Heat-Clearing and toxicity-Removing Herbs
Mu Shu: Chinese Herb Guide
Name
Mu Shu (Manihot Amylum seu Folium)
Sources
The drug is the starch or leaf of Manihot esculenta Crantz (Family Euphorbiaceae), cultivated in thick soils on hillsides, hilllands or sandy lands, cultivated in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan of China.
Constituents
The herb and tuber contain hydrocyania acid, saponins, volatile oil.
The Effect of Mu Shu
Property
Bitter, cold, slightly toxic; heart meridian entered.
Actions
The starch is used as anti-inflammatory antitoxic and antipyretic, to expel heat from blood, for the treatment of hydrops. Leaf is used as antioncotic and antitoxic, externally used for carbuncles and sores.
Dosage and Administrations
Proper dosage is for external application, pounded for applying with the fresh.
Cautions
It is for external use only.
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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