Properties: Slightly bitter, sweet, bland, cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart and Bladder
Divergent Channels: Small Intestine, Heart
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Promotes urination and reduces edema
Edema, especially floating edema
Ascites
End-stage schistosomiasis
- Clears Heat, cools the Blood and reduces toxicity (internally and topically)
Herb of choice for snakebites and wasp and bee stings (internally and topically)
Blood Heat
Toxic Fire such as tonsillitis
Often used in cancer formulas
Suggested Daily Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.
Cautions: It should be avoided using in treating patients with edema due to deficiency.
Appears in 1 formulae listed on this site: (click to display)
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, has been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
