Chi Xiao Dou
StarVigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi et Ohashi
☯ TCM Properties
Promotes Urination and Reduces Edema; Clears Damp-Heat and Resolves Jaundice; Resolves Toxicity and Expels Pus; Invigorates Blood and Dispels Stasis
Traditional Chinese Uses
Chi Xiao Dou (adzuki bean) is a mild, sweet, food-grade herb used in Chinese medicine to drain Dampness, reduce edema, and clear Heat. It addresses swelling of the lower limbs, mild jaundice from Damp-Heat, and skin infections such as boils and abscesses. As both a medicine and a common food, its regular consumption in soups and desserts has long been part of East Asian dietary therapy for fluid management and mild internal cleansing.
Botanical Description
Vigna umbellata, the rice bean, is an annual to short-lived perennial twining legume in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical and subtropical Asia and cultivated as a minor pulse crop and green manure across India, China, southeast Asia, and parts of Africa. The plant produces slender, soft-hairy, twining or trailing stems 1-3 m long from a slender taproot. The alternate leaves are pinnately trifoliolate with ovate to ovate-rhombic leaflets 4-10 cm long, the terminal one symmetrical and the lateral ones often somewhat lobed at the base, all sparsely hairy. Bright yellow papilionaceous flowers about 1.5 cm long are borne in short, dense, axillary racemes on long peduncles, the keel petals strongly twisted. The fruit is a slender, cylindrical, slightly curved pod 6-12 cm long that ripens from green to brown and contains 6-12 small, oblong, somewhat compressed seeds, commonly red, but also yellow, brown, or mottled depending on the cultivar.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 9-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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