Sweet
Wormwood (qing hao)
Herba
Artemmisiae
Properties:
Pungent and bitter in
flavour, slightly cold in nature, it acts on the
liver, gallbladder and kidney channels. The
bitter and cold properties clear away heat, the
pungent flavour expels pathogenic factors. It is
mainly effective in the liver and kidney so as
to purge the latent heat outwards from the yin
division. It is therefore indicated for the
febrile diseases at the later stage with an
accumulation of lingering heat in the yin
division marked by nocturnal fever and lingering
low-grade fever. In addition, it is used to
treat restlessness and thirst due to summer heat
and cure malarial diseases, by means of its
functions of relieving summer heat and cure
malarial diseases.
Effects:
Clearing away heat of deficiency type, relieving
summer heat and preventing attack of malaria.
Indications:
1. For febrile diseases at the later stage with
an accumulation of heat marked by nocturnal
fever or lingering low-grade fever, it is often
used in combination with the Yin-reinforcing and
heat-clearing drugs, such as anmarrhena rhizome,
rehmannia root and peony bark, known as Qinghao
Biejia Tang (Deciction of Sweet Wormwood and
Turtle Shell). In cases of fever due to
Yin-deficiency or hectic and phthitic fever, it
is used in combination with the drugs for
reinforcing Yin and clear hectic fever, such as
scutellaria root, picrorhiza rhizome, rehmannia
root, etc.
2. For the summer
heat affection characterized by fever and
vexation, sweating and thirst, it is used in
combination with the drugs for clearing heat and
summer heat, such as talc, honeysuckle flower,
forsythia fruit, etc.
3. For malarial
diseases with fever and chills, this single
fresh herb pounded to juice is used, or in
combination with scutellaria root and talc.
Dosage and Administration:
10-15g. 20-40g for
treating malaria. Doubled the dose when use the
fresh. Do not over decoct.
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