Medicinals
chōng wèi zǐ / 茺蔚子 / 茺蔚子 / leonurus fruit;
Latin pharmacognostic name: Leonuri Fructus
Alternate English names: motherwort fruit
Alternate Chinese names: 茺玉子 chōng yù zǐ; 益母子 yì mǔ zǐ
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Blood-Quickening Stasis-dispelling agents / Blood-quickening menses-regulating agents
Properties: Sweet; slightly cold.
Channel entry: liver and pericardium channels.
Indications:
Chōng wèi zǐ shares the blood-quickening menses-regulating effect of yì mǔ cǎo. In addition, it clears the liver and brightens the eyes, so it is used for liver heat patterns with headache and red swollen painful eyes. For liver heat, it is often combined with jué míng zǐ (决明子 Cassiae Semen, fetid cassia [seed];). When combined with supplementing medicinals, chōng wèi zǐ may also be used to treat dim vision.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 6–15g in decoctions.
Product Description:
The dried fruit is truncated at one end and bluntly pointed at the other. It has three sides, two of which are flat and stand at 90 degrees to each other, while the third is rounded. It is about 2–3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. The exterior surface is a dark grayish brown, with darker flecks. It has no sheen and may be rough.
Quality:
Clean, large, full fruits are the best.
Product Area:
Widely produced.
Etymology:
The name chōng wèi zǐ 茺蔚子 means the seed (子) of the plant that is full (chōng shèng 茺盛) and densely luxuriant (mì wèi 密蔚).