Wind-Heat-Dispersing Herbs
Man Jing Zi (Vitex Fruit)
Name
Man Jing Zi (vitex / chastetree fruit, Fructus Viticis), recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing.
Source and quality
Plant
The ripe fruit of Vitex trifolia L. var. simplicifolia Cham. or V. trifolia L., family Lamiaceae (older books: Verbenaceae).
Where it is grown
The simple-leaf variety: mainly Shandong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang. V. trifolia: mainly Guangdong and Guangxi.
Harvest
Autumn, after the fruit is ripe.
Smell and taste
Distinctly aromatic; bland, slightly acrid.
Better grade
Large, full fruit with a grey-white bloom and a clear smell.
Processing
Used raw or dry-fried.
Nature and action
Acrid, bitter, slightly cold; enters bladder, liver and stomach. Disperses wind-heat; eases pain.
When it is used
Wind-heat on the exterior
It is not a strong sweating herb. It is used when wind-heat sits in the head: dizziness, headache, red watery eyes. Common partners are Bo He and Ju Hua. For a wind-cold cold with heavy head and body ache it can sit with Zi Su and Fang Feng.
Pain
Recurrent headache, bi pain, toothache, epigastric pain — always with other wind-dispelling, pain-easing herbs. In Qiang Huo Sheng Shi Tang it works with Qiang Huo, Du Huo, Chuan Xiong and Fang Feng for wind-damp bi.
Dose
Decoction 6–12 g.
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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