Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu).
Chinese "hair-turning-black" herb. Traditional anti-aging tonic. A traditional Chinese tonic root taken for hair and for ageing well. Modern human research is very thin: Europe PMC holds 1 record under this name.
Reviewed March 2026
- Category
- Herb
- Also filed under
- Hair colorAnti agingTraditional tonic
What Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu) is, and what it does.
- Does it work
- Suits people following traditional Chinese herbal practice who want the prepared root. Anyone on prescribed medicines should go through a doctor first.
- How much to take
- Start with 500mg to 1,000mg a day of the prepared root, with food. Raw and prepared are different materials, so check which one the label actually names.
- Time to feel it
- Traditional use runs in months rather than days, and nobody has measured a human timeline for it.
- The first dose
- The anthraquinones reach your colon hours after a dose, so a looser bowel is the one thing some people notice on day one.
- With regular use
- Traditional use runs across months rather than weeks, and nobody has measured that span in a trial. Given the case reports of liver harm, a long run belongs under a doctor's eye.
- How well tolerated
- This is the caution to take seriously. Case reports link the root, raw and prepared, to liver injury. Speak to your doctor first, especially alongside any medicine.
- How it feels
- Most people report nothing beyond a bowel effect. The traditional claims about hair rest on tradition rather than on measurement.
- The overlooked benefit
- Prepared and raw root are different materials. Steaming with black soybean lowers the free anthraquinones, so a label naming which was used tells you a lot.
500 to 1,000mg a day is where Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu) works.
Source: Lin et al., J Ethnopharmacol, 2015; hepatotoxicity reports
The proof, claim by claim.
These words describe the research, not the molecule's worth. Research strength is how much work stands behind one claim, and it is never a product score.
Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu) has emerging evidence. Based on 1+ studies.
- bowel motility from colonic anthraquinone releaseNarrative review
- hair growth and pigment in animalsAnimal study
- antioxidant activity of the stilbene glucosideIn vitro study
- interaction with drug-metabolising enzymesIn vitro study
Questions people ask about Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu).
- When should I take it?
- Timing matters less than consistency. Pick a time that works for you and take it daily.
- Can I take it with other supplements?
- Usually fine. The main thing to watch is not doubling up on the same ingredient from different products. If you're on prescription meds, check with your pharmacist first.
- Any side effects to watch for?
- Most people tolerate it well at recommended doses. GI upset is the most common complaint with any supplement. Start with a lower dose and work up. If something feels off, stop and reassess.
- Who benefits most from this?
- Honestly, most people would benefit more from the basics. But if you've got a specific reason to try it, the risk is generally low.
Why these belong in the same formula. Each row says what the basis is, from settled biochemistry through to a trial that measured the pair.
Biotin is the carboxylase cofactor keratin-producing cells depend on for normal fatty acid synthesis. Pairing it with fo-ti supplies the nutritional substrate side of a hair formula that the botanical does not provide.
Raw and processed fo-ti carry anthraquinones with a documented hepatic burden at higher intakes. Silymarin supports normal hepatocyte glutathione status, which is why liver-support botanicals are routinely formulated alongside fo-ti.
Fo-ti root carries tannins and catechins that bind non-heme iron in the gut lumen and form poorly absorbed complexes. Taking the two in the same dose window lowers iron uptake, so separating them by a couple of hours is the usual answer.
Fo-ti's marker compound 2,3,5,4-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-glucoside is a glycosylated stilbene closely related to resveratrol. The two contribute to the same stilbene intake and are handled by overlapping glucuronidation and sulfation routes.
Fo-ti root is tannin-rich, and dietary tannins bind non-heme iron in the gut lumen and cut its absorption. Ascorbate reduces ferric to ferrous iron and holds it soluble, which offsets a large part of that binding when both are taken in the same meal. This is standard mineral absorption chemistry rather than a herb-specific finding.
Polyphenol and tannin fractions bind divalent minerals in the gut lumen, and zinc is among the cations affected. A tannin-rich root extract taken with a zinc dose reduces the free mineral available at the transporter. Separating the two by two to three hours is the usual formulation answer.
