Pu Huang (typhae pollen)
“cattail yellow”
LV, ht, sp
sweet, acrid, neutral
*stops bleeding, removes blood stasis, promotes urination. astringent
- widely used for various types of bleeding (uterine, vomit, nosebleed, cough, stool etc). topically with honey for pain/swelling of sores
- invigorates blood, dispels blood stasis – chest pain, pp abd pain
- promotes urination stops bleeding for hot painful urinary dribbling
dose: 3-10g
coffee filter
c/i: pregnancy, raw form prohibited during preg, can cause uterine cxns
Xian He Cao (hb agrimonieae)
“immortal (fairy like) crane herb / agrimony”
aka Tup Li Cao (loss of strength herb”
LU, Lv, Sp
bitter, astringent, neutral
*binds and inhibits bleeding, important astringent herb for all types of bleeding, excess or deficiency depending on formulation
- astringes leakage of blood and stops bleeding – widely used for various bleeding
- astringes stool for chronic diarrhea and dysenteric conditions
- kills parasites
- regulates qi and blood –overwork, tiredness, CFS (30 g + 10 dates in strong decoction sipped throughout the day
dose: 6-12g
astringent - so don’t use when there is active pathogen, not for stasis as an astringent can cause more stagnation
Bai Ji (rz. bletillae)
“white absorbent”
LU, ST, lv
bitter, sweet, cool
*astringes to stop bleeding, reduces swelling, generates flesh. ‘sticky’ so often used for lu/st issues with bleeding
- restrains leakage of blood and stops bleeding - mainly bleeding from lu/st (peptic ulcers, coughing blood, nosebleed)
- bleeding associated with trauma - applied topically (made into lotion for dry hands)
- reduces swelling, generates flesh applied topically for sores, ulcers chapped skin, whether or not sore has ulcerated, chronic nonhealing ulcers (rice farmers – made into lotion for dry hands)
dose: 3-15g up to 30g pwd=1.5-3g
ci: early stage abscesses* (sticky holds)
Ou Jie (nelumbinis nodus rhizomatis)
“lotus joints”
lu, st, lv
sweet, astringent, neutral
*stops bleeding, moves blood stasis, can do both astringe and move
- stops bleeding, astringes bleeding (charred better) and moves blood (raw)
commonly used for bleeding assoc w heat in lungs or stomach w vomit or coughing blood
dose: 9-15
Xue Yu Tan (crinis carbonisatus)
“charred blood surplus / charred excess of blood / charred human hair”
ht, lv, kd
bitter, neutral
*stops bleeding, facilitates water pathways, reduces stasis
- astringes blood, stops bleeding all kinds but esp uterine and nosebleeds
- promotes urination
- generates flesh resolves sores, topical for sores or burns that have already ulcerated
dose: 4.5-9g, 1.5-3g pwd
*always char before using
c/ci: weak st, may cause vomit
Di Yu (rx. sangsuisorbae)
1 hemorrhoids (and burns)
“earth elm / bloodwort root”
lv, LI, st
bitter, sour, neutral
*cools heat in blood stops bleeding, resolve toxicity, restrains and inhibits, descends and sinks and is more used for vomiting blood and nosebleeds
- cools the blood and stops bleeding, esp for bleeding in lower burner due to damp heat (blood in stool, bleeding hemorrhoids, bloody dysentery, shi uterine bleeding, vomit blood, nosebleeds)
#1 bleeding for li/stools/HEMORRHOIDS (-int or ext use) - clears heat (cools down fire tox), generates flesh
i. reduces oozing by holding in fluids
ii. #1 burns made into paste w sesame oil used as plaster –jing wan hun patent
dose: 9-15g
c/ci: cold from xu or blood stasis, do not use on large area burns (chronic hepatitis)
*raw cools blood, prepared (chao) stops bleeding
Huai Hua Mi (flos sophora japonica immaturis)
1 bloody dysentery
“pagoda tree flower”
lv, LI
bitter, cool
*cools blood, clears heat, stops bleeding, effective for clearing fire in the liver and LI, cooling blood
- cools blood and stops bleeding - for DH patterns of Li when bleeding is present. esp important for bleeding hemorrhoids and bloody dysentery & for coughing blood, nosebleed, uterine bleeding
