Herb & supplement monograph

Yin Chen Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Yin Chen interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Yin Chen is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Yin Chen is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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Yin Chen Drug Interactions: The Bottom Line

From the HelloPharmacist Editorial Team · Updated July 2026

Based on the available evidence, the overall risk of a clinically significant Yin Chen drug interaction appears low for most people, since no interactions are rated major and none have been confirmed in human studies. Every listed interaction is rated moderate, and all of them rest on animal research rather than documented effects in people.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The concern that stands out involves medicines that slow the nervous system. Animal studies show Yin Chen has sedative effects and can impair balance and coordination, so combining it with CNS depressants, meaning sedating medications in general, could in theory add to drowsiness. This has been seen most directly with pentobarbital, where animal research found the combination increased sleeping time compared with the drug alone. If you take any medicine that makes you sleepy, extra drowsiness is the effect to watch for.

What the rest of the list means

The long list of interacting medications looks alarming, but nearly all of it comes from one broad group of sedating drugs flagged for the same theoretical reason. These predictions are based on animal research, and none has been shown to cause meaningful problems in people so far.

Check your medications against Yin Chen

Based on HelloPharmacist’s Yin Chen interaction data and reviewed under our editorial standards.

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Yin Chen

248 medications have a known interaction with Yin Chen, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Yin Chen using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Yin Chen interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Yin Chen combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Yin Chen affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Yin Chen is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 2 drug categories Yin Chen interacts with

Cns DepressantsPentobarbital (nembutal)

Cns Depressants

Theoretically, yin chen might enhance the therapeutic and adverse effects of other CNS depressants.
Animal research shows that yin chen has sedative effects and can reduce motor activity and impair balance and coordination. When used in combination with pentobarbital, yin chen increases sleeping time when compared to pentobarbital alone.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Pentobarbital (Nembutal)

Theoretically, yin chen might enhance the therapeutic and adverse effects of pentobarbital.
Animal research shows that yin chen, given orally in combination with pentobarbital, can increase sleeping time compared to pentobarbital alone.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Yin Chen: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Yin Chen is a traditional Chinese medicine herb used mainly for liver and gallbladder complaints and jaundice. Most of the evidence comes from laboratory and animal studies, so its benefits in people are not well proven. Talk with a pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you have a liver condition, are pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

Scientific name: Artemisia capillaris
Family: Asteraceae
Part used: Aerial parts (young shoots and leaves)
Common forms: Tea, dried herb, powdered extract, capsules, topical washes, and traditional herbal formulas (such as Inchinko-to/Yin Chen Hao Tang)

People commonly use it for

Liver and gallbladder support
Jaundice (traditional use)
Digestive complaints
Skin conditions (topical)
Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial purposes

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Generally used in traditional medicine, but human safety data are limited.

PregnancyInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingInsufficient reliable information

Insufficient reliable information available; avoid using.

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

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Overview

Yin Chen (Artemisia capillaris) is a herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. It is sometimes called capillary wormwood or hairy wormwood because of its fine, thread-like leaves. The plant is native to East Asia and grows in places like China, Korea, and Japan.

The young shoots and leaves are dried and used to make teas and herbal mixtures. In traditional practice, Yin Chen is best known as a remedy for jaundice and for supporting the liver and gallbladder. It is also a part of classic formulas such as Yin Chen Hao Tang (known in Japan as Inchinko-to).

Today you may find Yin Chen sold as a loose herb, tea, powder, capsule, or as part of topical products like herbal washes.

How it works

Yin Chen contains a number of plant compounds, including scoparone, capillarisin, chlorogenic acid, and various flavonoids and coumarins. In laboratory studies, some of these compounds appear to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Traditional use focuses on helping the liver and promoting the flow of bile, and some animal research suggests certain compounds may affect liver enzymes and bile. These findings are mostly from test tube and animal studies, so we cannot assume the same effects happen in people.

Overall, the exact way Yin Chen might work in humans is not well understood.

Effectiveness

Does Yin Chen work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 6 uses evaluated

6 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

For Yin Chen, current evidence isn’t strong enough to rate any specific use. The conditions it has been studied for are listed below.

Also studied for 6 conditions — evidence insufficient to rate

Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Asthma