Wiseman’s Chinese Medical Database

lòu lú / 漏芦 / 漏蘆 / rhaponticum

Latin pharmacognostic name: Rhapontici Radix

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names:

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing toxin-resolving agents

Properties: Bitter; cold.

Channel entry: stomach channel.

Indications:

Clears heat and resolves toxin; promotes lactation and frees the sinews.

welling- and flat-abscesses (yōng jū); initial-stage mammary welling-abscesses (rǔ yōng); breast milk stoppage.

Dosage & Method:

Oral: Decoct (4.5–9g; fresh 30–60g); use in pills or powders. Topical: Decoct as a wash or grind to a powder and apply mixed.

Quality:

Roots that are grayish-black or grayish-brown on the outside, and dark and light brown markings on the cut face.

Product Area:

Rhaphonticum uniflorum: Mainly produced in Héběi, Liáoníng, Shānxī, but also in Shǎnxī (Shaanxi), Shāndōng, Jílín, Hēilóngjiāng, and Inner Mongolia. Echinops latifolius: ānhuī, Húběi, and Hénán.