It is also found in Huáng bǎi, one of the fifty fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine, also known also as Cortex Phellodendri, the bark of one of two species of Phellodendron tree: Phellodendron amurense or Phellodendron chinense.
Methyl caffeate, ethyl caffeate and other phenolic compounds can be found in Polygonum amplexicaule var. sinense (Chinese name: Xuesanqi), a widely distributed medicinal plant in China.