Properties: Warm-cool, acrid

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Lung, Large Intestine, Bladder

1. Dispel Wind and frees the Network Vessels
   Wind-Damp Bi Syndrome
2. Calms the Liver and settles fright
   Post-partum Wind Tetany, Childhood Fright Wind, sequalae of poliomyelitis
   Hypertension
3. Disperses accumulation and frees the stool
   Indigestion, faecal stoppage
4. Resolves Toxicity
   Urticaria, snake or insect bites
   Knocks and falls

Suggested Daily Dosage: 9-18g dried herb in decoction, or 15-30ml of fresh juice. For topical administration apply fresh leaf to the skin for 30 seconds once daily.

• Formic Acid
  Carboxylic acid present in many bee and ant stings and thought for a long time to be responsible for the stinging effect of nettles but is too low concentration to explain the effect entirely. Useful as an antibacterial agent and preservative.
• Histamine
  Organic nitrogenous compound involved in local immune responses now thought responsible for the stinging effect along with acetylcholine, and serotonin. It is a powerful stimulant of gastric secretion, a constrictor of bronchial smooth muscle, a vasodilator, and also a centrally acting neurotransmitter.
• Acetylcholine
  A neurotransmitter that may be partially responsible for the stinging effect. It is a major transmitter but broken down very rapidly by cholinesterases giving it few internal applications, except for some uses in ophthalmology.
• Serotonin
  Hormone, monoamine neurotransmitter and biochemical messenger also present in the sting. It mediates several important physiological functions including neurotransmission, gastrointestinal motility, haemostasis, and cardiovascular integrity. Usually synthesised from the amino acid tryptophan acquired in the diet and is a precursor to melatonin, another hormone that is of primary importance to regulating sleep rhythms.