Chinese sweet tea (Rubus suavissimus)
Also called Rubus suavissimus, Chinese sweet leaf, Chinese sweet leaf tea, ten-cha, tenryocha, rubusoside.
Best grade D across 1 graded outcome Botanical Last checked
The short answer
From 3 sourcesChinese sweet tea (Rubus suavissimus, ten-cha) is a sweet-tasting leaf whose main sweet compound is rubusoside. It is Japan's most common self-care remedy for allergic rhinitis, yet the only placebo-controlled trial, 400 mg/day for 4 weeks in 89 people with dust mite allergy, found no significant benefit (grade D). Anti-allergy effects of rubusoside come from mouse studies.
Every graded outcome on this page
1 row · line = participantsKey facts
- What it is
- Leaves of Rubus suavissimus; rubusoside, the main sweet compound, made up 8.65% of one commercial sweetener extract2
- Popular use
- The most common complementary remedy for allergic rhinitis in Japan, according to the trial authors1
- Human evidence
- One placebo-controlled trial: no significant improvement in nasal symptoms or quality of life1
- Studied dose
- 400 mg/day of ten-cha extract for 4 weeks1
- Other data
- Rubusoside reduced airway inflammation in mice with experimental allergic asthma3
What it is
Chinese sweet tea is the sweet-tasting leaf of Rubus suavissimus, used as a tea, sweetener and allergy remedy.
How it works
ProposedIn mice with experimental allergic asthma, rubusoside lowered inflammatory cytokines and IgE and suppressed NF-κB activation in lung tissue. This has not been shown in people.3
Forms, side by side
2 forms named in our sources. The rest show what our data holds, and say plainly where it holds nothing yet.
Chinese sweet tea (Rubus suavissimus) forms compared
2 forms| 2 forms | Ten-cha leaf extract (capsules) | Tenryocha sweetener extract (rubusoside) |
|---|---|---|
| Absorption in people | No human absorption data.1 | No human absorption data.2 |
| GI tolerance | The trial abstract does not report side effects.1 | No human tolerability data in the sources cited here.2 |
| Studied for | House dust mite allergic rhinitis | Food sweetener (composition analysis only) |
- Ten-cha leaf extract (capsules)
- Tenryocha sweetener extract (rubusoside)
What the human research says
Human trials only, one row per outcome. The form line shows what each trial actually tested. Grades follow our evidence-grading policy.
Trial map
1 graded outcome, largest study firstOne graded outcome so far. Nasal allergy symptoms in house dust mite allergic rhinitis: a 2011 randomized trial of 89 people found no effect.
1Nasal allergy symptoms in house dust mite allergic rhinitis
No effect · Grade D · RCT, 89 people, 2011
People with house dust mite allergic rhinitis at 5 university otolaryngology departments (Japan)
Dose, result and source| Outcome | Found | People | Study | Who was studied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal allergy symptoms in house dust mite allergic rhinitis | No effect | 89 | Grade D · RCT, 2011 | People with house dust mite allergic rhinitis at 5 university otolaryngology departments (Japan) |
Every graded row
1 rowDGrade DNasal allergy symptoms in house dust mite allergic rhinitisAllergic rhinitisNo significant differenceRCT
n 89 · 2011
No effect Sneezing, nasal discharge, blockage and total symptom scores improved somewhat more with ten-cha, but none of the differences from placebo was significant; quality of life did not improve in either group.
- Design
- RCT, n = 89, 2011
- Population
- People with house dust mite allergic rhinitis at 5 university otolaryngology departments (Japan)
- Form
- Ten-cha (Rubus suavissimus) extract capsules
- Dose
- 400 mg ten-cha extract/day (3 capsules)
- Duration
- 4 weeks
- Source
- Reference 1 · PubMed 21216122 (opens PubMed)
What the numbers add up to
Each point is worked out from the data and the sources numbered on this page, with the arithmetic shown under it. It adds no new data and is not medical advice.
