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| Latin: |
Rhizoma Picrorhizae |
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| Origin: |
Picrorhiza rhizome is the the rhizome of the perennial plant Picrorhiza scrophulariaflora Pennell, of the Scrophulariaceae family. It is grown in high altitudes in Yunnan and Tibet in China.
The plant grows to 4-15 cm tall. The thick leaves grow at the top of the rhizome, into a rosette-like, with no stalk, in spoon-shaped to ovate shapes. The flowers are dark purple. The fruit is long oval-shaped, sharp at the top, 8-10 mm long. The seeds are small, with a transparent seed coat. It is in flower from July to August, in fruit in September.
The herb is reaped after autumn, the rhizome dried in the sun and sliced for later use. |
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| Properties: |
| Bitter in flavor, cold in nature, it is related to the heart, stomach and large intestine channels. |
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| Functions: |
| Alleviates fever of the deficiency type, relieves infantile malnutrition with fever and clears away damp-heat. |
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| Applications: |
1. To treat hectic or tidal fever:
Use it with starwort root (Radix Stellariae), Chinese wolfberry root-bark (Cortex Lycii Radicis), etc., e.g., Qinggu San.
2. To treat infantile malnutrition with fever:
Use it with dangshen (Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae), large-head atractylodes rhizome (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae), hawthorn, etc., e.g., Fei Er Wan.
3. To treat diarrhea due to damp-heat and hemorrhoids with swelling and pain:
(A) Diarrhea due to damp-heat:
Use it with skullcap root (Radix Scutellariae), cork tree bark (Cortex Phellodendri), Chinese pulsatilla root (Radix Pulsatillae), etc.
(B) Hemorrhoids:
Made together with hedgehog skin and musk into pills or in combination with abalone shell, Chinese scholartree flowers (Flos Sophorae) and pangolin scale into pills for oral administration. |
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| Dosage and Administration: |
3-10 g.
Decoct Picrorhiza rhizome and the other ingredients for drinking. |
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| Cautions on Use: |
| Picrorhiza rhizome should be avoided by anyone deficient in spleen-yang. |
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| Reference Materials: |
Original Meanings of Herbs : "The picrorhiza rhizome enters the blood system alone to clear away heat. It is said in 'Danxi's Experiential Therapy' that hectic fever simply results from the accumulation of heat and this herb can be especially effective in removing heat from the blood and replenishing yin. If someone suffers from fever at night but is relieved in the daytime, this shows that heat is accumulated in the blood system and this herb can play a wonderful antipyretic role when decocted together with chuanxiong (Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong) and Chinese goldthread rhizome (Rhizoma Coptidis) into Erlian Tang."
Original Meanings of Materia Medica : "Nothing but this herb can get directly to the focus of an ailment due to the accumulation of damp-fire, such as dysentery of the heat type, prolapse of the rectum, hemorrhoids complicated by anal fissures, skin and external diseases, dysentery with bloody stools, strangury complicated by hematuria, hematuria itself, hemafecia, syphilis, chancre, etc. It can also be used for infantile ailments of the excess type, such as malnutrition and potbelly." |
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| Toxic or Side Effects: |
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| Modern Researches: |
Picrorhiza rhizome contains kutkin, kutkinol, kutkisterol, berberine, etc.
The extract of the picrorhiza rhizome has cholagogic and antibacterial effects. |
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