Skin profile
Where this herb sits in skin practice: the pattern it corrects, the skin signs it suits, and what it should not be used for.
Long Yan Rou is chosen when the skin is undernourished rather than inflamed: pale, dry, thin, slow to heal, and worse for worry and broken sleep. It builds slowly from the Spleen, so it belongs in a long course and never in the middle of an acute flare.
Skin signs that suggest it
- A pale or sallow complexion with dry, thin skin and no redness (Blood deficiency)
- Skin that marks easily and bruises yellow for weeks after a minor knock (Spleen not holding Blood)
- Dry, dull skin in a tired person with palpitations, poor memory and broken sleep (Heart and Spleen deficiency)
- Flares that arrive with a period of worry, overwork or sleeplessness rather than with heat or a new product (stress-provoked)
- A pale tongue with a thin white coat, and a fine or weak pulse
When it is not the right herb
Not for active heat or inflammation. Red, hot, weeping or pustular skin, a flare with fever, mouth ulcers or a sore throat are all made worse by a warm sweet tonic, and the same is true of a fresh spreading rash. It is also wrong where Dampness or Phlegm is blocking the middle, with a greasy coating, bloating and heaviness, because its richness feeds exactly what is already stuck. It is not a first-line herb in pregnancy, particularly the first trimester, and it is not a substitute for treating an infection or a diagnosed skin disease.
What it does for skin
Skin-relevant actions only. Each one describes a mechanism in TCM terms and what it looks like on the skin.
Nourishes Blood so the skin has colour and substance
Blood deficiency shows as pallor, dryness, thinness and a dull cast, with the skin looking underfed rather than inflamed. The fruit supplies the substance from which Blood is made, and the tradition treats the moisture it restores as coming from within rather than from a cream. The action is gentle and cumulative, so it is given over months with other Blood tonics, and no dramatic change should be expected in the first weeks.
Strengthens the Spleen, the source of Blood and of flesh
Blood is made from food by the Spleen, so a sweet fruit that strengthens the Spleen is improving the supply of raw material as well as adding to what is stored. That is why it suits the sallow, tired complexion, poor appetite, easy bruising and slow healing that come together in a depleted person. Bai Zhu is added where digestion is weak, so the richness of the fruit does not sit heavily.
Settles the spirit and steadies stress-provoked flares
The Heart houses the spirit and the spirit rests on Blood, so when Blood is thin the mind will not settle and the skin becomes more reactive to strain. The fruit gives the spirit something to rest on, which is a different route from sedating it. In skin practice that means it is chosen when itch, flushing or a flare arrives after a run of worry or broken sleep, and it is combined with calming seeds rather than used alone.
Warms a cold, dry, depleted surface
This is a warming herb, so it suits a person who feels the cold, whose hands and feet are cool, and whose skin is dry and pale rather than dry and hot. In that picture its warmth helps move what the Blood is carrying to the surface. In a person who is hot, thirsty and flushed it does the opposite, which is why the temperature of the herb is checked against the temperature of the patient before it is prescribed.
Skin conditions it is used for
Mapped to the condition pages on this site. The pattern column shows what the skin is doing when this herb is the right choice.
| Condition | Pattern | Why it suits | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin dryness | Blood Deficiency with External Wind | Dry, finely scaled skin in a pale, tired person, worse in winter and after washing, is read as Blood failing to reach and moisten the surface. Long Yan Rou supports that work from the Spleen side, where Blood is made, and it is given with Dang Gui and Bai Shao over weeks. It is not the herb for dryness with redness and heat, and emollients are still needed on the skin itself. | Gui Pi Tang with Dang Gui and Bai Shao |
| Atopic dermatitis | Blood Deficiency with External Wind | Once the weeping phase has passed, atopic skin becomes dry, thickened and greyish, with itch that wakes the person at night, and the pattern has changed to deficiency with wind-dryness. The fruit is used in that chronic phase to rebuild the Blood that the skin is short of, alongside wind-diffusing herbs. It is held back while the skin is still red and oozing, because its warmth and sweetness feed a damp-heat flare. | Gui Pi Tang with Fang Feng and Bai Xian Pi |
| Cracked skin | Spleen Blood Deficiency | Fissures on heels, knuckles and lips that split in cold dry weather, in skin that is pale and thin and slow to close, are read as Spleen and Blood deficiency leaving the surface without moisture or the material to repair itself. Long Yan Rou is the food-like part of that treatment, taken over months, while emollient protection and avoidance of harsh soaps do the immediate work. A fissure that will not heal, or one that bleeds and becomes inflamed, needs clinical review. | Long Yan Rou with Dang Gui and Bai Zhu in a Blood-building formula |
| Chronic urticaria | Qi and Blood Deficiency | Hives that keep returning in a pale, tired person, arriving when they are run down and fading slowly, are read as a defence too weak to hold the surface rather than as an active wind-heat attack. The fruit is a supporting part of the Blood-building approach, given with Huang Qi to strengthen the surface and with wind-diffusing herbs for the wheals. Antihistamines remain the conventional treatment, and a course of herbs does not replace them without medical agreement. | Gui Pi Tang with Huang Qi and Fang Feng |
| Senile pruritus | Blood Deficiency with External Wind | Itch in later life without redness, in dry thin skin, with a sallow complexion, palpitations and broken sleep, is read as Blood deficiency allowing wind to move at the surface. Because the fruit is food-grade and gentle, it suits a long slow course in an older person, and it is given with Blood tonics and wind-diffusing herbs. Its sugar content is the practical limit, particularly in anyone with diabetes. | Gui Pi Tang with He Shou Wu and Fang Feng |
Combinations for skin
Herbs it is paired with when the skin, not an internal organ, is the target.
