Stellaria Root (Yinchaihu)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Radix Stellariae |
| Botanical Name: | Stellaria Dichotoma L. var. Ianceolata Bge. |
| Common Name: | Stellaria Root |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Bencao Gangmu Shiyi |
| Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The roots are dug in autumn or the Beginning of Spring (first solar term). After the fibrous roots are removed, the roots are cleaned in water, dried in the sun and cut into slices. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet and slightly cold |
| Meridian: | Liver and stomach |
| Functions: | To reduce heat caused by deficient yin To clear heat in infants caused by malnutrition |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Heat signs due to deficiency of yin manifested as afternoon fever and bight sweating. *Use with Sweet wormwood (Qinghao), Turtle shell (Biejia) and Wolfberry bark (Digupi) in the formula Qinggu San. 2. Infantile malnutrition manifested as swollen abdomen and emaciation. *Use with Capejasmine (Zhizi), Pilose asiabell root (Dangshen) and Scutellaria root (Huangqin) in the formula Chaihu Qinggan Tang. |
| Dosage: | 3-10 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated in fever due to invasion by exogenous pathogenic wind and cold, or in cases with deficient blood syndrome but no signs of heat. |