Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Psoralea corylifolia
Also known as Babchi
Pronounced Bakuchi: buh-KOO-chee. Babchi: BUB-chee. Bu Gu Zhi: boo goo jr. Psoralea corylifolia: so-RAY-lee-uh kor-ih-lih-FOH-lee-uh.
Warm, dry, and pungent-bitter: a kidney-yang tonic that secures leaking essence and, with sunlight, rekindles lost pigment in the skin, but a phototoxic, liver-taxing seed of narrow margin.
Avoid. The photoactive furanocoumarins (psoralens) are phototoxic and, when activated by light, genotoxic and mutagenic in test systems; the seed is a documented hepatotoxin. There are no adequate human safety data in pregnancy. Do not use internally or topically in pregnancy. Sources: AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook (2nd ed., Psoralea corylifolia); LiverTox (NIH), Psoralen; Psoralea corylifolia toxicology review (PMC9830135).
Insufficient data; avoid. Human lactation data are lacking and excretion of the photoactive and hepatotoxic constituents into breast milk is uncharacterized; there is no NIH LactMed clearance for Psoralea corylifolia. Avoid during breastfeeding. Sources: AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook (2nd ed.); NCCIH (insufficient data); Brinker, Herb Contraindications and Drug Interactions.
Not for internal use in children, and topical use only under specialist dermatologic care. A severe phototoxic blistering reaction to Psoralea corylifolia seeds has been reported in a child treated for vitiligo, and the hepatotoxicity and dosing uncertainty make oral self-treatment inappropriate. Sources: Mehta et al., Severe phototoxic reaction to Psoralea corylifolia seeds in a child with vitiligo (Contact Dermatitis, 2024); AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook (2nd ed.); NCCIH.
This is a narrow-margin, practitioner-administered seed, not a casual home remedy. Two serious hazards define it. First, phototoxicity: the furanocoumarins (psoralen, isopsoralen or angelicin, and 8-methoxypsoralen) are potent photosensitizers that intercalate into DNA and, on exposure to ultraviolet light, cross-link it, so the topical seed or oil followed by sunlight can raise severe blistering burns and, misused over time, carries a skin-cancer risk. It must be used only with graded, timed, carefully shielded light exposure. Second, hepatotoxicity: the seed and its extracts (bakuchiol, psoralen, 8-MOP, bavachin, and related constituents) can cause dose- and duration-dependent liver injury, both cholestatic and hepatocellular, with documented cases of acute and even fatal liver failure. Do not exceed short, supervised courses, monitor liver function, and stop at once for any sign of liver injury. The seed is also drying and heating.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding; pre-existing liver disease or a history of drug- or herb-induced liver injury; concurrent use of other photosensitizing agents or hepatotoxic drugs; photosensitivity disorders and fair, easily burned skin used without light protection; and yin-deficiency heat or dryness and constipation (TCM). Avoid unsupervised self-dosing, high doses, and prolonged courses. Keep away from children except for topical vitiligo use under specialist care.
An annual native to India and other parts of Asia, widely cultivated for medicine and, increasingly, for cosmetic bakuchiol. It is not listed as at-risk by United Plant Savers. Because Psoralea (Cullen) material and isolated bakuchiol are in high commercial demand and the herb is hepatotoxic, prefer correctly identified, cultivated, and quality-tested seed of a verified constituent profile.
Not found in the canonical biblical texts. Bakuchi is an Ayurvedic herb named in the classical Indian compendia (Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita) for kushtha and shvitra (skin diseases and leukoderma), and the same seed is the Chinese materia medica herb Bu Gu Zhi. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and East Asia, outside the flora of the biblical Holy Land.
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