Properties: Bitter, pungent, cold

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart and Liver

1. Clears Heat and resolves Toxicity, cools the Blood and disperses swelling
   Red and swollen eyes
   Mastitis
   Jaundice
   Dysentery
   Sore throat with swelling and pain
   Topically for bruises and snake bites
2. Clears Hot Sores (Chuang Yung), internally and topically
   Deep rooted sores and abscesses, especially if red and swollen and located on the head and back

Suggested Daily Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.

• Esculin
  Hydroxycoumarin flavanoid glucoside found in horse chestnuts, barley, gardenia and olive bark (but not leaf) among other plants. It has a use in microbiology where it can be used to identify bacterial strains, especially Enterococci and Listeria.
• Esculetin
  Hydroxycoumarin that is the aglycone form of esculin known for its ablility to absorb UV light. It has a role as an antioxidant and UV light filter used in some sunscreens. The sodium salt of its methyl-derivative is also used in dermatology for the treatment of varicose veins.
• Cichoriin
  Coumarin glycoside which may possess various biological activities, including antioxidant, neuroprotective, and antidiabetic properties (Sigma-Aldrich, 2024)./li>
• Prionanthoside
  Coumarin present in Viola Prionantha that can be used as a marker for this species.
• Melatonin
  A hormone with powerful sleep regulatory, antioxidant and immunoregulatory properties. It is mainly found in animals but Chen et al (2003) found it in 2,368 ng/g in this herb.

Notes:

Lu et al. (2022) argue that the official species should be Viola prionantha which is what the majority of market pieces actually are, including the legal reference standard, and that this was the only species with substantial content of the four coumarins that they identified as the main active compounds.