Chrysanthemum/Jú Huā 菊花

A 2024 review traced chrysanthemum's roughly 3,000-year history in Chinese medicine and summarized a decade of published studies. It noted that flavonoids, phenolic acids, volatile oils and terpenes in the flower have shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in laboratory research, apparently by modulating inflammatory cytokines and oxidative-stress signaling, supporting its traditional and food uses.

In a randomized study, 37 healthy young adults ate a high-fat meal with or without chrysanthemum extract. Research suggests the chrysanthemum group had lower blood glucose one hour after eating and better antioxidant markers (higher SOD and glutathione, lower malondialdehyde). Twelve main compounds were identified, over 30% being flavonoids. A small, short-term study only.

Researchers identified 78 constituents in a chrysanthemum water extract and used network pharmacology to predict liver-related targets. In mouse models of fatty liver disease and in liver cells, the extract appeared to activate PPAR pathways and reduce fat accumulation, inflammation and fibrosis. These are preclinical findings in animal models, not yet confirmed in humans.

In a cell-culture study, chrysanthemum water and ethanol extracts, along with the flavonoids apigenin and luteolin, dose-dependently reduced adhesion-molecule expression in human blood-vessel cells exposed to oxidized LDL. The authors suggested antioxidant activity and PI3K/Akt signaling may underlie a possible vascular-protective effect, though in vitro results cannot be assumed to apply in people.