| Partner | Ratio | Why the pair is used |
|---|---|---|
| Huang Qi | 1 to 1, about 15 to 18 g each in decoction | Huang Qi supplies the force that moves and builds and Long Yan Rou supplies the substance, so the pair suits pale, dry, slow-healing skin in a tired person. This is the proportion used in the classical Heart and Spleen formula, and it keeps the formula moving rather than cloying, which matters when the skin is both dry and sluggish. The two together are the backbone of the approach described on this page. |
| Dang Gui | 10 to 15 g each in decoction | Dang Gui nourishes and moves the Blood while Long Yan Rou nourishes it and settles the spirit, so one keeps what is built from stagnating and the other quiets the mind that the Blood supports. The pair is used for a sallow dry complexion with palpitations and light sleep. It also sits inside a formula that is strengthening the Spleen at the same time, which is where the Blood is actually made. |
| Bai Zhu | 10 g Bai Zhu with 10 to 15 g Long Yan Rou | Bai Zhu drains Dampness and supports the Spleen's transporting work, which matters because a sweet rich fruit can lie heavy on a weak digestion. The pairing is a correction as much as a combination, since it lets the tonic be given to a person whose Spleen would otherwise be swamped by it. A modest change to the formula makes a long course far easier to tolerate. |
| Suan Zao Ren | 10 to 15 g each in decoction | The seed is the specialist for sleeplessness from deficiency and the fruit is the generalist that supplies the Blood the seed is calming. Together they are used for light, dream-filled sleep, palpitations on waking, a pale look and skin that is dry and reactive. Neither is a sedative in the modern sense, and the pair is for the chronic case rather than the acute one. |
Formulas where it leads
- Gui Pi Tang (归脾汤) - The formula built on Heart and Spleen deficiency, with Long Yan Rou among the chief herbs. In skin practice it is used when dryness, pallor and slow healing sit alongside palpitations, forgetfulness and sleep that does not restore, and it is given over weeks because it builds rather than acts. It is not a treatment for an inflamed or weeping flare.
Safety for skin use
What to check before recommending or using it, including the cautions that matter most for skin patients.
Do not use, or use with caution
- Active heat or inflammation: red, hot, weeping or pustular skin, a flare with fever, mouth ulcers or a sore throat. A warm sweet tonic adds to the heat the flare is expressing.
- Dampness or Phlegm in the middle: a greasy coating, bloating, heaviness and loose stools. The richness increases congestion rather than resolving it.
- A fresh spreading rash or an acute infection, where a tonic can hold the pathogen at the surface instead of letting it clear.
- Diabetes or poor glucose control. The aril is largely sugar, and a decoction, a handful of the fruit and a spoon of the paste are very different loads.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Use with caution, especially in the first trimester, because the fruit is warming and a warm sweet food is said to generate internal heat. Traditional writers advise against longan in early pregnancy, and modern writers repeat the caution although no harm has been reported; small amounts in the later months are usually regarded as food. It is not something to take every day through a first trimester. During breastfeeding the same caution about quantity applies, with a watch for a rash or unusual fussiness in the baby.
Interactions
- Insulin and sulfonylureas. A large helping of the fruit or a spoon of the concentrated paste raises blood glucose, so readings need checking and doses adjusting with the prescriber rather than by guesswork.
- Sedatives and blood pressure medicines. The aril contains adenosine, which has shown mild sedative and vasodilator activity in laboratory work, so a very large intake alongside sleeping tablets or antihypertensives is a theoretical additive effect.
