This product is the dried whole herb of Lycopodium japonicum (Lycopodium japonicum Thunb.) from the Lycopodiaceae family. It is mainly produced in the northeastern, northern, central, and southwestern provinces of China. It is harvested during the summer and autumn when the stems and leaves are lush, then impurities are removed, and it is dried in the sun. It is cut into segments and used raw.

Lycopodium centro-chinense Ching and downy groundcherry fruit or herb (Lycopodium cernuum L.) are also used as Common Clubmoss Herb.

bubble_chart Morphological Characteristics

Perennial herb. Creeping stems trailing, with sparsely leafed branches. Erect stems 15-30 cm tall, branched; vegetative branches repeatedly forked, densely foliated, leaves needle-shaped, 3-4 mm long, apex with a deciduous awn-like long tail; sporophylls emerge from the second or third year's vegetative branches, significantly taller than the vegetative branches, sparsely leafed; sporangium spikes 2.5-5 cm long, stalked, usually 2-6 at the upper part of the sporophylls; sporophylls ovate-triangular, apex acute with a pointed tail, margins irregularly serrated, sporangia kidney-shaped, pale yellowish-brown, spores isomorphic. Spores mature between July and August. Grows in shaded areas under sparse forests.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter and acrid, warm.

1. Bencao Shiyi: bitter and acrid, warm, nontoxic.
2. Bencao Qiuyuan ): sweet and astrigent, neutral.
3. Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica: act on liver, spleen and kidney meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Dispelling wind, dispersing cold, eliminating dampness, reducing swelling, relaxing tendons, and promoting blood circulation.

1. Wind-cold-dampness impediment, limb weakness and numbness. This product is acrid and dispersing, bitter and drying, warm and unblocking, able to dispel wind-dampness, especially effective in unblocking meridians when entering the liver. For treating wind-cold-dampness impediment, joint soreness, and difficulty in flexion and extension, it can be combined with Notopterygium, Pubescent Angelica, Cinnamon Twig, Peony Root, etc.; if there is limb weakness and skin numbness, it is suitable to use with Knotty Pine Wood, Xun Gu Feng, Chinese Clematis Root, etc.
2. Traumatic injury. This product is acrid and can disperse to relax sinews and activate collaterals, subduing swelling to relieve pain. For treating traumatic injuries, swelling and pain, it is often combined with Sappan Wood, Ground Beetle, Carthamus, Peach Kernel, etc., to invigorate the blood and unblock collaterals, and can be used both internally and externally for washing.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bencao Shiyi: "It is mainly used for long-term migratory impediment, pain and cold in the feet and knees, numbness of the skin, and weakness of strength."
2. Diannan Bencao: "Lowering qi, relieving stuffiness and fullness in the chest, pushing out overnight food in the stomach, removing long-standing hard accumulations in the abdomen, and reducing edema."
3. Shengcao Yaoxing Beiyao: "Reducing swelling, eliminating wind-dampness. Soaked in wine, it relaxes sinews and activates collaterals. Its roots treat pain from qi stagnation, injuries, incised wounds, internal damage, and remove phlegm to stop coughing."
4. "Zhejiang Folk Common Herbs": "Relaxing sinews, anti-inflammatory. Treats joint soreness, and herpes zoster."
5. "Northeast Common Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook": "Relaxing sinews and activating blood, dispelling wind and dispersing cold, relieving pain. Treats soreness in the waist and legs, wind-dampness joint swelling and pain, and menstrual irregularities."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 3-12g; or soak in wine. For external use, apply an appropriate amount after pounding.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

1. Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica: "Pregnant women and those with excessive bleeding should avoid taking it."
2. There have been reported cases of contact dermatitis caused by Common Clubmoss Herb.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains alkaloids such as lycopodine and lycodoline, terpenoids such as lycoclavanol and lycoclavaninone, sterols such as β-sitosterol, and compounds like vanillic acid and ferulic acid.

