Properties: Sweet, neutral
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Spleen, Stomach
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Strenthens the Spleen and Stomach Qi
Diabetes (消渴 Xiao Ke)
Sluggish metabolism and digestion
Haemorrhoids
- Tonifies Yin of the Stomach, Kidneys and Lungs and Clears Deficiency Heat
Complementary treatment of sarcomas and hormone dependent tumours
Hypertension
Inflammation
Suggested Daily Dosage: Eaten as food.
Cautions: Young light ink caps are preferred as the darker and older ones become less tasty and even inedible.
Do not mix cooked common ink caps with alcohol as coprine content may cause facial flushing, nausea, vomiting, malaise, agitation, palpitations, tingling in limbs, and sometimes headache and excessive salivation. Symptoms generally subside after 2-3 hours but may return if alcohol is consumed over the next 5 days.
Notable Constituents:
- Coprine
Mycotoxin that causes an unpleasant hypersensitivity to alcohol (the 'disulfiram effect') similar to antabuse.
Notes:
Information is mainly taken from mycomedica.eu but it is assumed to be referring to both C. coprinus and C. atramentaria due to the reference to mixing with alcohol that only applies to C. atramentaria.
Does not appear in any formulae listed on this site
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.