- cools liver for red eyes, HA, dizziness due to liver heat. can be used as daily beverage
-widely used in treatment of hypertension, controls CVS
dose: 4.5-9g
ci: sp/st cold with caution
Ce Bai Ye (platycladi cacumen)
1 ANY bleeding
“side leaf of arbovitae, flat fir leaves”
LU, lv, LI
bitter, astringent, sl cold
*cools heat, inhibits bleeding due to blood heat, stops cough
- cools blood, astringes bleeding - various bleeding disorders – for hot bleeding bc of cold nature of herb
- stops cough, expels phlegm – lu heat patterns w cough and phlegm accumulation. for viscous diff. to expectorate sputum with streaked blood
- external healing for burns: applied pwd topically to small-moderate SA
-hair loss
-damp itching ie seborrhea of scalp
dose: 6-15g
c/ci: combine carefully if bleeding from xu
Bai Mao Gen (rz. imperatae)
1 nosebleed
“white lance root / wooly grass”
lu, st, si, ub
sweet, cold
*cools blood, stops bleeding, clears heat in lu and st, promotes urination
- cools blood stops bleeding -all types of bleeding due to reckless movement of blood
- clears heat, promotes urination –hot painful urinary dribbling and other hear patterns with edema and urinary difficulty
- clears heat from st and lungs –st heat=nausea and thirst, lu heat = wheezing
dose: 9-30g
c.ci: cold deficiency of st/sp
Da Ji (hb. & rx. cirsii japonici)
“big thistle, big fish prickly wing / japanese thistle”
lv, sp, ht
sweet, cool
*cools blood, stops bleeding, reduces swelling, best for excess blood stasis leading to heat
- cools blood stops bleeding for various bleeding, esp effective for vomit or cough blood
- reduces swelling, generates flesh at sores (fresh)
- benefits GB and reduces jaundice esp due to DH
- cools liver for liver heat recently used for hypertension
dose: 9-15g
c/ci: cold from xu of sp/st
San Qi (rx. notoginseng)
1 bleeding due to TRAUMA
“three-seven / tian qi / pseudoginseng”
lv, st
sweet, sl bitter, warm
*stops bleeding without causing blood stasis, transforms blood stasis, reduces swelling and stops pain, *moves blood stasis but won’t damage blood
- stops bleeding and transforms blood stasis: for int and ext bleeding–widely used bc it stops bleeding without causing stasis. very useful for traumatic injury
-single use or combined with other qi and blood activators - reduces swelling, alleviates pain: choice herb for trauma. used for swelling and pain due to falls, fractures, contusions, sprains. invigorates blood, chest abd pain, joint pain caused by blood stasis, abscesses/sores
- recently used for CAD
dose: 3-(6)10g, 1-1.5pwd
ci: preg, not single use when there is yin or blood xu, otherwise single use is ok
Qian Cao (gen)
(rx. rubiae)
“madder / rubia root”
ht, lv
bitter, cold
*cools blood, moves blood, stops bleeding,
- cools blood, stops bleeding - any bleeding due to chaotic movement of hot blood
- invigorates blood, dispels stasis: pain associated with blood stasis, esp chest and flank pain (ht/lv), retained lochia, trauma, joint pain, early stage carbuncles
dose: 9-15g
c/ci: cold sp/st xu, fire from yin xu, blood xu
Ai Ye (artemisiae argyi follium)
1 warm channels to stop bleeding
“mugwort leaf”
sp, lv, kd
bitter, acrid, warm
dispels cold dampness, stops pain due to cold, stops bleeding, calms fetus during preg **moxa herb
- warms the womb and stops bleeding, LJ xu coldness for prolonged menstrual bleeding, uterine bleeding due to cold from xu –prolonged uterine bleeding, profuse bleeding during menses, restless fetus, threatened miscarriage (+ e jiao)
–nosebleeding, vomit due to heat in blood-use fresh
i. infertility due to cold womb - disperses cold, alleviates pain, abd and menstrual cold/pain
- eliminates dampness stops itching – moxa sticks, ext washes
dose: 3-10g
charred better to stop bleeding, moxa sticks
c.ci: heat in blood or yin xu
