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← The ApothecaryLamiaceaedried aerial parts, essential oil (patchouli oil)Fact-checked 24 October 2026

Patchouli

Pogostemon cablin

Also calledHuo xiang (Chinese) · Patchouli oil (essential oil)

In older monographsPogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth., Pogostemon patchouli, Pogostemonis Herba (drug name)

A tropical Asian mint best known for its perfume oil. In Chinese medicine the dried herb, huo xiang, is an aromatic 'damp-resolving' drug for vomiting, diarrhoea and summer-heat illness, and it gives its name to the widely sold formula Huoxiang Zhengqi. Recent double-blind trials of that ten-herb formula found modest benefits for diarrhoea-type IBS, mild eczema and chemotherapy nausea; patchouli on its own has not been tested in people.

What it is used for

  • In a phase III double-blind RCT (166 patients on 3-day cisplatin chemotherapy), Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid added to a 5-HT3 antagonist and dexamethasone gave more nausea-free days and a higher complete-control rate beyond the risk phase (81% vs 61%). The formula contains patchouli herb and oil with nine other ingredients.1

  • In a 14-hospital double-blind RCT (212 adults with diarrhoea-predominant IBS), 20 ml Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid twice daily for 4 weeks raised the adequate-relief rate by 29 percentage points over placebo, with a small reduction in symptom severity; no serious adverse events.2

  • In the CHARM double-blind RCT (218 adults with mild atopic dermatitis or eczema), the formula reduced EASI scores slightly more than placebo at 4 weeks, and more patients reached 50% improvement by week 8 (66% vs 51%).3

  • Diarrhoea
    Traditional

    Used in Chinese medicine for vomiting, chest tightness, tiredness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and headache attributed to dampness.4

  • Fever
    Traditional

    Patchouli and its preparations, especially patchouli water, are used in China at all stages of heat illness and heat stroke management; mechanistic work is computational only.5

How it is prepared

syrup

Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid, a commercial Chinese formula of ten ingredients (atractylodes, tangerine peel, magnolia bark, Angelica dahurica, poria, pinellia, patchouli herb, licorice, patchouli oil and perilla leaf oil).

Dose used in the Guo et al. 2025 IBS-D trial: 20 ml twice daily for 4 weeks.

Irritable bowel · Nausea and vomiting

Amounts are as recorded by the named source, not a recommendation.

Safety

Pregnancy
Insufficient data
Breastfeeding
Insufficient data

Side effects

  • No treatment-related adverse events in the chemotherapy trial, though 12% of participants dropped out mainly because they could not tolerate the smell or taste of the formula or placebo
  • No serious adverse events in the IBS trial

Toxicity

No human toxicity data for the herb alone were found in the sources consulted.

In the healing traditions

  • Traditional Chinese Medicine

    Huo xiang (Pogostemonis Herba)

    An aromatic drug that resolves dampness, used for vomiting, chest oppression, fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and headache, and for summer-heat disorders. The formula Huoxiang Zhengqi 'dispels exterior pathogens, resolves dampness and regulates qi to harmonise the middle burner', for external wind-cold with internal damp stagnation.

  • Ayurveda

    Patchouli

    Described as a popular medicinal herb in Indian Ayurveda as well as Chinese medicine, chiefly for its essential oil.

Active compounds

patchouli alcohol (patchoulol)
sesquiterpene alcohol, a key bioactive of the aerial parts and oil; anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour in lab studies
pogostone
pyrone with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity in lab studies
pachypodol
flavonoid reviewed for diverse pharmacological activities in lab studies

History

Huo xiang is a classical aromatic 'damp-resolving' drug of Chinese medicine, mainly grown and used in Asian countries, and it gives its name to the formula Huoxiang Zhengqi, now made as an oral liquid and tested in multicentre Chinese trials since 2023. Patchouli water remains a standard Chinese remedy in the management of heat illness.

Sources

  1. 1.Tong L et al. A randomized, controlled, multicenter phase III trial of Huo Xiang Zheng Qi oral liquid for nausea and vomiting caused by multiday cisplatin-based regimen. Medicine 2025
  2. 2.Guo X et al. Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea: a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine 2025 (abstract)
  3. 3.Xuan M et al. Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid for atopic dermatitis: the CHARM randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine 2025 (abstract)
  4. 4.Xu F et al. Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, quality control, industrial application, pharmacokinetics and network pharmacology of Pogostemon cablin: a comprehensive review. Am J Chin Med 2022 (abstract)
  5. 5.Li X et al. Mechanism of Pogostemon cablin in treating heat illnesses via network pharmacology and molecular simulation. PLoS One 2025
  6. 6.Thakur A. Therapeutic potential of Pogostemon cablin herb: a comprehensive review. Pharm Pat Anal 2022 (abstract)
  7. 7.Fatima S et al. A comprehensive review on pharmacological activities of pachypodol, a bioactive compound of Pogostemon cablin. Molecules 2023 (abstract)
  8. 8.Yao YY et al. Terpenoids in Pogostemon cablin: patchouli alcohol and pogostone. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2021 (abstract)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.