*Toxic effects from use of the root may include nausea, dizziness, vomiting, constipation, spasms, disturbance of speech, irregular breathing, respiratory failure and death.
==Health Benefits and Uses of Sophora flavescens==
Sophora flavescens is a Chinese medicinal herb used for the treatment of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, skin diseases, Cancer, pyretic stranguria and viral hepatitis.* Combats Cancer : Ku shen is a powerful multipurpose anti-cancer therapeutic agent that is strong alone at fighting cancer and can synergize with other chemo-therapies. For example, the main chemical from Kushen have been approved by Chinese FDA (CFDA) in 1995 as an anticancer drug to treat non-small cell lung cancer and liver cancer in combination with other anticancer drugs. Kushen has been used for:**Bile Duct Cancer**Bone Cancer**Brain Cancer (neuroblastomas and glioblastomas)**Breast Cancer (incl ER neg)**Cervical Cancer**Colon Cancer**Gallbladder Carcinoma**Leukemia**Liver Cancer**Lung Cancer**Medulloblastoma**Myeloid Leukemia**Prostate Cancer (incl castration-resistant)**Synovial Sarcoma**Ku shen can also help with cisplatin resistant cancers.* Reduces Pain : Ku shen can reduce pain symptoms associated with cancer, such as leukopenia and nausea. Ku shen can help reduce neuropathic pain (via NMDA).* Improves Skin And Wound Healing : **Ku shen can help with wound healing by increasing mRNA levels of growth factors such as IGF-1 and KGF in skin. **Ku shen also helps with wound healing by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as PGE2 and IL-8.**Ku shen may also help with dermatitis.**Ku shen is commonly blended Scutellaria baicalensis, Rheum tanguticum, Dictamnus dasycarpus, Phellodendron chinense, and Kochia scoparia and used to treat skin inflammation.**Ku shen can reduce melanin synthesis and may help improve skin whitening (via reduction of tyrosinase). * Protects The Vascular System : Ku shen is a potent and selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) , PDE4, and PDE3, thus making it useful for erectile dysfunction and overall vascular inflammation. For example, ku shen can combat atherosclerosis, a disease characterized by chronic vascular inflammation. Ku shen helps with blood flow and blood pressure by relaxing vascular smooth muscle (via NO-sGC-cGMP signaling).By regulating abnormal calcium-induced rhythms in the heart, ku shen can improve heart failure. Ku shen can also be therapeutic for septic shock‑induced heart injury.* Combats Diabetes : Ku shen may be beneficial for metabolic diseases as it can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma and alpha (PPAR-gamma and PPAR alpha, respectively). For example, it can help with diabetes by reducing sodium-glucose linked transporter (SGLT) activity, thus helping remove excess glucose (hyperglycemia) through the kidneys. Ku shen can also act as inhibitors of a-glucosidase and b amylase, thus helping with glucose levels after eating starchy foods. Ku shen can also help with diabetes as it improves oral glucose tolerance, increases serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and reduces body weight, blood glucose levels and other related blood-lipid indexes (via increasing AMPK and GLUT4).* Has Antimicrobial Properties against : Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Mycobacterium aurum, Prevotella intermedia, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus criceti, Streptococcus gordonii, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus ratti, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus sobrinus R* Ku shen has antiviral against : Cervical HPV, Coxsackievirus B3, HBV, Human type 1-3 reoviruses (HRV1-3), Influenza A Virus (H1N1), Korean porcine reovirus (PRV), Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) RPorcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Ku shen also has properties to combat Flavi viruses (including Zika, Dengue and Hepatitis C virus).
==References==
*''Kang SC, Lee CM, Choi H, et al. Evaluation of oriental medicinal herbs for estrogenic and antiproliferative activities. Phytother Res. 2006 Nov;20(11):1017-9.''