Motherwort (Yimucao)

Motherwort (Yimucao)

Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Leonuri
Botanical Name: Leonurus heterophyllus Sweet
Common Name:Motherwort
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing
art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The entire plant is gathered in May or June, when it is flowering. It is then dried in the sun.
Properties and Taste: Pungent, bitter and slightly cold
Meridian: Heart, liver and urinary bladder
Functions: To invigorate blood and move stagnation
To promote urination and reduce edema
Indications and Combinations: 1.     Blood stagnation manifested as irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, postpartum abdominal pain and swelling and pain due to external injuries.
*Use with Chinese angelica root (Danggui), Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuanxiong) and Red peony (Chishao). Motherwort (Yimucao) may also be used alone.

2.  Dysuria or edema.
*Use with Fresh Imperata rhizome (Baimaogen).
Dosage: 10-15 g