Pharmaceutical Name:

Radix Euphorbiae seu Knoxiae

Botanical Name:

Euphorbia pekinesis Rupr.
Knoxia valerianoides Thorel et Pitard

Common Name:

Euphorbia root
Peking Spurge root

Source of Earliest Record:

Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The roots are dug in autumn or spring.  After the fibrous roots have been removed, the roots are cleaned and dried in the sun, and then they are soaked in vinegar.

Properties and Taste:

Bitter, pungent, cold and poisonous

Meridian:

Lung, kidney and large intestine

Functions:

To transform water and reduce edema
To disperse nodules and relieve swelling

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Edema of the face and the body, retention of fluids in the chest and ascites.
*Use with jujube (Dazao), Kansui root (Gansui) and Genkwa flower (Yuanhua) in the formula Shizao Tang.

2.      Boils, carbuncles, scrofula and subcutaneous nodules.
*Use with Pleione rhizome (Shancigu) and Moleplant seed (Qianjinzi) for internal and external use in the formula Zijin Ding.

Dosage:

1.5-3 g

Cautions:

This herb should not be mixed with Licorice root (Gancao), and it is contraindicated during pregnancy.