This product is the mature seed of the annual or biennial herbaceous plant Vaccaria segetalis of the Caryophyllaceae family, produced throughout the country, mainly in Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong, and the Northeast. The plants are harvested in summer when the fruits are mature but the pericarps have not yet split, then dried, the seeds are threshed, impurities are removed, and the seeds are dried for raw use or stir-fried.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter, neutral. act on liver and stomach channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Promoting blood circulation and menstruation, enhancing lactation, resolving abscesses, and promoting diuresis and strangury.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for blood stasis amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, etc. This product is good at promoting blood circulation and moving without stagnation, with the effect of invigorating the blood to unblock collaterals. It is often used in combination with Chinese Angelica, Sichuan Lovage Rhizome, Carthamus, etc.
2. Used for postpartum agalactia and acute mastitis. This product acts on the blood aspect, enters the liver and stomach meridians, can promote blood circulation and lactation, and is used to treat postpartum agalactia. It is often combined with Pangolin Scales to enhance the effect of promoting lactation; if postpartum qi and blood deficiency leads to scanty lactation, it is combined with Astragalus Root, Chinese Angelica, or Chinese Angelica, Pig's Trotters, tonifying qi and blood to increase milk secretion. For acute mastitis, this product has a bitter and dispersing nature, can invigorate blood to resolve carbuncle, and is often combined with Trichosanthis Fruit, Dandelion, etc.
3. Used for heat stranguria, blood stranguria, urolithic stranguria, etc. This product has a diuretic and strangury-relieving effect, and is often combined with Pyrrosia Leaf, Lilac Pink Herb, etc., for mutual reinforcement.
4. In recent years, it has also been commonly used to treat prostatitis, combined with Carthamus, Patrinia, etc.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bielu: "Stops epistaxis caused by heart vexation, Yongju sores, atrophied breasts, and difficult delivery in women."
2. Yaoxing Lun: "Treats wind toxin and unblocks blood vessels."
3. Bencao Gangmu: "Promotes urination." "Cowherb Seed can move the blood, it is a medicine for the Yangming and Chong Ren meridians. There is a saying among the people: 'Pangolin Scales and Wang Bu Liu, when taken by women, milk flows continuously,' which shows its nature to move and not to stay."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

6-10 grams. Decoct and take orally.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Use with caution during pregnancy.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains various saponins, specifically Cowherb Seed saponins, which upon hydrolysis yield Cowherb Seed prosapogenins. Further hydrolysis produces gypsogenin, and it also contains Cowherb Seed flavonoid glycosides, along with bioglycosides and coumarin compounds. It exhibits inhibitory effects on Ehrlich ascites tumor and human lung cancer.