Platycodon

Platycodon grandiflorus · Balloon flower · Jie geng

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Immune function¹ Body fat reduction² Anthracycline cardiotoxicity³	Pregnancy⁴ Breastfeeding⁴

Platycodon (Platycodon grandiflorus, balloon flower root) is a food and medicinal root of East Asia, traditionally used for sore throat, hoarseness, and cough with phlegm.^{5, 6} Its saponins, chiefly platycodin D, carry anti-inflammatory activity, and its polysaccharides act on immune regulation. Supplementation follows from that immune and inflammatory activity.

Human research is limited to about nine small trials, mostly in sore throat, plus single trials in immune function, body fat, and cardioprotection during chemotherapy. Two placebo-controlled trials of a licorice-platycodon combination found no significant sore throat relief over placebo^{7, 8}. An 8-week trial in healthy adults found higher natural killer cell activity with red platycodon extract. In a 2020 randomized placebo-controlled trial in early breast cancer patients receiving anthracyclines, platycodon accompanied less subclinical heart failure and lower troponin T, without compromising antitumor effects; it has not been replicated in a second trial. Products listing platycodon number 248 in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) label database, mostly liquid extracts and tablet teapills; see Form comparison.

Health Canada asks for a practitioner's advice before use with prescription medications⁴.

Last updated October 17, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

24 sources, 23 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources