This product is the fruit of the annual or perennial herb Puncturevine Caltrop Fruit (Tribulus terrestris L.) of the Puncturevine Caltrop Fruit family. It is mainly produced in the northeast, north, and northwest regions of China. The fruit is harvested in autumn when it matures. The entire plant is cut down, dried, and the fruit is threshed, the hard spines are ground off, and impurities are removed. It is then stir-fried until yellow or processed with salt.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter and acrid, neutral. Act on liver meridian.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Calming the liver, dispelling wind, and improving vision.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for ascendant hyperactivity of liver yang, dizziness, and dizzy vision. This product is bitter and descending, enters the liver, and has the effect of suppressing liver yang. It is often used in combination with Uncaria, Nacre, Chrysanthemum Flower, etc., to enhance its liver-calming effect.
2. Used for liver depression qi stagnation, distending pain in the chest and hypochondrium, and distending pain due to breast obstruction. This product is acrid and dispersing, enters the liver, and has the effect of soothing the liver and relieving depression. It can be combined with Bupleurum, Cyperus, green tangerine peel, and other liver qi-regulating medicinals to treat distending pain in the chest and hypochondrium. It can be used alone by grinding into powder or combined with Pangolin Scales, Cowherb Seed, and other medicinals to treat postpartum liver depression agalactia and breast distending pain.
3. Used for wind-heat attacking upward, red eye nebula obstruction. This product is acrid and disperses wind-heat from the liver channel, improving vision and reducing nebula. It is used to treat wind-heat red eye with swelling and pain, excessive tearing and eye discharge, or nebula membrane covering the eye, often combined with Chrysanthemum Flower, Cassia Seed, Chastetree Fruit, and other medicinals, such as Puncturevine Caltrop Fruit Powder.
4. Used for rubella cutaneous pruritus and vitiligo. This product is acrid and dispersing, dispelling wind and relieving itching. For treating rubella cutaneous pruritus, it is often combined with Saposhnikovia Root, Schizonepeta, belvedere fruit, and other wind-dispelling and itch-relieving medicinals; Qianjin Fang uses this product alone by grinding into powder and applying it to the eyes to treat vitiligo.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "It controls malignant blood, breaks abdominal masses, treats pharyngitis, and alleviates difficulty in lactation. Long-term use promotes muscle growth and improves vision."
2. Bielu: "It treats wind-heat sores (pityriasis rosea) on the body and headaches."
3. Bencao Qiuzhen: "It disperses wind-evil from the liver meridian. For conditions such as red eye swelling, nebula, and generalized white tinea with unbearable itching caused by wind excess, taking this will invariably yield effective results."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 6-15g.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains fatty oils, a small amount of volatile oils, tannins, resins, alcohols, potassium salts, saponins, and trace alkaloids. The aqueous and ethanol extracts have a hypotensive effect on anesthetized animals and exhibit diuretic properties. Both the alkaloids and the water-soluble components can inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.