This product is the dried mature seed of the Iris lactea (Iris lactea Pall. var. chinensis Koidz.), a plant of the Iridaceae family. It grows in sunny mountains, fields, roadsides, ditches, grasslands, and meadows, and is often cultivated in gardens beside flower beds. The fruits are harvested in autumn, dried, the seeds are rubbed out, winnowed, roasted, and then crushed for use. Alternatively, they can be stir-fried with vinegar. It is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Liaoning, Hebei, and other provinces.

bubble_chart Morphological Characteristics

Perennial herb. Rhizome short and stout; roots brown, slender and tough. Leaves basal, tufted, tough, sheaths often splitting into long fibrous remnants after withering, leaf blades linear, up to 40 cm long, up to 6 mm wide, gray-green, apex acuminate, base purplish, entire, both surfaces with 7-10 prominent parallel veins. Scape emerging from leaf tuft, 10-30 cm tall, with 1-3 flowers at the apex; bracts 3, leaf-like, narrowly oblong-lanceolate; flowers blue-purple, perianth 6, outer 3 larger, spatulate, curved outward and drooping, with yellow stripes in the middle, inner 3 perianth segments oblanceolate, erect, lower part of perianth fused into a tube; styles 3, deeply divided, petal-like, apex 2-lobed. Capsule oblong, 4-6 cm long, with 6 longitudinal ribs, apex with a sharp beak; seeds nearly spherical or irregular, brown, angular.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet, neutral.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and draining dampness, reducing swelling, detoxifying, and stopping bleeding.

bubble_chart Indications

Hepatitis with jaundice, dysentery, hematemesis, epistaxis, menorrhagia, leucorrhea, pharyngitis, abscess, hernia pain.

5-10g. Apply an appropriate amount externally by pounding and applying.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

1. The anti-implantation effect of seed coat alcohol extract on mice.
2. Intraperitoneal injection or oral administration of Chinese iris seed component A has a certain inhibitory effect on mouse tumors U₁₄ and lymph fleshy tumor, liver tumor entities; it also has a life-prolonging effect on liver cancer ascites and Ehrlich ascites. Intraperitoneal injection of Ehrlich ascites cancer cells in mice can significantly reduce the total number of cancer cells, and its effect is to influence the DNA synthesis of cancer cells.
3. Gastric administration enhances the nonspecific immune phagocytic function in mice. In addition, it enhances the delayed skin hypersensitivity reaction in both normal and diseased mice, indicating a promoting effect on cellular immunity.
4. Chinese iris seed component A can increase the 30-day survival rate of mice exposed to sublethal doses of radiation and also increase the number of nucleated cells in the femur. When used in combination with radiotherapy, it can enhance the therapeutic effect of radiotherapy on mouse cervical carcinoma U₁₄. Clinically, the combination of component A with radiotherapy can enhance the patient's tolerance to radiation, improve hematopoietic function, and enhance the effect on lung cancer.