The Anti-Cancer and Swelling-Reducing Action of the TCM Cycad Leaf (Tieshuye)
Sutieye, also called Fanjiao Ye or Tieshuye, is the leaf of the cycad (Cycas revoluta) of the Cycadaceae family. The cycad is a tropical and subtropical plant distributed in China's Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and elsewhere.Sutieye has the effects of moving qi and relieving pain, dissipating stasis and stopping bleeding, and resolving toxin and reducing swelling; it mainly treats pain from liver-stomach qi stagnation, women's amenorrhea, hematemesis, hematochezia, dysentery, unnamed toxic swellings, traumatic injuries, and traumatic bleeding.Zhao Qiguang, a famous Qing-dynasty physician of the Lingnan region, introduced the properties and effects of Sutieye in his work Bencao Qiuyuan. Zhao Qiguang held that Sutieye is "bland and cold in taste; it can dissipate stasis and stop bleeding, and activate blood in the sinews and bones. It treats bloody stool, hematemesis, and traumatic swelling and pain. Mixed with scallion white and vinegar and applied externally, it draws out all toxic wind and wine wind." Another Qing physician, Zhao Xuemin, said in his Bencao Gangmu Shiyi that Sutieye "calms the liver and treats all liver-qi pain." Li Shizhen had limited knowledge of the medicinal plants of the Lingnan region, so the Compendium of Materia Medica does not record the cycad.Sutieye has a certain analgesic effect. In Zhejiang folk tradition there is a proven formula using 15g of Sutieye decocted in water to treat stomach pain. Bencao Qiuyuan also records that Sutieye applied together with distiller's grains can treat traumatic swelling and pain. Jiangxi Caoyao records a Jiangxi folk proven formula of burning Sutieye to ash, mixing with sesame oil, and applying to treat swelling and pain. The reason Sutieye relieves pain is that it anticoagulates and dissolves thrombi. Sutieye can be used to treat pain caused by gastritis and gastric ulcers, and also neuralgia.Folk tradition also uses Sutieye to treat cancer; for example, Zhejiang Yaoyong Zhiwu Zhi records a local proven formula using 125g of Sutieye and 12 da zao (jujubes) decocted in water to treat cervical cancer; Anhui Zhongcaoyao records a proven formula using 15g of Tieshuye, 30g of Shuyangquan (Solanum septemlobum), and 30g of Banzhilian (Scutellaria barbata) decocted in water to treat liver cancer; Yunnan Kangai Zhongcaoyao records a proven formula using 30g of Sutieye and 30g of Banzhuang root decocted in water to treat liver cancer. The most widely circulated anti-cancer single folk formula online is composed of jujube, tieshuye, Banzhilian, and Baihuasheshecao (Oldenlandia).But Sutieye itself has a certain toxicity and should not be taken in large doses for long periods; especially when used long-term together with Banzhilian, which is also toxic, the patient is highly prone to drug-induced liver injury. Over the years I have seen far too many patients who developed liver injury from taking too much Sutieye. When using toxic herbs such as Sutieye and Banzhilian, liver and kidney function should be checked regularly; if abnormal, the drug should be stopped promptly.Sutieye is also commonly used for gynecological diseases; women's amenorrhea and uterine bleeding can both be treated with the cycad. Fujian Minjian Caoyao records that dried Sutieye may be burned to an ashed (charred but retained nature), ground into powder, and taken with red wine, 6g each time, to treat women's amenorrhea. Qingdao Zhongcaoyao Shouce records that 15g each of Tieshuye, Zongtan (charred Trachycarpus), and Heyechar (charred lotus leaf) decocted in water can treat women's uterine bleeding.Bencao Gangmu Shiyi even cites records from Zhinan Fang holding that Sutieye can treat difficult labor. According to that book, for difficult labor in women, take three Sutieye leaves, decoct in water to one bowl, and drink it, and delivery will follow. This may be related to Sutieye's blood-activating and blood-pressure-lowering effects; Sutieye has a certain antihypertensive action.Besides the cycad leaf, the cycad's flower, fruit, and root can also be used medicinally. The cycad flower can treat stomach pain, chronic hepatitis, bronchitis, and rheumatic pain; the cycad fruit can treat chronic hepatitis, head and temple distending pain from hypertension, seminal emission, and excessive leukorrhea; the cycad root can treat traumatic injuries, hematemesis, mouth ulcers, and dysentery.It is worth noting that the cycad fruit and rhizome are more toxic than the leaves; after taking cycad fruit, patients easily develop dizziness, vomiting, and other toxic reactions, while the cycad flower is relatively less toxic. So when using the cycad's root, leaf, flower, or fruit to treat disease, one should always watch the patient's bodily reactions; if signs of poisoning appear, stop immediately. The dose should not be too large; the usual adult dose is 10–15g for root and leaf, 15–60g for the flower, and the fruit should be kept within 10g.