Medicinals
kǔ shēn / 苦参 / 苦參 / flavescent sophora [root];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Sophorae Flavescentis Radix
Alternate English names: sophora root; bitter ginseng [root]
Alternate Chinese names: 苦骨 kǔ gǔ; 苦参根 kǔ shēn gēn; 野槐 yě huái; 地槐 dì huái; 地槐 dì huái
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing dampness-drying agents
Properties: Bitter; cold.
Channel entry: stomach, large intestine, bladder, heart, and liver channels.
Indications:
- Clears heat and dries dampness: Damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery; damp-heat jaundice; damp-heat bloody stool or bleeding hemorrhoids.
- Resolves toxin:
Sore s and welling-abscesses due to heat toxin. - Clears damp-heat, disinhibits urine, and kills worms: Vaginal discharge and
genital itch ing, eczema,scab and lichen, and inhibited urination. - Modern applications: Kǔ shēn is used for vaginal trichomoniasis.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 3–10g in decoctions; also used externally, decocted as a wash or applied as a powder.
Warning:
Kǔ shēn is bitter and cold, so it can damage the stomach and can damage yin. It should not be used or should be used with care in spleen-stomach vacuity cold and in yīn vacuity with damage to liquid. Kǔ shēn is traditionally said to clash with lí lú (Veratri Nigri Radix et Rhizoma).
Notes:
The medicinal yā dǎn zǐ (Bruceae Fructus) is sometimes referred to as kǔ shēn zǐ, but it is a different medicinal that is unrelated to kǔ shēn.
Product Description:
This product is a irregular cylindrical root that bulges at the top, and often forking at the bottom. The exterior surface is brown, with unpronounced wrinkles, and a scar where the stem was removed. This root is hard and does not break easily. The decocting pieces are thin oblique slices whose cut face is pale yellow in color with annular rings and a radial configuration in the woody part. Sometimes annual rings are clearly visible.
Quality:
Pale-colored roots without mold and with a bitter flavor are the best.
Product Area:
Widely cultivated, with production highest in Shānxī, Húběi, Hénán, and Héběi.
Etymology:
The name kǔ shēn 苦参, literally ""bitter ginseng,"" by its bitter flavor and similarity of its shape to ginseng. The alternate name dì huái 地槐, ""earth scholartree,"" is explained by the similarity of the shape (both are now botanically classed as sophora).