About Lobelia chinensis Lour.
Lobelia chinensis Lour. is a small perennial herb that grows in tangled clumps 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to 35 centimetres (14 in) long. It has a long, thin, branching olive green stem, and crumpled narrow green-brown leaves. It has little to no odor, with a sweet and pungent taste. When harvested for medical use, specimens with the greenest stems and yellower roots are preferred. It is native to Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Lobelia chinensis is considered mildly toxic, with adverse effects including vomiting, heartburn, anxiety, trembling, eclampsia, increased heart-rate, and severe stomach aches. It is counted as one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese herbology. Historically, L. chinensis has been used in herbal medicine to help stop smoking. However, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of herbs containing lobeline due to the absence of acceptable clinical efficacy data.
