☯ TCM Properties
Promotes the flow of Qi , alleviates pain, dissipates Stasis and dredges the channels
Traditional Chinese Uses
Hei Lao Hu Gen is the root of Kadsura coccinea (Schisandraceae), an evergreen woody vine of southern China (the related K. heteroclita is also used). Pungent and warm, it promotes the flow of Qi, alleviates pain, dissipates Blood Stasis and dredges the channels. It is used for Qi-and-Blood stagnation patterns: epigastric and abdominal pain, gastric and duodenal ulcer pain, chronic gastritis, dysmenorrhea and post-partum abdominal pain from stasis, hernial pain, and traumatic injury.
It also dispels Wind-Dampness for rheumatic joint and low-back pain, and is a favored remedy of the Tujia and other southern peoples, taken in decoction (about 9-15 g), as powder, or soaked in wine. As a mainly ethnomedical herb it should be used under professional guidance and cautiously in pregnancy.
Botanical Description
Kadsura coccinea (with the related K. heteroclita also used) is an evergreen woody climbing vine of the Schisandraceae family native to southern China, Vietnam, and adjacent Southeast Asia, where it scrambles through subtropical and tropical forest. The plant produces robust glabrous twining stems with smooth dark grey to reddish-brown bark that develops a corky texture with age, and the wood and root have a faintly aromatic quality. Leaves are alternate, leathery, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, ten to fifteen centimeters long, with entire or sparsely toothed margins and a glossy dark-green upper surface. Solitary unisexual pinkish-red to crimson flowers are borne on slender pedicels in the leaf axils, followed by the genus's striking compound fruit — a globular aggregate of many fleshy bright-red berries on an enlarged spherical receptacle, suspended on a long stalk.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | 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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