- Warfarin. The herb is not flagged for it in the standard references, which is not the same as proof that it is inert, so it is mentioned before a regular course begins.
General safety references
General references for herbal hepatotoxicity and herb-drug interactions; they are not specific to this herb.
- Review article: Herbal hepatotoxicity - an update on traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2014. PMID: 24844799.
- Interactions between herbal medicines and prescribed drugs: an updated systematic review. Drugs, 2009. PMID: 19719333.
- Warfarin and food, herbal or dietary supplement interactions: a systematic review. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2021. PMID: 32478963.
Evidence
The classical record is quoted with its source. The modern note states the level of evidence plainly.
Classical record
主五脏邪气，安志、厌食，久服强魂魄，聪明。
It governs pathogenic Qi in the five viscera, settles the will, and addresses loss of appetite; taken over a long period it is said to strengthen the souls and sharpen the mind.
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica) - An early entry that treats the fruit as a long-term strengthener rather than a remedy for a crisis, which is exactly how it is used on the skin.
龙眼气味甘温...于补气之中，又更存有补血之力，故书载能益脾长智，养心保血，为心脾要药。
Longan is sweet and warm. Its Qi-tonifying action also carries a Blood-nourishing power, which is why the books credit it with benefiting the Spleen, sharpening the mind, nourishing the Heart and guarding the Blood, making it a key herb for Heart and Spleen.
Ben Cao Qiu Zhen (Seeking the Truth in Materia Medica), Huang Gongxiu - The Qing summary that names the dual action on which the skin use rests: Blood built through the Spleen and held by the Heart.
食品以荔枝为贵，而资益则龙眼为良，盖荔枝性热，而龙眼性和平也。
The lychee is the more esteemed of the two fruits, yet for building the body the longan serves better, because the lychee is hot while the longan is even-tempered.
Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen - Li Shizhen's judgement is why the fruit is treated as a tonic that can be taken over months rather than as a treat.
Modern evidence
Evidence status
- No clinical trial of Long Yan Rou in a skin condition was identified for this page. The skin uses described here rest on the traditional record and on the fruit's place in Blood-building formulas.
- The fruit is largely sugar, and its effect on blood glucose is far better documented than any effect on the skin. That is the finding that matters most in practice, particularly for anyone with diabetes.
- Adenosine in the aril has shown mild sedative and vasodilator activity in laboratory work, which is consistent with the traditional calming use but is not evidence of benefit for the skin.
PubMed records
Selected real PubMed records for this herb's species or its constituents, chosen by species name and title relevance. They are references for the non-TCM discussion above, not proof that the herb treats any skin condition.
- Extract of Polygala tenuifolia, Angelica tenuissima, and Dimocarpus longan improve skin wound healing in streptozotocin- induced diabetic mouse.. Frontiers in pharmacology, 2026. PMID: 41929246 (skin-related record).
Dose and forms
Skin-practice dosing and the preparations that suit skin complaints.
| Form | Dose and notes |
|---|---|
| Decoction | 9 to 15 g of dried flesh daily in a formula. The lower end suits mild poor appetite and light insomnia, and the upper end a clear Blood deficiency with palpitations and forgetfulness. |
| As food | 10 to 30 g of the dried flesh a day, either eaten directly or simmered in soup and rice porridge, which is an ordinary kitchen quantity rather than a medicinal dose. |
| Concentrated paste | Yu Ling Gao is steamed with sugar for many hours and taken by the small spoon, so it cannot be compared weight for weight with a decoction and it carries far more sugar. |
The range is wide because the same fruit appears as food, as a decoction and as a concentrated paste, and these forms cannot be swapped freely. Anyone hot, thirsty or liable to mouth ulcers stays near the lower figure. In skin practice the fruit is usually one part of a Blood-building formula, and for anyone tracking blood glucose the sugar in it counts for as much as the weight of the dose.
Citations and further reading
Only real sources are listed: the classical materia medica passages quoted above, and the source works behind the botanical and safety statements.
- Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica), attributed compilation of the Han period - classical entry quoted above.
- Ben Cao Qiu Zhen (Seeking the Truth in Materia Medica), Huang Gongxiu, Qing dynasty - classical entry quoted above.
- Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578 - classical entry quoted above.
- Long Yan Rou monograph: Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, Arillus Longan - source for the accepted botanical source, part used and quality requirements.
- Modern evidence statement: based on review and laboratory literature on Dimocarpus longan, presented as a statement about the level of evidence rather than as a claim of effect.
- Botanical description and identification: botanical literature on Dimocarpus longan, Sapindaceae.
Educational reference for qualified practitioners. This page is not medical advice, and skin conditions should be diagnosed by a clinician before treatment.