This product is the aerial part of the annual or biennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family, motherwort herb (Leonurus heterophyllus Sweet). It is produced throughout the country. It is usually harvested in summer when the stems and leaves are lush, and the flowers are either not yet open or just beginning to open. It is then cut into sections and dried in the sun. It can be used raw or made into a paste.

bubble_chart Morphological Characteristics

Fresh motherwort herb: The seedling stage is stemless, with basal leaves that are round and heart-shaped, with edges that are shallowly lobed 5-9 times, each lobe having 2-3 blunt teeth. In the pre-flowering stage, the stem is square-columnar, with many branches at the upper part, and four sides sunken into longitudinal grooves, 30-60cm long, 0.2-0.5cm in diameter; the surface is green; the texture is fresh and tender, and the cross-section has pith in the middle. The leaves are alternately opposite, with petioles; the leaf blades are green, fresh and tender, and produce juice when rubbed; the lower stem leaves are palmately 3-lobed, the upper leaves are pinnately deeply or shallowly lobed into 3 pieces, the lobes are entire or have a few serrations. The smell is slight, and the taste is slightly bitter.

Dry motherwort herb: The stem surface is gray-green or yellow-green; the body is light, the texture is tough, and the cross-section has pith in the middle. The leaf blades are gray-green, mostly wrinkled, broken, and easily fall off. The verticillaster inflorescences are axillary, the small flowers are pale purple, the calyx is tubular, and the corolla is bilabiate. The cut segments are about 2cm long.

Acrid and bitter, cool.

1. Bencao Shiyi: Cold.
2. Bencao Mengquan: Acrid and sweet, slightly warm, nontoxic.
3. Gangmu: Acrid and slightly bitter, nontoxic.
4. Bencao Zheng: Slightly bitter and slightly acrid, slightly cold, with a slippery property.

1. Bencao Huiyan: Act on hand and foot jueyin meridians.
2. Yaopin Huayi: Act on liver and spleen meridians, enveloping the three meridians.
3. Bencao Zaixin: Act on heart, spleen and kidney meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Invigorating blood to regulate menstruation, unblock water and dispersing edema.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for blood stagnation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, postpartum stasis, abdominal pain, lochiorrhea, etc. This product is bitter and acrid, mainly entering the blood aspect, and is good at invigorating blood and resolving stasis to regulate menstruation. It is an important herb for gynecological and obstetric conditions, hence the name "Motherwort." It can be used alone by boiling it into a paste, such as motherwort herb liquid extract or motherwort herb paste. It is also often combined with Chinese Angelica, Sichuan Lovage Rhizome, Red Peony Root, etc., to enhance the effect of invigorating blood to regulate menstruation, as in the "Jiyan Liangfang" Motherwort Pill. In modern times, it has been combined with Purslane Herb to treat postpartum metrorrhagia with good efficacy.
2. Used for edema and difficulty in urination. This product has the effect of promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. Because it also has the effect of invigorating blood and resolving stasis, it is particularly suitable for edema caused by the mutual obstruction of water and blood stasis. It can be used alone or in combination with lalang grass rhizome, Shiny Bugleweed, etc. Modern use has shown efficacy in treating nephritis.
3. In addition, this product can also be used for traumatic injuries, sores, abscesses, and itchy skin rashes, with the effect of clearing heat and removing toxins to reduce swelling. Modern reports indicate its efficacy in treating cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "The stem is effective for urticaria itching and can be used to make bath water."
2. Bencao Shiyi: "It is effective for edema and water retention, as well as malignant swelling."
3. Bencao Gangmu: "Promotes blood circulation, breaks blood stasis, regulates menstruation, and removes toxins. It treats vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, difficult delivery, retained placenta, postpartum dizziness due to hemorrhage, blood wind, blood pain, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hematuria, bloody diarrhea, malnutrition, dysentery, hemorrhoids, internal injuries from trauma, static blood, and difficulty in urination and defecation."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct 10-30g for oral use, or boil into a paste and incorporate into pills. For external use, apply an appropriate amount by pounding and applying topically or decocting in water for external washing.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Pregnant women should avoid taking it. Use with caution in cases of blood deficiency without stasis.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains various alkaloids such as motherwort herb alkaloids, Japanese betony herb alkaloids, and motherwort herb, as well as benzoic acid, a large amount of potassium chloride, lauric acid, vitamins, and flavonoids such as Basil Herb glycosides.

1. It has a significant excitatory effect on the uterus of various animals, whether in vitro, in vivo, non-pregnant, pregnant, or postpartum, increasing the frequency, amplitude, and tension of uterine contractions.
2. The main component is motherwort herb alkaloid, which can increase coronary flow in isolated guinea pig hearts, slow heart rate, and improve microcirculation.
3. It has a significant inhibitory effect on all stages of experimental thrombus formation.
4. It can dilate peripheral blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
5. It has a diuretic effect on anesthetized rabbits.
6. The aqueous extract has an inhibitory effect on skin fungi.
7. Subcutaneous injection of 30 mg/kg of total motherwort herb alkaloids daily for 2 weeks in rabbits showed no effect on eating, defecation, or body weight; the median lethal dose (LD50) for intravenous injection in mice is 572.2±37.2 mg/kg.