Medicinals
guān mù tōng / 关木通 / 關木通 / Manchurian aristolochia
Latin pharmacognostic name: Aristolochiae Manshuriensis Caulis
Alternate English names:
Alternate Chinese names:
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Water-disinhibiting dampness-percolating agents / Urine-disinhibiting strangury-freeing agents
Properties: Bitter; cold; toxic.
Channel entry: heart, small intestine, and bladder channels.
Indications:
- Clears heart fire, disinhibits urination, frees menstruation, and promotes lactation.
- It treats mouth and tongue sores, heart vexation and reddish urine, water swelling, heat strangury, white vaginal discharge, amenorrhea, scant breast milk, and
damp-heat impediment (shī rè bì).
Dosage & Method:
Not safe for use.
Warning:
If it is used, do not exceed the stated dose or use for prolonged periods. It is contraindicated in pregnancy, the absence of damp-heat, in weak children and weak elderly patients, and in patients biomedically diagnosed as suffering from renal insufficiency. This medicinal is now banned in many countries, and its use is strongly discouraged because it contains the known nephrotoxin aristolochic acid.