☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat, detoxifies, promotes diuresis, kills Intestinal parasites and stops bleeding
Traditional Chinese Uses
Tie Xian Cai (Herba Acalyphae) is the whole herb of Acalypha australis (Asian copperleaf), a bitter, neutral heat-clearing herb entering the Heart, Lung, Large and Small Intestine channels. It clears Heat and resolves toxicity, checks dysentery, promotes urination, and stops bleeding, and it kills intestinal parasites. Its best-known application is damp-heat dysentery and acute enteritis with diarrhea, where it is used alone or with other heat-clearing herbs.
It also treats various bleeding patterns - blood in the stool or urine, nosebleed, vomiting of blood, and uterine bleeding - as well as childhood malnutrition (gan). Fresh pounded herb is applied externally for sores, boils, eczema, snakebite, and traumatic bleeding. The usual decoction dose is about 10-30 g.
Botanical Description
Acalypha australis is a slender, erect annual herb of the Euphorbiaceae, widespread as a weed of fields, roadsides, and disturbed open ground across East and Southeast Asia and parts of Australia. It grows 20–50 cm tall, with finely pubescent, longitudinally striate stems often tinged reddish below. Alternate, long-petioled leaves are ovate-lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, 3–9 cm long, coarsely serrate, with three to five basal veins. The plant is monoecious: small, apetalous green flowers are crowded into axillary spikes, the few female flowers seated at the base inside a conspicuous, leafy, fan-shaped, deeply toothed bract that enlarges in fruit and gives the plant its characteristic appearance. The schizocarpic capsule contains three small smooth seeds. The entire above-ground plant is gathered in summer or early autumn and dried for medicinal use.
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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