Golden Thread Imperial Chrysanthemum

Benefits & Efficacy

Benefits

Dispels wind and clears heat; calms the liver and improves vision.

Indications

Mainly used to treat wind-heat common cold, headache and dizziness, red, swollen, and painful eyes, blurred vision, and abscesses and swellings caused by toxins.

Usage and Dosage

Internal use: Decocted as a soup, 10–15 g; or incorporated into pills or powders; or steeped as tea. External use: Apply an appropriate amount; decoct in water for washing; or pound into a paste and apply as a poultice.

Precautions

*Ben Cao Hui Yan*: Use sparingly in cases of qi deficiency with cold in the stomach, poor appetite, or diarrhea. Contraindicated in cases of yang deficiency or headaches accompanied by aversion to cold.

Chemical Constituents

It primarily contains flavonoids, terpenoids, and organic acids, among which flavonoid compounds are the main active constituents.

Pharmacological Actions

Modern pharmacological research has primarily focused on cardiovascular protection and lipid regulation; its hepatoprotective and analgesic effects are recent discoveries.

Relevant Discussions

1. *Supplementary Notes to the Extensions of the Materia Medica*: “Chrysanthemum flowers can tonify yin; one must use those with a sweet taste. Do not use the bitter varieties found in the wild, as they severely damage stomach qi.”

2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “Chrysanthemum flowers were traditionally believed to dispel wind-heat, benefit the liver, and replenish yin. However, it was not fully understood that they are particularly effective in benefiting the Metal and Water organs. Nourishing Water helps to restrain Fire, and benefiting Metal helps to harmonize Wood; when Wood is harmonized, wind subsides; when Fire is subdued, heat is eliminated. Its use in treating various wind-related disorders affecting the head and eyes reflects a profound and subtle principle.”

3. *Commentary on the Classic of Materia Medica*: “Chrysanthemum specializes in subduing Wind-Wood, and is therefore an essential herb for dispelling wind. Its bitter nature can drain heat; its sweet nature can nourish blood and detoxify; and its neutral nature, combined with pungency, also disperses nodules. The bitter component enters the Heart and Small Intestine; the sweet component enters the Spleen and Stomach; and the neutral-pungent component travels to the Liver and Gallbladder, also entering the Lung and Large Intestine.It is primarily used for wind-induced dizziness, swelling and pain, the sensation of the eyes about to pop out, tearing, necrotic skin and muscle, aversion to wind, and damp-bi syndrome. All forms of wind-induced dizziness and vertigo belong to the Liver Wood element; wind-dispelling herbs first enter the Liver, and the Liver opens its orifice to the eyes. Since wind is a Yang pathogen, it inevitably rises upward; blood deficiency leads to heat, and heat gives rise to wind—this is due to the interaction of wind and fire.Lumbar pain that comes and goes in a throbbing manner is a sign of blood deficiency and qi stagnation. Bitter flavors disperse stagnation and knots; sweet flavors nourish the blood vessels; and pungent, neutral flavors disperse deficient heat. Its ability to eliminate烦热 in the chest stems from the fact that the heart governs blood; deficiency leads to restlessness, and yin deficiency causes heat to be retained internally, hence the heat accumulates in the chest. When blood is nourished, yin is generated; when yin is generated, restlessness ceases. Bitter and pungent flavors can disperse heat, thus resolving both restlessness and heat.Its ability to soothe the stomach and intestines, promote the flow of the five meridians, regulate the limbs, and facilitate the circulation of blood and qi is evidence of its efficacy in clearing heat, dispelling wind, nourishing blood, and entering the Heart, Spleen, and Liver meridians. When pounded fresh, it is most effective for treating carbuncles; it is particularly essential for treating “blood-line” carbuncles, as carbuncles are caused by the toxin of wind and fire.”

4. *The Interpretation of Medicinal Properties*: “White Chrysanthemum: Select the white variety, which is light in texture, slightly bitter in taste, and mild in nature—a supremely purifying herb. The *Classic* states, ‘Treat warmth with clearing.’ When fever has subsided but residual warmth remains, combine this herb with mulberry bark to relieve headaches and eliminate residual pathogens. When used with Astragalus, it treats blurred vision and removes corneal opacities. When combined with Glehnia, it treats bloody stools and stops rectal bleeding.When combined with Dendrobium and Cowpea, it sharpens vision and hearing, and regulates the limbs. Therefore, for lung qi deficiency, white Chrysanthemum must be used. The yellow variety, however, has a strong bitter taste and a dispersing, fragrant aroma; it is primarily used to clear lung fire.All cases of headaches and dizziness, nasal congestion with heat obstruction, damp arthralgia of the skin and muscles, wandering wind in the limbs, and pain in the shoulders and back stem from heat in the lung qi. This herb clears and harmonizes the Metal element of the lung; moreover, when Metal is cleared, the Wood element of the liver is kept in check. It also treats sudden redness and swelling of the eyes, as well as eye pain and tearing. Therefore, to clear lung heat, one must use yellow chrysanthemum.”

5. *New Compilation of Materia Medica*: “Chrysanthemum flowers have a light and clear nature and a very gentle action; they must be taken over a long period to be effective, and one should not expect immediate results. However, when used urgently for eye pain, they produce results very quickly; for all other conditions, their effects are only achieved gradually. Recently, many people have cultivated chrysanthemums without realizing that they are occasionally used in tonic formulas. They are also harvested for use in tea, believed to improve eyesight.However, sweet chrysanthemum does more than simply improve eyesight; its greatest utility lies in dispelling stomach fire in the Yangming channel. Since internal heat in the Yangming channel requires yin-cold herbs to purge it—such as gypsum and Anemarrhena—gypsum is too harsh and inevitably too cold, which can damage stomach qi. It is better to use one or two liang of sweet chrysanthemum flowers in a decoction with Scrophularia and Ophiopogon; this can both pacify the fire in the stomach and preserve stomach qi.”

