Traditionally documented in the Shennong Bencao Jing, hemp seed has been used to moisten the intestines, relieve constipation, and nourish qi. Other traditional Chinese medicine uses include the treatment hair loss and external applications to alleviate scalp ulcers. Modern studies confirm the laxative effects and point to additional benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, lipid-lowering, and even anti-tumor properties. Researchers emphasize that fatty acids are the seed’s most abundant constituents, but cannabinoids, lignin amides, flavonoids, and proteins also contribute to its activity.

Cannabis Use in Chinese Medicine

Cannabis (麻, má), also known in Latin as Cannabis sativa, has a long and multifaceted history in Chinese medicine, spanning thousands of years. Its uses were diverse, ranging from food and fiber to medicine and ritual. The earliest references come from classical texts such as the Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica, ca. 1st–2nd century CE), where cannabis seed (má zi, 麻子, also called huo ma ren 火麻仁) was listed as a top-grade medicinal. This early categorization placed it among herbs considered non-toxic and suitable for long-term consumption, primarily used for nourishing, moistening, and restoring balance in the body [1].

In the Shennong Bencao Jing, cannabis seed was described as beneficial for the “five viscera” and for promoting the growth of flesh and energy. The seed was primarily valued for its yin-nourishing and moistening properties, especially in the intestines. Later commentaries, such as Tao Hongjing’s 5th-century Bencao Jing Jizhu, clarified that the seeds were effective in treating constipation and dry stools due to their oil content, and they were commonly prescribed for elderly or debilitated patients suffering from intestinal dryness [2].

By the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), cannabis appeared in Sun Simiao’s Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces), where formulas used hemp seeds for conditions related to dryness, wasting, and aging [3]. Over time, practitioners consistently emphasized the seed’s ability to moisten the intestines and relieve constipation, functions still recognized in modern Chinese materia medica. Importantly, seeds were noted as safe and non-psychoactive, in contrast to other parts of the plant.

One of the most remarkable references to cannabis in Chinese medical history comes from the legendary physician Hua Tuo (c. 140–208 CE). He is credited with creating an anesthetic preparation called máfèisan (麻沸散), a powdered mixture said to include cannabis among other ingredients. This preparation was administered with wine to induce insensibility before surgical procedures [4]. Although details of the exact formula are considered lost by many historians, later medical writers recorded that Hua Tuo successfully performed abdominal surgeries and even organ resections using cannabis as part of the protocol. While debated by modern historians, these accounts demonstrate that cannabis was recognized not only for its mild medicinal properties but also for its potential in managing severe pain and facilitating invasive procedures [5].

While most classical medical texts focus on the seed, some references to the psychoactive effects of cannabis leaves and flowers appear in Daoist and medical literature. The 6th-century physician Tao Hongjing remarked that excessive consumption of the flowers could lead to “seeing demons” and prolonged use might open “communicate with the spirits” [6]. These accounts suggest an awareness of cannabis’s intoxicating and visionary properties, though such uses remained marginal in mainstream Chinese medicine compared to its nutritional and laxative roles.

Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica, 1596) consolidated much of the earlier knowledge. Li described hemp as a multipurpose plant, useful for food, clothing, oil, and medicine. He carefully distinguished between seeds, leaves, and flowers. The seeds were classified as sweet, neutral, and non-toxic, used primarily for constipation, nourishing yin, and promoting lactation. The flowers and leaves, while recognized for stronger effects, were treated with caution, reflecting concern over their psychoactivity [7].

Today, in Chinese medicine, hemp seed (huo ma ren) remains a standard herb listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China. It is included in formulas for constipation due to yin or blood deficiency and intestinal dryness [8]. The psychoactive use of cannabis flowers largely disappeared from the medical canon, though historical records preserve acknowledgment of their visionary and spirit-affecting properties. Contemporary interest in cannabinoids has revived scholarly attention to these ancient sources, highlighting the continuity of therapeutic uses alongside shifts in cultural and regulatory attitudes.

Sources:
[1] Kong, L., Jiang, S., Ma, L., Ma, J., Wu, W., Li, C., Ren, W., Xu, J., & Ma, W. “Herbal Research, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Comprehensive Utilization, and Quality Control of Hemp Seed: A Comprehensive Review.” Phytochemical Analysis, published online August 12, 2025.

[2] Shennong Bencao Jing (ca. 1st–2nd century CE), in Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), 38–40.

[3] Tao Hongjing, Bencao Jing Jizhu (Annotations to the Divine Farmer’s Classic of Materia Medica, 5th century CE), cited in Yang Shouzhong, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica (Brookline, MA: Eastland Press, 1988), 152.

[4] Sun Simiao, Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces, 7th century CE), in Luo Xiwen, Zhongyao Dacidian (Beijing: Renmin Weisheng Chubanshe, 2005), 433.

[5] Hua Tuo, fragments preserved in later works such as Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han, 5th century CE), translated in Kenneth Zysk, Asceticism and Healing in Ancient India: Medicine in the Buddhist Monastery (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 106.

[6] Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Volume 6: Biology and Biological Technology, Part VI: Medicine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 166–68.

[7] Tao Hongjing, Bencao Jing Jizhu, in Unschuld, Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics, 85.

[8] Li Shizhen, Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica, 1596), translated in Shizhen Li, Ben Cao Gang Mu: Compendium of Materia Medica, ed. Luo Xiwen (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2003), 1017–19.

[9] Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China (Beijing: Chemical Industry Press, 2015), 242–43.