☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat, promotes diuresis, disperses Stagnation and resolves toxicity
Traditional Chinese Uses
Lu Cao is the whole herb of Humulus scandens (Cannabaceae), the Asian or Japanese hop, a barbed annual climber. Sweet and bitter with a cold nature, it clears Heat, promotes urination, disperses stagnation and resolves toxicity. Documented since the Tang-dynasty Tang Ben Cao, it is used for lung-heat cough and low-grade tidal fever (including patterns historically treated as consumptive or malarial fever), damp-heat urinary dribbling and stones, and damp-heat dysentery and diarrhea. Its Heat-clearing, toxin-resolving action is also applied externally, the fresh herb crushed for sores, boils, eczema and snakebite.
It is decocted, or the fresh plant expressed for juice and used as a topical wash or poultice.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Lu Cao is the whole herb of Humulus scandens (Cannabaceae), Asian or Japanese hop, an annual or short-lived perennial climber widespread across East Asia in thickets, hedgerows and waste ground. Stems can reach 3–5 m, are angular and densely armed with retrorse hooked prickles that cling readily to surrounding vegetation and to skin. Leaves are opposite, long-petioled, and palmately five- to seven-lobed with sharply serrate margins; both surfaces are rough with stiff hairs. The species is dioecious: male flowers are small, greenish, in loose terminal panicles, while female flowers form pale green, cone-like pendulous catkins with overlapping ovate bracts that enlarge in fruit. The plant has a distinctive bitter herbaceous odour when bruised.
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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