6. *A Record of One Hundred Herbs from the *Herbal Classic*: “All aromatic substances can treat disorders of the head, eyes, and skin. However, all aromatic substances are pungent and drying; only chrysanthemum is not overly drying or intense, and is therefore particularly suitable for treating wind-fire disorders of the head and eyes.”

7. *A Concise Guide to Materia Medica*: “The use of sweet chrysanthemum can be summed up in a single phrase: it dispels wind.Although it is a herb for dispelling wind, its nature and flavor are sweet and cold, differing from pungent and drying substances such as Qianghuo and Ma Huang; therefore, it can be used in conjunction with them to tonify the liver and kidneys.”

8. *The Correct Meanings of the Materia Medica*: “All flowers generally promote dispersion and drainage; chrysanthemum alone, however, has the effect of gathering, containing, and descending. It can pacify liver fire, extinguish internal wind, and suppress the unruly rise of wood energy.The *Classic of Materia Medica* attributes dizziness caused by wind to yin deficiency and floating yang, with qi and fire rising and liver wind disturbing the upper body—not to external wind pathogens. The terms ‘swelling’ and ‘pain’ should be read in conjunction with the preceding phrase ‘dizziness caused by wind.’ When liver fire surges directly to the crown of the head, it manifests as dizziness, swelling, and pain; the direct ascent of yang flame is extremely violent in its force.All cases of head pain caused by wind stem from unceasing internal agitation of fire and wind; chrysanthemum is effective in treating them precisely because its ability to purge, descend, calm, and stabilize is far beyond the ordinary—without such extraordinary power, this effect would be difficult to achieve. Eyes that seem as if they are about to pop out represent an especially severe manifestation of liver yang and internal wind. It is commonly said that severe head pain from wind can lead to blindness, but few realize that it can even cause the eyeball to protrude, taking on the shape of a sparrow’s egg.Tearful eyes also result from yin deficiency below, causing liver fire to rise; when true yin lacks the power to contain and receive, and wind-yang functions to disperse, tears flow when exposed to the wind. These conditions all stem from deficiency of liver and kidney yin, with floating yang rising excessively to cause ravage. Only chrysanthemum, with its clear, bitter, dispersing, and descending properties, can restrain the deficient yang and guide it back downward; thus, it is an essential herb in ophthalmology.Furthermore, in treating necrotic skin and muscle affected by wind-damp bi syndrome—where blood heat causes the collateral vessels to become impure, gradually leading to the accumulation of filth and subsequent putrefaction—chrysanthemum, with its bitter and pungent properties that disperse the collaterals, can regulate the heat toxins in the blood. As the impurities are removed, the necrotic tissue afflicted by bi syndrome can be healed. Shi Wanwei’s assertion that chrysanthemum clears and promotes the flow of blood vessels, thereby allowing the damp pathogenic factors causing bi syndrome to be expelled, is entirely correct.However, as these are gentle, harmonious, and pure substances used to clear stagnant, turbid blood from the meridians, they certainly cannot produce rapid results overnight. One should not doubt the reliability of the *Classic*’s statements merely because they lack immediate efficacy. The *Supplementary Records* state that it treats lower back pain that comes and goes in a lingering manner; this describes its persistent, unceasing nature. This condition also stems from insufficient kidney yin combined with dampness-pathogen obstruction, which is why the pain continues unceasingly.Chrysanthemum nourishes kidney yin and clears damp-heat; this is why it is the primary treatment. Furthermore, it treats internal heat and restlessness in the chest while soothing the stomach and intestines—indeed, all its functions are aimed at clearing, purifying, and dispersing heat. Zhen Quan noted that it treats vertigo causing one to fall to the ground and pain in the skull; this refers to headaches caused by internal liver yang wind, which can indeed surge directly to the crown of the head, making the skull feel as if it were splitting. However, in cases of vertigo leading to a fall, it indicates that blood is surging into the brain meridians, causing a loss of sensation and motor function.He further states that it treats all forms of wandering wind in the body, causing them to dissipate and promoting the flow of blood and meridians; this addresses conditions where blood heat generates wind, and through bitter-tasting herbs that clear and purge, the wind naturally subsides. Da Ming notes that using chrysanthemum as a pillow improves eyesight, and its leaves also benefit vision. Jiegu states that it nourishes the blood of the eyes and removes corneal opacities.Hai Cang states that it is primarily used for deficiency of liver qi. This essentially implies nourishing liver yin and enriching liver blood. Although its aroma is fresh and fragrant, it is ultimately not a qi-regulating herb for the liver. Zhong Chun states that when pounded fresh, it is most effective for treating carbuncles, and is particularly essential for treating “blood-line carbuncles.” According to medical principles, carbuncles are caused by fire-toxin, which requires large doses of heat-clearing and toxin-resolving agents; external applications such as honeysuckle vine, purslane,dandelion, placenta, hibiscus leaves, and chrysanthemum leaves—merely clear heat and reduce swelling; none are specifically indicated for this condition. The “blood-line carbuncle” mentioned by Miao refers to the “red-thread carbuncle,” characterized by a red halo extending from the ulcer site all the way to the elbow or knee. Treatment should primarily focus on internal administration of heat-clearing and toxin-resolving agents. One must not rely solely on external treatments.”