This product is the whole herb of the perennial climbing plant Chinese Lobelia Herb from the Platycodon Root family. It is distributed in various regions, mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Guangdong. It is harvested in summer by uprooting the entire plant, removing impurities, and used either fresh or dried.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet and bland, cold. act on heart, small intestine and lung channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and removing toxin, unblock water and dispersing edema.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for boils and sores, swelling and toxicity, acute mastitis with swelling and pain, and snake or insect bites. This product is sweet and cold in nature, clearing heat and removing toxins, thus it can be used for various heat-toxin syndromes. It can be taken internally or applied externally; or the fresh product can be mashed and applied externally for effectiveness.
2. Used for abdominal distension and fullness, edema, jaundice with scanty urine. This product is sweet and bland, promoting diuresis and dispersing edema. It is often used with Christina Loosestrife, Alisma, Poria, Rhubarb Rhizoma, Immature Orange Fruit, etc., for treating ascites and edema. For jaundice and dysuria, it is often used with Virgate Wormwood, lalang grass rhizome, etc.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bencao Gangmu: "For snake and viper bites, pound and extract the juice to drink, and apply the residue around the wound."
2. Shengcao Yaoxing Beiyao: "Apply to sores to reduce swelling and detoxify."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Dried product 10-15g; fresh herb 30-60g. Decoct and take orally. Apply externally as needed.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Edema is contraindicated in cases of deficiency syndrome.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains alkaloids, flavonoid glycosides, amino acids, and other components. It also includes effective ingredients for treating poisonous snake bites: sodium corydalis acid, sodium amber acid, and sodium p-hydroxybenzoate. Its infusion has a significant and long-lasting diuretic effect, accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure. When normal individuals orally consume the decoction, their urine output, chloride, and sodium excretion significantly increase. It also exhibits inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, cold-damage disease bacillus, paracold-damage disease bacillus, Shigella flexneri, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Additionally, it has choleretic, emetic, and mild laxative effects.