Burnet Root (Diyu)

Burnet Root (Diyu)

Pharmaceutical Name: Radix Sanguisorbae
Botanical Name: Sanguisorba officinalis L.
Common Name:Sanguisorba root
Burnet root
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing
art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The roots are dug in spring or autumn. After the fibrous roots have been removed, the roots are then cleaned, dried in the sun and cut into slices.
Properties and Taste: Bitter, sour and slightly cold
Meridian: Liver, stomach and large intestine
Functions: To cool blood and stop bleeding
To dispel toxins and promote healing of ulcers
Indications and Combinations: 1.     Hemorrhages due to extravasation of blood by heat:

a) Uterine bleeding.
*Use with fried Cattail pollen (Puhuang), Scutellaria root (Huangqin) and Fresh rehmannia root (Shengdihuang).

b) Hemorrhages, bleeding and dysentery.
*Use with Sophora flower (Huaihua), Coptis root (Huanglian) and Costus root (Muxiang).
*If the resulting manifestation is tenesmus, used with Costus root (Muxiang) in the formula Xiang Lian Wan.

2.  Burns, eczema, ulcers of the skin.
*Use with Coptis root (Huanglian) for external use.
Dosage: 10-15 g
Cautions: This herb is contraindicated for large burns. The ointment made from the herb may cause a toxic infection after absorption by the body.