Studied doses
Doses used in research, shown against the official limits. They describe the studies, not a recommendation for you.
Studied doses in research, not advice. These are amounts used in research, not personal advice. Your clinician or pharmacist can say what fits you.
Doses studied in human trials
Doses studied in human trials ranged from 400 mg/day of ten-cha extract, the only dose tested, given as 3 capsules a day for 4 weeks.1
Interactions and safety
Published interactions only: each row cites a source. No row means none was found in our sources, not that a combination is safe.
Interactions
0 agentsNone found in our sources.
Check with what you take
Kept on this device onlyAdd what you take. We list every interaction our evidence profiles cite between Chinese sweet tea and your picks, and between your picks.
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Add a supplement or medicine you take to check it against Chinese sweet tea.
Starting from one medicine? The interaction checker rates how serious each pair is, on a curated list of 19 entries for 11 medicines. This cabinet has no severity rating: it lists every interaction row our supplement pages cite.
Who should be careful
2 groupsHow to read the label
What to check on the Supplement Facts panel.
How to read the label
2 checksFrequently asked questions
Short answers to common questions; the numbers link to the sources below.
Common questions
5 answersDoes Chinese sweet tea help allergies?
The only placebo-controlled trial, in 89 people with dust mite allergic rhinitis, found no significant improvement in symptoms or quality of life after 4 weeks of 400 mg/day. Symptom scores improved slightly more than with placebo, but not significantly.1
Is Chinese sweet tea safe?
The trial abstract does not report side effects, and no human safety studies were found. Data for pregnancy and children are lacking.1
Is ten-cha the same as Rubus suavissimus?
What makes Chinese sweet tea sweet?
What dose has been studied?
Only one: 400 mg/day of ten-cha extract, as 3 capsules, for 4 weeks.1
Sources
3 sources: trial abstracts, NIH fact sheets and reference databases. Numbers in the text link here.
Sources cited on this page
3 sources- 1A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of ten-cha (Rubus suavissimus) on house dust mite allergic rhinitis.RCT Auris Nasus Larynx, 2011 · PMID 21216122
- 2Analysis of rubusoside and related compounds in tenryocha extract sweetener.Observational Shokuhin Eiseigaku Zasshi, 2002 · PMID 12436720
- 3Rubusoside alleviates the ovalbumin-induced mice allergic asthma by modulating the NF-κB activation.Animal study J Food Biochem, 2020 · PMID 32185800
What changed
Every dated change to this page: what changed, who made it and why.
Change log
3 entries| Date | Change | Who and why |
|---|---|---|
| related, questions | Searched PubMed for Rubus suavissimus, rubusoside, ten-cha and Chinese sweet tea (all years through October 2026, including a search limited to trials and human studies): no human trial newer than the 2011 rhinitis trial, only laboratory, animal and narrative-review papers, so the evidence table is unchanged. Interactions and safety checked in LactMed and LiverTox (no entry for this plant); no interactions are documented, so the list stays empty and the pregnancy and children note still rests on the absence of data in the one trial. Added the immune goal-hub link and two page questions. | Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: A–Z audit against docs/supplements/AUDIT-STANDARD.md |
| all | Initial editorial evidence review (first draft). Every PMID checked against NCBI E-utilities esummary (titles and years taken from the record; retraction, erratum and expression-of-concern links checked in the PubMed record) and the abstract read for each cited row. Studied doses are reported as research doses, not dosing advice. Thin evidence flagged: one human trial (no effect) plus a mouse study; no human safety data beyond that trial. The page is named Chinese sweet tea, which is also sold as Chinese sweet leaf. | Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: new page |
| all | Adversarial review: every claim re-checked against the three abstracts; FAQ now notes the non-significant trend the authors reported so the null result is not overstated. No other changes needed. | Writer: Kymata Health EditorialTrigger: review |
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