Heat-Clearing and toxicity-Removing Herbs
Ji Xue Cao (Herba Centellae)
Name
Ji Xue Cao (Asiatic Pennywort Herb)
Nature and action
Bitter, pungent and cold. It enters the lung, spleen, kidney and bladder meridians.
It clears heat and promotes urination, resolves swelling and removes toxicity.
Indications
- Dysentery
- Jaundice due to damp-heat
- Traumatic injury
- Sores and boils
- Blood in the urine
- Sore throat
- Rubella
- Conjunctivitis
- Scabies
- Hematemesis
- Hemoptysis
- Epistaxis
- Urolithiasis
- Diarrhea due to summer heat
- Abdominal pain due to eruptive disease
Dosage and administration
Decoct 9~15 g, or 15~30 g of the fresh product, or pound it into juice. A proper dose is used for external application: pound it and apply to the affected area.
Cautions
Contraindicated in deficiency-cold.
Sources and further reading
We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.
- Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
- Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
- Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
- NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.
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