Medicinals
lú gēn / 芦根 / 蘆根 / phragmites [root];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Phragmitis Rhizoma
Alternate English names: reed [root]; ditch reed [root]
Alternate Chinese names: 芦茅根 lú máo gēn; 苇根 wěi gēn; 芦菇根 lú gū gēn; 芦柴根 lú chái gēn; 芦通 lú tōng; 苇子根 wěi zǐ gēn; 芦芽根 lú máo gēn
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing fire-draining agents
Properties: Sweet; cold.
Channel entry: lung and stomach channels.
Indications:
- Clears heat and engenders liquid: Damage to liquid in febrile disease, manifesting with heat vexation and thirst or a
dry tongue with scant liquid; lung heat patterns of cough or pulmonary welling-abscess with ejection of pus. - Eliminates vexation and checks vomiting: Retching or vomiting due to stomach heat.
- Additional actions: Lú gēn disinhibits urine and outthrusts papules.
- For short voidings of reddish urine or painful heat strangury (rè lìn), it is combined with bái máo gēn (白茅根 Imperatae Rhizoma, imperata [rhizome];) and chē qián zǐ (车前子 Plantaginis Semen, plantago seed;). To treat inhibited eruption of measles papules, combine lú gēn with chán tuì (蝉蜕 Cicadae Periostracum, cicada molting) and bò hé (薄荷 Menthae Herba, mint).
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 15–30g of the dried form, in decoctions. The dosage of the fresh form is 30–60g. Fresh lú gēn is better for clearing heat, engendering liquid, and disinhibiting urine; the dried form is inferior but is more readily available.
Warning:
Contraindicated in spleen-stomach vacuity cold.
Quality:
Thick, tender, pale brown rhizomes with a sheen and without fine roots are the best.
Product Area:
ānhuī, Jiāngxī, and Guǎngdōng.