Pharmaceutical Name:

Semen Crotonis

Botanical Name:

Croton tiglium L.

Common Name:

Croton seed

Source of Earliest Record:

Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The ripe seeds are gathered in autumn, dried in the sun and ground into powder.

Properties and Taste:

Pungent and very toxic

Meridian:

Stomach and large intestine

Functions:

To drain accumulated cold downward
To transform water and reduce edema
To resolve phlegm and benefit throat

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Abdominal pain and constipation due to cold or retention of food in the intestines.
*Use with Rhubarb (Dahuang) and Dried ginger (Ganjiang) in the formula Sanwu Beiji Wan.

2.      Retention of milk in babies, profuse sputum and infantile convulsions.
*Use with Medicated leaven (Shenqu), Arisaema tuner with bile (Dannanxing) and Cinnabar (Zhusha) in the formula Baochi San.

3.     Ascites.
*Use with Apricot seed (Xingren).

4.      Pharyngitis, excessive sputum blocking the windpipe, rapid breathing and even suffocation.
*The powder is blown into the throat to cause vomiting.

5.     Boils and carbuncles.
*Use externally. 

Dosage:

0.1-0.3 g

Cautions:

This herb is contraindicated during pregnancy.  It must not be mixed with the herb Pharbitis flower (Qianniuhua).  No hot food or drinks should be consumed while administering the herb.