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Alternate Chinese names: 一见喜 yī jiàn xǐ; 川心莲 chuān xīn lián; 榄核莲 lǎn hé lián

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin in unofficial sources: Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees* [= Justicia paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees]

Use: Medicinal

Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing toxin-resolving agents

Properties: Bitter; cold.

Channel entry: Lung, stomach, large intestine, and small intestine channels.

Actions and indications:

• Clears heat and resolves toxin: Initial-stage warm heat disease with heat effusion, headache, and painful swollen throat; heat panting and cough; pulmonary welling-abscess.
• Clears heat and dries dampness: Damp-heat diarrhea or damp-heat dysentery, heat strangury (rè lìn), eczema.

Dosage and method: Oral: 3–15g in decoctions. Chuān xīn lián has a very bitter flavor and is often made into pills, powders, and tablets.

Warnings: Chuān xīn lián is bitter and cold, so it easily damages stomach qì. Thus, it should not be taken in large quantities and should not be used for a prolonged period of time. There is some variance in the recommended dosage across primary source texts; one core source recommends only 3–6 g by decoction, while another lists 6–15g. Several texts caution that decocted preparations easily cause vomiting.

Production area: Grows wild in tropical and subtropical areas and is cultivated in warm areas south of the Yangtze.

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