Snake-needle Grass
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Heat Clearing Herbs to Clear Heat and Toxics
Snake-needle Grass
Latin:
Herba Oldenlandia Diffusae
Origin:
The whole herb of Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.), or Hedyotis diffusa (Willd.), an annual herb, of the Rubiaceae family. Native to East Asia, the plant is grown in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
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The annual plant prefers moist ground and fields, it grows to 0.3 m by 0.3 m. It is in flower from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland).
In China, this herb is grown in the provinces to the south of the Yangtze River. It is harvested in summer and autumn. Used by washing it clean, drying in the sun and cutting into sections.
Properties:
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Slightly bitter and sweet in flavor, cold in nature, it is related to the stomach, large intestine and small intestine channels.
Functions:
Clears away heat to expel toxic substances and induces diuresis to relieve strangury (painful discharge of urine).
Snake-needle grass is a pleasant-tasting cooling, alterative herb that lowers fever, reduces inflammation, relieves pain and is diuretic, depurative (purifying the blood), sedative and antibacterial. It acts mainly on the liver and also stimulates the immune system.
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Applications:
1. For treating skin and external diseases, sore throat and snake bite:
(A) Skin and external diseases:
This herb can be used alone for oral ingestion and external application and it can also be used together with honeysuckle flower (Flos Lonicerae), weeping forsythia fruit (Fructus Forsythiae), mother chrysanthemum (Flos Chrysanthemi Indici), etc.
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(B) Abdominal pain:
Use it with sargent gloryvine stem (Caulis Sargentodoxae), patrinia (Herba Patriniae), tree peony root-bark, etc.
(C) Sore throat:
Use it with such herbs as skullcap root (Radix Scutellariae), Zhejiang figwort root (Radix Scrophulariae), dyers woad root (Radix Isatidis), etc.
(D) Snake bite:
This herb can be used alone or in combination with such herbs as sunplant (Herba Scutellariae Barbatae), Chinese violet (Herba Violae), manyleaf paris rhizome (Rhizoma Paridis Polyphyllae), etc.
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2. For treating strangury due to heat:
Use it with sunplant (Herba Scutellariae Barbatae), Asiatic plantain (Herba Plantaginis), pyrrosia leaf (Folium Pyrrosiae), etc.
Dosage and Administration:
15-60 g.
Decoct the herb and other ingredients for drinking. Use an adequate amount externally.
Cautions on Use:
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This herb should be avoided by anyone who suffers from deep-rooted carbuncles or who has any spleen-yang insufficiency.
Reference Materials:
'Records of Guangxi Materia Medica' :
"Oral ingestion for the treatment of malnutrition in children, snake bite and cancers and tumors and external use for the treatment of tinea and herpes zoster complicated by infection."
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Toxic or Side Effects:
Modern Researches:
The herb contains oleanolic acid, -sitosterol, para-coumaric acid, flavonoid glycoside, oldenlandin, etc.
In in vitro experiments, snake-needle grass shows no obvious antimicrobial effect, but it can stimulate the proliferation of the reticuloendothelial system to promote the formation of antibodies and strengthen the phagocytic power of reticular cells and white cells so as to achieve the aims of resisting bacteria and relieving inflammation.
Snake-needle grass has an antineoplastic effect. The injection of it into the abdominal cavities of animals can give tranquilizing, analgesic and hypnotic effects. It can inhibit spermatogenic power and has liver-protective and cholagogic effects., 百拇医药