Medicinals

niú xī / 牛膝 / 牛膝 / achyranthes [root]

Latin pharmacognostic name: Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 百倍 bǎi bèi; 鸡胶骨 jī jiāo gǔ; 牛七 niú qī; 淮牛膝 huái niú xī; 怀牛膝 huái niú xī

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Blood-Quickening Stasis-dispelling agents / Blood-quickening menses-regulating agents

Properties: Bitter, sour, sweet; balanced.

Channel entry: liver and kidney channels.

Indications:

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 9–15g in decoctions.

Warning:

Contraindicated in pregnancy and profuse menstruation.

Notes:

This item is often called huái niú xǐ to distinguish it from 川牛膝.

Product Description:

This root comes in sections 30–50 cm long and 4–8 mm in diameter. The outer surface is flesh or earth-colored with a meandering grain, long horizontal lenticels, and conspicuous scars where fine branch roots have been removed. The root is soft and breaks easily, leaving a smooth fracture and revealing the yellowish-brown inside of the flesh with whitish vascular bundles appearing as speckles. The decocting pieces are short sections or thick slices.

Quality:

Long thick pale-colored roots with a fine cortex, firm flesh and no speckles or dirt are the best quality.

Product Area:

Hénán, Shānxī, Shāndōng, Jiāngsū, ānhuī, Zhèjiāng, Húnán, Húběi, Sìchuān, Yúnnán, Guìzhōu.

Etymology:

The name niú xī 牛膝, literally ""ox's knees,"" is traditionally said to reflect the nodes of the stem. The choice of this name for an item used to strengthen the lumbus and knees is probably not coincidental.

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