Medicinals

é bù shí cǎo / 鹅不食草 / 鵝不食草 / centipeda

Latin pharmacognostic name: Centipedae Herba

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names:

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Exterior-resolving agents / Warm acrid exterior-resolving agents

Properties: Acrid; warm; nontoxic*.

Channel entry: lung and liver channels.*

Indications:

  • Effuses the exterior and disperses cold: Wind-cold common cold.
  • Frees the nose and opens the orifices: Deep-source nasal congestion (bí yuān) with headache and runny nose.
  • Dispels phlegm and relieves cough: Cold phlegm cough and panting.
  • Dispels wind and overcomes dampness: Wind-cold-damp impediment (fēng hán shī bì)
  • Resolves toxin and disperses swelling: Toxin swelling of sores and welling-abscesses; injury from knocks and falls.

    Dosage & Method:

    Oral: Decoct 3–9g. If using the fresh product, double the amount and use the pressed juice or decoct. Topical: Apply the fresh product crushed. The dried product is crushed and applied mixed or used an insufflation.

    Warning:

    Traditional literature contraindicates use in qì vacuity and weak stomach, blood vacuity, pregnancy, lung-stomach heat, yáng repletion and exuberant fire, and yīn vacuity with effulgent fire.

    Quality:

    Best are grayish-green plants with inflorescences and without extraneous matter that cause sneezing when smelled closely.

    Product Area:

    Produced mainly in Zhèjiāng, Húběi, Jiāngsū, and Guǎngdōng, and to a lesser extent in Guǎngxī, Hénán, Jiāngxī, Fújiàn, and ānhuī.

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