1. The aqueous extract of lycopodium has a cooling effect on rabbits with fever induced by subcutaneous injection of hay infusion; its active ingredients are lycopodine, lycodoline, and lycodoline toxin, with the latter two being less toxic than lycopodine.
2. An appropriate dose of lycopodine can increase the blood pressure of anesthetized cats, but there are also reports that intravenous injection of 30 mg/kg can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure in anesthetized cats and rabbits; at this time, there is no effect on respiration, but a toxic dose can increase the respiratory amplitude and decrease the frequency in animals.
3. It has a strengthening effect on the contractility of frog hearts, but weakens the contractility of rabbit hearts at a concentration of 1:50,000 to 400,000, with no change in contraction frequency or electrocardiogram.
4. At a concentration of 1:12,500 to 50,000, it has an excitatory effect on the isolated small intestine of rats and guinea pigs, and also enhances the peristalsis of the isolated small intestine of rabbits.
5. It has an excitatory effect on the uterus of rabbits, rats, and guinea pigs.
6. Intravenous injection of 30-50 mg/kg has a cooling effect on rabbits.
7. It has no effect on the blood sugar, pupil, or peripheral red blood cell count of rabbits.
8. It has no antibacterial or antimalarial effects.
9. The median lethal dose for intravenous injection in mice is 27.58±1.16 mg/kg, and for intraperitoneal injection is 78 mg/kg, with symptoms of poisoning including hyperactivity, tonic and clonic spasms, paralysis, asphyxia, etc.; the symptoms of poisoning in rabbits are similar.
10. Lymph sac injection of 50-200 mg/kg in frogs can cause muscle incoordination, paralysis, etc.
11. The toxic dose of lycodoline is 0.05 g/kg for cats and 0.1-0.2 g/kg for rabbits and rats.
12. Some reports suggest that lycopodium has diuretic effects, promotes uric acid excretion, and can relieve spasmodic urinary retention and constipation in children.

bubble_chart Modern Application

Use 3g each of Common Clubmoss Herb, garden balsam, and Carthamus, decocted with water to soak hands and feet for 30-40 minutes, three times daily, to treat 67 cases of hand and foot spasm sequelae after cerebrovascular accidents. After 2 months, 35 cases showed significant improvement, and 29 cases improved (Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1989, 2:15).

bubble_chart Selected Prescriptions

1. Treatment for migratory impediment and stiffness of tendons and bones: Use 3 qian to 1 liang of Caulis Tinosporae, decoct and take orally. ("Lingnan Caiyao Lu")
2. Treatment for joint soreness: Use 3 qian of Lycopodium japonicum, 5 qian of Giant Knotweed root, and 3 qian of Sargentgloryvine stem. Decoct with water and take orally. ("Zhejiang Minjian Changyong Caoyao")
3. Treatment for joint soreness and numbness of hands and feet: Use 1 liang of Common Clubmoss Herb, 5 qian of Luffa Vegetable Sponge, 5 qian of Chinese Star Jasmine stem, and 3 qian of Da Huo Xue. Decoct with half water and half wine and take orally. (Jiangxi "Chinese Herbal Medicine Xue")
4. Treatment for sequelae of poliomyelitis: Use 5 qian each of Fengwei Shenjin, Oriental Bittersweet root, Knotty Pine Wood, and Xungufeng, 3 qian of Chinese Clematis Root, 2 qian of India Madder Root, and 5 fen of Japan Pollia. Decoct and take orally. (Jiangxi "Chinese Herbal Medicine Xue")
5. Reduction of edema: Use 5 fen of Common Club Moss (finely ground), 1 qian 5 fen of bran husk (calcined), and 1 qian of Areca Seed. Simmer Areca Seed and bran husk to make a soup and take with Common Club Moss powder until diarrhea occurs. Suitable for those with strong constitution, contraindicated for those with weak constitution. ("Diannan Bencao")
6. Treatment for herpes zoster: Roast Lycopodium japonicum and grind into powder, mix with green oil or Sesame Oil to form a paste, apply to affected area several times a day. ("Zhejiang Minjian Changyong Caoyao")