Lotus Seed (Lianzi)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Semen Nelumbinis |
| Botanical Name: | Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. |
| Common Name: | Lotus seed |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The lotus seeds are collected from August to September. After the skins of the seeds have been removed, the seeds are dried in the sun. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet, astringent and neutral |
| Meridian: | Spleen, kidney and heart |
| Functions: | To tonify the spleen and stop diarrhea To reinforce the kidneys and control the essence To nourish the blood and tranquilize the mind |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Palpitations, insomnia, and irritability. *Use with Wild jujube seed (Suanzaoren), Arborvitae seed (Baiziren) and Poria with hostwood (Fushen). 2. Kidney deficiency manifested as seminal emissions or leukorrhea. *Use with Dadder seed (Tusizi), Dioscorea (Shanyao) and Euryale seed (Qianshi). 3. Chronic diarrhea due to deficiency of the spleen. *Use with White atractylodes (Baizhu), Dioscorea (Shanyao) and Poria (Fuling). |
| Dosage: | 6-12 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated in cases with constipation. |