Swallowwort Root (bai wei)
Radix Cynanchi Atrati
Properties:
Bitter and salty in flavour, cold in nature, it
acts on the stomach and
liver channels. The bitter and cold properties
clear away heat and the salty flavour enters the
blood division. Its moist nature can nourish
Yin. So the herb is able to clear away heat,
cool the blood, expell excessive heat in the
blood division, reinforce Yin, remove hectic
fever due to Yin deficiency as well. In clinical
practice, the latter functions are followed as
the principal therapeutic measure. In addition,
it is also used to treat stranguria due to heat
or complicated by hematuria, because it
possesses diuretic action.
Effects:
Clearing away heat, cooling blood, detoxicating,
treating stranguria.
Indications:
1. For heat invasion of ying and blood division,
high fever and delirium due to excessive heat in
blood division, it is often used in combination
with the drugs for clearing heat, removing heat
from blood, detoxicating and arresting
convulsion, such as rhinoceros horn and
scrophularia root. In cases of heat due to
Yin-deficiency, hectic and tidal fever, it is
used in combination with the drugs for clearing
heat of deficiency type, such as anemarrhena
rhizome, rehmannia root and wolfberry bark.
2. For swollen and
sore throat, suppurative infections on body
surface caused by noxious heat, it is used in
combination with the heat-clearing and
detoxicating drugs, such as viola herb,
forsythia fruit and capejasmine fruit.
In addition, it is
also used for stranguria due to heat and
complicated by hematuria.
Dosage and Administration:
6-12g.
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