Mentha (Bohe)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Herba Menthae |
| Botanical Name: | Mentha haplocalyx Brig. |
| Common Name: | Mentha Peppermint |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Xinxiu Bencao |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The entire plant, including leaves, is gathered in any season. The leaves can be picked two or three times each year, dried in a shady place and then cut into pieces. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent and cool |
| Meridian: | Lung and liver |
| Functions: | To disperse wind-heat and clear the head and eyes To promote liver qi, allowing it to flow freely To bring rashes to the surface |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Wind-heat exterior syndrome manifested as fever, headache, mild aversion to wind and cold, sore throat and red eyes. *Use with Platycodon root (Jiegeng), Arctium fruit (Niubangzi) and Chrysanthemum flower (Juhua). 2. Early stage of measles with slight rash. *Use with Arctium fruit (Niubangzi) and Pueraria root (Gegen). 3. Stagnation of qi in the liver manifested as a full sensation and pain in the chest and costal region. *Use with White peony root (Baishao) and Bupleurum root (Chaihu) in the formula Xiaoyao San . |
| Dosage: | 2-10 g |
| Cautions: | This herb should not be boiled for a long time. |