Properties: Sweet, cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart and Stomach
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Resolves Summerheat and relieves thirst
Summerheat patterns of irritability and fever, especially when thirst is an important symptom. Often made into a tea in summer to prevent Summerheat
- Clears Heat and resolves Toxicity
Toxic sores and swellings (ground and applied externally)
Skin eruptions and rashes in children (ground into a powder and take as a tea)
- Detoxifies poisons
Poisoning from toxic herbs such as Fu Zi, Chuan Wu, Ba Dou or alcohol
Countering the side-effects from toxic medicines, such as chemotherapy
Poisoning from organophosphorus pesticides and lead
Mung bean soup is also used in China as an emergency medicine for all kinds of poisoning while awaiting hospital treatment (A+ Medical Encyclopedia).
Suggested Daily Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated for deficiency-cold of spleen and stomach.
Beans generally have a high FODMAP score (George Eats, April 2024). Mung beans have a low FODMAP score in serving of around 50g, suggesting that they should still be eaten with caution in cases of abdominal distention and swelling due to Spleen Dampness.
Notes:
Li Shizhen considered mung beans to be among the best of dishes due to their high nutritional content.
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.
