One hundred and six species of traditional Chinese herbs were collected from the northeast of China, extracted with 60% ethanol, and tested for activity inhibiting histamine release and nitric oxide (NO) production. We found that 18 of the 106 species showed strong histamine-release inhibitory activity (inhibition >80%, 100 μg/ml), of which Bidens parviflora Willd. was recognized to present the strongest activity (inhibition 97.8%, 100 μg/ml). Seven species exhibited strong NO-production inhibitory activity (inhibition >50%, 100 μg/ml) with Pholidota chinensis Lindl. as the most active one (inhibition 86.2%, 100 μg/ml).