Xia Ku Cao
StarPrunella vulgaris L.
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Liver Fire and drains Fire; Brightens the Eyes; Disperses stagnation and reduces nodules; Reduces Swelling
Traditional Chinese Uses
Xia Ku Cao (self-heal spike, prunella spike) is a bitter, cold herb with a primary affinity for the Liver — it clears Liver Fire, softens hardened masses, and anchors rising Liver Yang. It is used for red, painful eyes and blurred vision from Liver Fire, for dizziness and headache from Liver Yang rising (as seen in hypertension), and for cervical and thyroid nodules, goiter, and scrofula from Phlegm-Fire accumulation. It is widely consumed as a cooling tea in southern China, particularly during summer.
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
Prunella vulgaris is one of the most widely used Native American medicinal plants, with documented use by the Iroquois, Cherokee, Blackfoot, Menominee, Ojibwa, Algonquin, Bella Coola, Catawba, Chippewa, Cree, Delaware, Mohegan, Quileute and Quinault among others (Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany Database, after Hamel and Chiltoskey 1975 and others). Recorded medicinal uses include dermatological aids, febrifuges (5 records), gastrointestinal aids, antidiarrheals, gynecological aids, orthopedic aids, pediatric aids, heart and eye medicines, burn dressings, throat aids, analgesics, antiemetics, blood medicines, cold and cough remedies, hemorrhoid remedies and panaceas, and as a psychological aid; the plant was also eaten as a vegetable in three records (NAEB summary of 50 use records).
Botanical Description
Prunella vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae), known as self-heal or heal-all, is a low-growing herbaceous perennial of meadows, lawns, woodland edges and disturbed ground throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It produces creeping rhizomes that root at the nodes and erect to ascending, four-angled, finely hairy stems 10 to 40 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 2 to 6 cm long, with entire to slightly toothed margins, a rounded to truncate base and short petioles; the uppermost pair sits directly beneath the inflorescence. The flowers are crowded in a dense, cylindrical to ovoid terminal spike 2 to 5 cm long, subtended by broad, often purplish, ciliate bracts. Each flower is two-lipped, 1 to 1.5 cm long, typically violet-purple, occasionally pink or white, with a hooded upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. After flowering, the persistent dried spike, brown and rattling, is harvested in summer and constitutes Xia Ku Cao in Chinese medicine.
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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