower extracts contain among others flavonoids, isoflavonoids, triterpenes, various alkaloids and polysaccharides as well as amino acids. The rutin content is particularly high at up to 30 %. Rutin (= rutoside) is a quercetin-3-rhamnoglucoside (Quercetin-3-(6α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside).

Rutin (rutoside), the main constituent of pagoda tree flowers and buds, has been experimentally shown to have various effects: antioxidant, vasoprotective, oedema-protective and many others. Rutin inhibits the enzymes lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase. However, bioavailability is low when rutin is ingested.

An RCT on the efficacy of Sophora compared with mesalazine in 126 patients with ulcerative colitis found evidence that therapy with Sophora may be non-inferior to standard therapy with mesalazine. No relevant side effects occurred (Tong ZQ et al. 2010).

Japanese pagoda tree blossoms and flower buds are mainly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They belong to the group of Xue cooling and hemostatic agents.

1. European Pharmacopoeia (Ph.Eur.) 9th edition (basic work 2017), official German edition. German Pharmacist Publishing House.
2. Liu JL et al (2016) Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction Conditions for Five Major Bioactive Compounds from Flos Sophorae Immaturus (Cultivars of Sophora japonica L.) Using Response Surface Methodology. Molecules 21:296.
3. Ting Li et al (2017) Inhibiting STAT3 signaling is involved in the anti-melanoma effects of a herbal formula comprising Sophorae Flos and Lonicerae Japonicae Flos. Scientific Reports 7: 3097
4. Tong ZQ et al (2010) A multicenter, randomized, singleblind, controlled clinical study on the efficacy of composite sophora colon-soluble capsules in treating ulcerative colitis. Chin J Integr Med 16: 486-492
5. Wenzhong Shi (2017) Bioactive Flavonoids From Flos Sophorae. J Nat Med 71:513-522.