Properties: Slightly bitter, cold, mildly toxic
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Stomach and Large Intestine
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Kills Parasites and expels Demons
Roundworms and tapeworms
Childhood nutritional impairment or abdominal pain due to parasites
Topically for tinea infections
Gu Sydnrome (Fruehauf, 1998)
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
- Removes the Three Worms
Said in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing that it removes the Three Worms. These may refer to difficult to treat metabolic disorders caused by overindulgence and should be accompanied by fasting, meditation and exercise regimes.
Suggested Daily Dosage: 5-7g in pills or powdered, taken with warm water, 3 times per day over 3 days.
Cautions: Do not decoct this herb because it contains protease that will be easily broken at 60℃. Take with cautions if the patients suffer deficiency-cold of spleen and stomach with helminthic accumulation.
Appears in 2 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, and A+ Medical Encyclopaedia have 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.