The anthraquinone constituents of fo-ti are present as glycosides, which are pharmacologically quiet until gut bacterial beta-glucosidases strip the sugar and release the aglycones emodin and physcion. The composition of the gut flora therefore sets how much active aglycone a given person generates from the same dose. That is why response to anthraquinone-containing roots varies so widely between people.
Anthraquinone aglycones are cleared by glucuronidation and by glutathione conjugation, and N-acetylcysteine feeds the rate-limiting cysteine step of glutathione synthesis. Supporting that pool is the reason formulators pair thiol donors with anthraquinone-containing botanicals. The pairing is mechanistic; no combination study has measured it.
Schisandra lignans modulate CYP3A activity and are used in Chinese formulas alongside processed roots for that reason. Changing CYP3A throughput changes the clearance of co-administered constituents in either direction. Anyone taking prescribed medicine should regard this as an interaction to raise with their clinician rather than a benefit.
Prepared fo-ti and dang-gui are paired in classical blood-nourishing formulas, and the two travel together in modern hair and vitality products for the same reason. The pairing is documented in the traditional literature rather than in trials. Both also carry constituents that touch normal clotting behaviour, which is worth noting alongside the traditional rationale.
Astragalus is the standard tonifying partner in the formula tradition fo-ti comes from, contributing polysaccharides and astragalosides rather than anthraquinones or stilbenes. The chemistries do not overlap. The basis is traditional use, and the confidence label should be read that way.
Licorice root is the harmonising herb added to most classical multi-herb formulas, and its saponins act as natural surfactants that improve dispersion of poorly soluble constituents. Glycyrrhizin also affects potassium and sodium handling at sustained intakes, which is a real consideration when licorice is a daily companion rather than an occasional one.
Panax ginseng and prepared fo-ti appear together in tonic formulas aimed at general vitality, with ginsenosides and stilbene glycosides contributing separate chemistries. Nothing has measured the combination. The row records a documented traditional pairing, no more.
Withanolide-standardised ashwagandha and fo-ti extract are combined in contemporary hair and stress-support blends, drawing on two separate botanical traditions. There is no shared pathway and no combination study. This is a market convention worth recording as such.
Hydrolysed collagen supplies the glycine and proline that keratin-adjacent connective tissue draws on, and fo-ti is added to the same hair and nail blends on traditional grounds. The two contributions are unrelated in mechanism. No study has tested them together.
Anthraquinone aglycones released in the colon stimulate motility, and psyllium adds bulk and water to the same compartment. Taken together the effect on bowel regularity is additive, which matters most for unprocessed root where anthraquinone content is highest. Anyone stacking them should step the dose up rather than start at both full amounts.
Catechins and anthraquinone aglycones are both cleared largely by glucuronidation and sulfation, so a high combined polyphenol load competes for a shared conjugation capacity. Concentrated extracts of both have monograph-level cautions about hepatic markers. Stacking two concentrated polyphenol extracts is a reason to keep doses modest and to have liver markers checked if use is prolonged.
Nothing specific on file for Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu). Match the label to the daily amount above, and tell your doctor what you take.
Not medical advice. Show the label to your pharmacist.What Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu) actually does.
Fo-ti is the root of Reynoutria multiflora, also indexed as Polygonum multiflorum. Its characteristic constituents are the stilbene glucoside 2,3,5,4-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-beta-D-glucoside, the anthraquinones emodin and physcion mostly present as glycosides, and a substantial tannin fraction.
The anthraquinone glycosides pass the small intestine largely intact and are hydrolysed by bacterial beta-glucosidases in the colon, which releases the aglycones locally. That is why the effect on bowel motility appears hours after a dose and varies with a person's gut flora.
The stilbene glucoside is structurally a glucoside of a resveratrol-type stilbene, which is why fo-ti and resveratrol are discussed in the same chemical family, though the substitution pattern and the sugar differ.
Traditional processing, repeated steaming with black soybean decoction, lowers the free anthraquinone content and raises the share of bound and conjugated forms. Prepared root and raw root are therefore different materials with different profiles, and the label should say which was used.
Getting Fo-Ti (He Shou Wu) from food.
The whole-food sources on file. A supplement closes the gap, it does not replace dinner.
A gram-for-gram figure (how much of each you would eat to match a dose) will appear here once it is sourced and reviewed. This page will not print a number it cannot cite.
The forms it comes in.
FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.