Hachimijiogan (Kampo)
Ba Wei Di Huang Wan / 'Kidney Qi' eight-ingredient formula
Evidence grade 2 of 5, Thin. Read how the Atlas grades evidence.
The written rationale for this grade is still being prepared.
- FDA
- Not FDA evaluated; a regulated Kampo prescription/OTC formula in Japan
Reference only. Not medical advice.
What can go wrong
The standout safety issue is aconite: inadequately processed aconite causes potentially fatal cardiotoxicity and arrhythmia, which is why pharmaceutical-grade processing and dosing matter. Other risks are generally mild (GI upset, edema in salt-sensitive individuals). Non-GMP or counterfeit 'kidney yang' products carry adulteration and heavy-metal risk like other TCM aphrodisiacs.
This is something to take to a clinician. The Atlas can tell you what is known about hachimijiogan (kampo) in general. It cannot tell you what is happening in your body, and the difference matters most for exactly the symptoms that bring people to this page.
Hachimijiogan (Japanese Kampo name for the Chinese formula Ba Wei Di Huang Wan, the 'Kidney Qi Pill') is a classical eight-herb formula built on Rehmannia, Cornus, Dioscorea, Alisma, Poria, Moutan, and the warming pair cinnamon bark and processed aconite. In TCM/Kampo theory it tonifies 'kidney yang,' the functional domain that includes libido and sexual vitality, and it is a traditional prescription for impotence, low libido, and aging-related urinary and reproductive complaints. Unlike most entries here it is a GMP-standardized regulated Kampo product in Japan. Its better human evidence concerns lower-urinary-tract and diabetic-neuropathy/aging endpoints; direct erectile-function RCTs are limited, and the aconite component demands proper processing.
A classical 'kidney yang' formula, GMP-standardized in Japan, studied for urinary more than erectile endpoints.
What people take it for
These are the reasons people give for taking it. They are not effects it has been shown to have.
How it is supposed to work
Effects are attributed to the whole formula rather than one compound: warming/circulatory action from cinnamaldehyde and aconite alkaloids, diuretic/anti-inflammatory action from Alisma/Poria, and tonic glycosides from Rehmannia and Cornus (e.g. loganin, morroniside). A specific erectogenic pathway is not established; mechanistic claims rest mostly on animal and urinary-function studies.
A defined multi-herb decoction/pill; key marker compounds include catalpol (Rehmannia), loganin/morroniside (Cornus), alisol triterpenes (Alisma), cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon), and benzoylaconine-type alkaloids (from properly processed aconite).
Tradition targets libido; data target the bladder
The 'kidney yang' sexual indication is a theoretical/traditional mapping; the formula's better-documented human effects are urinary and metabolic. The presence of aconite means that quality and processing (to convert toxic aconitine to less-toxic forms) are safety-critical, not optional.
Safety in detail
- Contains aconite - improper processing risks fatal cardiotoxicity
- Quality/GMP status varies widely outside Japan
- Possible drug interactions (the formula is pharmacologically active)
- Counterfeit/adulterated 'kidney tonic' products in informal markets
What people get wrong
Often saidA traditional formula proven to cure impotence
ActuallyIts 'kidney yang' impotence use is traditional; controlled human erectile-function evidence is limited, and its better data are urinary and metabolic.
Who profits, and who pushes back
Nobody is named here yet, because we have not done that work on this entry. Read that as unfinished. Somebody almost certainly sells this, and somebody almost certainly disputes it. Assume both until we have checked.
How we got here
The formula traces to the Han-dynasty classic Jingui Yaolue (Zhang Zhongjing, ~3rd century CE) as the 'Kidney Qi Pill,' transmitted into Japanese Kampo as Hachimijiogan. Japan's integration of Kampo into a regulated, GMP-standardized prescription system makes it one of the more controlled traditional formulas in this library.
The people taking it
Used across East Asia; in Japan it is a regulated Kampo product covered for some indications. Exported globally as standardized granules/pills and sold widely as a 'kidney tonic' supplement, with quality ranging from pharmaceutical-grade to dubious.
What we do not know
- Is there a reproducible erectile or libido benefit in controlled trials, distinct from urinary effects?
- How much does formula standardization change clinical outcome versus crude preparations?
The market for this
What follows describes how this is bought and sold. It is not a buying guide and it is not an endorsement of any seller.
Japanese Kampo manufacturers (e.g. major Kampo houses) provide GMP-standardized product; outside that channel, aconite processing and overall quality are far less assured.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Kampo (Japan) / TCM (China)
- Composition
- 8 herbs incl. Rehmannia, Cornus, cinnamon, processed aconite
- TCM target
- Tonify kidney yang
- Regulatory status
- Standardized Kampo formula in Japan
- Caution ingredient
- Aconite (must be detoxified)
What this entry does not yet cover
What follows is unfinished work on our side, not a finding about Hachimijiogan (Kampo). A short entry is not a safe entry.
- Timeline. We have not built the dated record of research and regulatory events.
- Cost and market. We have not documented what it sells for or who sells it.
- Supply chain. We have not mapped where it is made.
- Who uses it. We have not documented the user groups.
- What could change. No forward-looking summary yet.
- How it compares. We have not set it against the alternatives.
- Children and teenagers. We have not checked what is known about younger people.
Sources
The studies below are named and described, but not linked. You cannot open them from here and check our reading against them, which means this page is our summary of the literature rather than a document you can verify. Weigh it accordingly until the links exist.
The studies that matter
Kampo clinical studies of Hachimijiogan in elderly/urinary and diabetic complaints1990s-2010s
Reports of benefit for lower-urinary-tract symptoms and aging-related complaints; erectile-specific RCTs are sparse
Animal pharmacology of Ba Wei Di Huang Wanvarious
Reported effects on bladder function, glucose handling, and 'kidney-yang-deficiency' models