Bei Dou Gen北豆根
Rhizoma MenispermiAsiatic Moonseed Rhizome
Also known asSinomenium
- Category
- Herbs That Clear Heat and Detoxify; Target Warm and Heat Diseases
- Nature
- cold
- Taste
- bitter
- Channels entered
- Lung, Stomach, Large Intestine
- Secondary channels
- Bladder, Heart
- Dosage
- 3–12 g
Usual doses
- Dosage
- 3–12 g
- Tincture
- 1–3 ml
Actions & indications
- Clears Heat and resolves toxicity
- Wind-Heat toxin affecting the Lungs and Stomach such as sore throat, cough and mumps
- Snakebite
- Dispels Wind and stops pain
- Wind-Damp Bi
- Resolves Dampness and reduces swelling
- Damp-Heat
Contraindications
- Not to be used by those with Spleen-Stomach Deficiency Cold.
- Avoid in patients with diarrhea.
- Excessive dosing may produce epigastric pain and fullness, acid reflux, dizziness, profuse sweating, chest oppression, rapid breathing, restlessness, nausea, vomiting, and low blood pressure.
- Toxicity can accumulate with use, so continuous administration should be avoided.
Combinations
Notes
- A relatively recent entrant into the materia medica.
- Applied broadly to Heat-toxin conditions, particularly those with swelling.
- Employed for cancers of the upper digestive tract as well as arrhythmia.
- Used as part of surgical anesthesia.
- In Northern China it sometimes stands in for Rx. Sophorae Tonkinensis Shan Dou Gen.