Medicinals
dēng xīn cǎo / 灯心草 / 燈心草 / juncus [pith];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Junci Medulla
Alternate English names: bog rush [pith]
Alternate Chinese names: 水灯心 shuǐ dēng xīn; 灯心 dēng xīn; 灯草 dēng cǎo; 灯芯草 dēng xīn cǎo; 灯芯 dēng xīn
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Water-disinhibiting dampness-percolating agents / Urine-disinhibiting strangury-freeing agents
Properties: Sweet, bland; slightly cold.
Channel entry: heart, lung, and small intestine channels.
Indications:
- Disinhibits urine and frees strangury: Heat strangury, inhibited urination or rough painful dribbling urination.
- Clears the heart and eliminates vexation: Heart vexation, insomnia, mouth and tongue sores, night crying in infants.
- Additional uses: Dēng xīn cǎo may be used by laryngeal insufflation for throat impediment. It is first subject to nature-preservative calcining and then ground for use in this application.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 1.5–2.5g; in decoctions, powders, or pills. Use raw for heat strangury and water swelling. Use coated in
Product Description:
This product has the form of cylindrical stalks of varying length, 2–3 mm in diameter. The outer surface is yellowish white, with a fine longitudinal grain and diffuse lenticels. The stems, which have no smell, are light in structure, and snap easily, revealing a spongy fracture. The decocting pieces are 3 cm lengths, usually bound in bundles.
Quality:
Stems of the best quality are long and thick, light in structure, and whitish in color.
Product Area:
Guǎngdōng, Jiāngsū, Sìchuān.
Etymology:
The name dēng xīn cǎo 灯心草, literally ""lampwick grass,"" reflects a former use of juncus pith.