Qing Li
A researcher at Nippon Medical School whose small studies on natural killer cells made forest bathing widely known.
1 min read · Updated 11 November 2026 · Last checked 11 November 2026
Life and work #
Qing Li of Nippon Medical School and colleagues reported higher activity of natural killer cells, a type of immune cell, in a small group of men after a three-day trip to forests.1
A later laboratory study from his group tested a tree compound, phytoncide, on human immune cells in a dish.2
What to be careful about #
The immune finding is often quoted. It has not been firmly established, and it does not show that forest bathing protects against disease.
I have no biography for him from the sources I used.
On this site #
See also: Yoshifumi Miyazaki, Roger Ulrich.
Notes
- Qing Li and colleagues, 'Forest bathing enhances human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins', International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 20, supplement 2 (2007), 3–8. ↩
- Qing Li and colleagues, 'Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function', International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 22 (2009), 951–9. A laboratory study of cells, not of people walking in woods. ↩
Modern works cited
- Qing Li and colleagues, 'Forest bathing enhances human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins', International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 20, supplement 2 (2007), 3–8 — abstract online
- Qing Li and colleagues, 'Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function', International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology 22 (2009), 951–9 — abstract online
Cite this page. The Garden, ‘Qing Li’, https://camelmaps.org/garden/person.php, last updated 11 November 2026, last checked 11 November 2026. What has changed.