Health column

Ribes fasciculatum is a small tree that grows beneath the trees along valleys in Korea's mountains. It is also known by the name "chilhaemok" (Korean herbal name). The name may be unfamiliar, but more people have been looking it up since it became known as a health functional food (a Korean regulatory category) ingredient.

What kind of tree is it?

• Scientific name — Ribes fasciculatum var. chinense. It belongs to the Saxifragaceae family (the Grossulariaceae family under some classification systems). Papers usually write it as Ribes fasciculatum.
• Appearance — A deciduous shrub 1 to 1.5 m tall with no thorns on its branches. The leaves are round and shallowly divided into 3 to 5 lobes, and yellow flowers bloom in April and May.
• Fruit — Red oval fruits ripen in September and October and taste bitter.
• Range — It grows in China, Japan, and Korea (south of South Pyongan Province and Gangwon Province), and is relatively common in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, South Jeolla, South Gyeongsang, and other areas.

Only the leaf can be used as food

On the MFDS food ingredient list, the leaf is the only part of Ribes fasciculatum that can be used as a food ingredient. The stem and root are not listed as usable parts. Dried roots are sometimes sold at herbal medicine shops, and some studies have used the root, but as an ingredient you eat, Ribes fasciculatum means the leaf.

The name also calls for care. The national standard name for Ribes fasciculatum without the variety name in its scientific name is "gaedangjunamu," and the name "kkamagwibapnamu" (the Korean name for Ribes fasciculatum) is sometimes used as another name for other plants. That is why it is more accurate to check the scientific name as well when you verify an ingredient.

What research has shown

• Fat and body temperature (animals) — Researchers at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and elsewhere reported that when Ribes fasciculatum was fed to mice on a high-fat diet, their body weight fell and the heat-production signal in fat tissue (UCP1) and body temperature rose. This study isolated components from dried leaves and identified afzelin as the active component.
• Immune cells (cells) — In a 2026 study, a water extract of the leaf increased the production of immune signaling molecules by macrophages.
• Lifespan (roundworms) — Caenorhabditis elegans fed a Ribes fasciculatum fraction lived longer and had less reactive oxygen.
• Itching (animals, root) — In mice fed a root extract, itching and atopic dermatitis symptoms decreased.

All of these are results at the cell, animal, and roundworm stage.

An ingredient paired with Cornus fruit

Ribes fasciculatum leaf went through human trials when it was used together with Cornus fruit. The researchers compared the two extracts blended at several ratios and settled on a 7:3 blend. This blended ingredient (Cornus extract complex) went through a 12-week human trial in overweight women and was recognised by the MFDS as "may help reduce body fat." The quality of the Ribes fasciculatum leaf is managed using 4-HBA as the marker compound.