Rikkunshito for Functional Dyspepsia

A 2018 study found that a traditional Japanese herbal medicine called rikkunshito significantly improved functional dyspepsia compared to placebo over 8 weeks. Rikkunshito is comprised of eight herbal medicines including Atractylodes lancea rhizome, Ginseng, Pinellia tuber, Poria sclerotium, Jujube, Citrus unshiu peel, Glycyrrhiza, and Ginger. Functional dyspepsia includes bloating and feeling full early on in a meal. These herbs are thought to relax the stomach muscles and enhance ghrelin secretion (increase appetite). These herbs may interact with medications and could cause digestive or other side effects.

Tominaga K, Sakata Y, Kusunoki H, Odaka T, Sakurai K, Kawamura O, Nagahara A, Takeuchi T, Fujikawa Y, Oshima T, Kato M, Furuta T, Murakami K, Chiba T, Miwa H, Kinoshita Y, Higuchi K, Kusano M, Iwakiri R, Fujimoto K, Tack JF, Arakawa T. Rikkunshito simultaneously improves dyspepsia correlated with anxiety in patients with functional dyspepsia: A randomized clinical trial (the DREAM study). Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2018 Jul;30(7):e13319. doi: 10.1111/nmo.13319. Epub 2018 Mar 2. PMID: 29498457.

Inokuchi K, Masaoka T, Kanai T. Rikkunshito as a Therapeautic Agent for Functional Dyspepsia and its Prokinetic and Non-Prokinetic Effects. Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jun 8;12:640576. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.640576. PMID: 34168558; PMCID: PMC8217963.