Prunella
Spike
Spica
Prunellae
This drug is the
spike or whole plant of the perennial herb,
Prunella vulgaris L. (Family Labiaceae), grown
in the regions throughout China, mainly produced
when its spikes become withered, and dried in
the sunlight.
Properties:
Bitterness and pungent in flavour, coldness in
nature, it acts liver and gallbladder
channels. Its bitter flavour and cold property
clear the heat and fire, and the pungency
resolves the hard lumps. The herb can clear the
excessive fire from liver and gallbladder to
improve vision, and reduce the phlegm- fire
stasis to remove scrofula. It is an important
herb for treating conjunctival congestion,
headache, and scrofula caused by phlegm-fire
stasis.
Effects:
Clearing up liver-heart, purging fire, subduing
swellings, and resolving hard lumps.
Indications:
1. For treating
intense fire in the liver channel, liver fire,
conjunctival congestion, dizziness and headache,
it is used in combination with the drugs for
clearing liver-fire, and improve vision, such as
capejasmine fruit and chrysanthemum flower. For
treating deficiency of liver-yin, blurred
vision, it is used together with wolfberry fruit
and cassia seed to nourish liver and improve
vision.
2. For treating the
scrofula caused by stasis of phlegm fire, it is
used in combination with the drugs such as
scrophularia root, oyster shell and kelp
(laminaria) for softening and resolving hard
lumps, resolving phlegm and eliminating
scrofula.
Dosage and
Administration:10-15g. Decocted in water for
an oral dose of prepared as adhesive plaster.
Precautions:
The water and alcohol extracts of this herb can
lower the blood pressure. Its decoction has
inhibiting effects of varying degrees on such
bacteria such as Shigella dysen teriae,
Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia
coli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis var. hominis,
and staphylococci. It also has an
anti-neoplastic effect.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
