☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat , resolves toxicity, promotes diuresis, eliminates Phlegm and stops coughing
Traditional Chinese Uses
Tian Hu Sui (Herba Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides) is a pungent, neutral herb of the drain-dampness group, entering the Liver, Kidney and Lung channels. It clears Heat, resolves toxicity, and promotes urination to drain Damp-Heat, and is a well-known southern Chinese folk remedy for damp-heat jaundice and hepatitis, hot painful or turbid urinary dysfunction, and edema. The whole fresh plant is often expressed for its juice.
It also transforms Phlegm and stops cough, and is used for cough, sore throat, and febrile conditions in children. Externally the pounded herb is applied to sores, carbuncles, herpes zoster, and skin lesions such as psoriasis. It is commonly given as fresh herb or expressed juice, or in decoction. Modern study attributes hepatoprotective and anti-HBV activity chiefly to its saponin asiaticoside, consistent with the traditional jaundice and liver indications.
Botanical Description
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides is a small, creeping perennial herb of the Araliaceae (formerly placed in Apiaceae), widespread in moist, shaded ground across tropical and subtropical Asia. The slender, prostrate stems root freely at the nodes and form low mats only a few centimetres high. Each erect petiole bears a single small reniform to nearly orbicular leaf, 0.5–2 cm across, with a shallowly lobed, crenate margin and a deep, narrow basal sinus. Tiny greenish-white flowers are borne in compact simple umbels on short peduncles arising from the leaf axils, followed by laterally flattened schizocarpic fruits about 1 mm long. It is gathered fresh or dried throughout the warm months. The species is morphologically smaller and distinct from Centella asiatica, with which it should not be confused.
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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