Chishiteng is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It consists of the dried aerial parts of Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr., a plant belonging to the genus Paederia in the Rubiaceae family. It has the effects of aiding digestion, relieving pain, detoxifying, and dispelling dampness. It is primarily used to treat undigested food stagnation, pain in the flanks, epigastrium, and abdomen, eczema, and swollen and painful sores.
Chishiteng
Chishiteng is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It consists of the dried aerial parts of Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr., a plant belonging to the genus Paederia in the Rubiaceae family. It has the effects of aiding digestion, relieving pain, detoxifying, and dispelling dampness. It is primarily used to treat undigested food stagnation, pain in the flanks, epigastrium, and abdomen, eczema, and swollen and painful sores.
Chinese Name : 鸡屎藤
Aliases : Nüqing, Zhushi藤, Quejie, Jizhi藤, Chouteng Root, Niupifeng, Jishi藤, Chouteng, Tianteng, Wuxiang藤, Chougou藤, Xiang藤, Mugou藤, Goupi藤, Qingfeng藤, Choushi藤, Jijiao藤, Jieshu藤, Dajishi藤, Yashi藤, Kuting, Yuming Sha, Jixi藤, Que’er藤
Authentic Producing Area : Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Taste: sweet, slightly bitter; nature: slightly cold; enters the Spleen, Stomach, Liver, and Lung meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Promotes digestion, relieves pain, detoxifies, and dispels dampness.
Indications
Indigestion, pain in the flanks, epigastrium, and abdomen; eczema; swollen and painful sores.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Decoct 10–15 g (up to 30–60 g for high doses); or macerate in wine. 2. External use: Pound into a paste and apply as a poultice; or decoct in water for washing.
Precautions
1. After taking Cissus quadrangularis preparations, patients may notice a characteristic Cissus quadrangularis odor in their breath and urine; this disappears upon discontinuation of the medication. 2. Local pain may occur after administration of Cissus quadrangularis injection, but it is mild.
Chemical Constituents
It primarily contains cycloether terpenoid glycosides, such as Cissus glycoside, Cissus subglycoside, and Cissus glycosidic acid, as well as chrysanthemum glycosides, delphinidin, and β-, γ-sitosterol.
Pharmacological Actions
This product possesses anti-inflammatory, analgesic, uric acid-lowering, and antimicrobial properties.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Essentials of the Properties of Raw Herbs*: “Its stems treat recent internal injuries; when simmered with meat, they tonify deficiency, nourish the kidneys, clear internal heat, and replenish blood; when used as a wash for sores, they relieve pain, clear heat, and dispel toxins. Its leaves, pounded into a powder, mixed with sugar, and boiled for consumption, stop dysentery.”
2. *Li’s Secrets of Herbs*: “Decocted for washing, it treats various wind-related conditions of the legs and feet, pain caused by cold and dampness, and stiffness that prevents movement.” (Quoted from *Supplements to the Compendium of Materia Medica*)
3. *Supplements to the Compendium of Materia Medica*: “For heatstroke, grind the roots and leaves into powder and consume it. For those with deficiency syndromes, boil it with pig’s stomach and take the decoction.” “To treat scrofula, decoct the roots in wine; for unruptured lesions, it resolves them, and for ulcerated ones, it promotes healing.”
4. *Ben Cao Qiu Yuan*: “Treats dampness-induced swelling and ulceration of the legs, as well as snake bites. The root counteracts the accumulation of opium.”
5. *Illustrated Treatise on the Names and Realities of Plants*: “Used as a wash to detoxify, dispel wind, clear heat, and disperse cold.” “Applied topically to treat unexplained swellings and toxins, and to tonify tendons and bones.”
6. *Lingnan Herbal*: “Prevents summer heat toxicity, eliminates intestinal and gastric stagnation, and resolves the five types of dysuria; it also prevents the dissipation of yin energy. Used for dysentery, jaundice, pulmonary tuberculosis with hemoptysis, cough, whooping cough, stomach pain, bloody stools, hernias, wind-cold-dampness arthralgia, scalds and burns, and venomous snake bites.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat abdominal pain and diarrhea caused by food stagnation, it may be decocted alone or combined with Hawthorn (Shanzha) and Shenqu; when combined with Codonopsis (Dangshen), Atractylodes (Baizhu), and Barley Malt (Maiya), it treats spleen deficiency with poor appetite and indigestion. When stewed with Chicken-Dung Vine root and pig’s stomach, it treats malnutrition in children, as per the formula in *Fujian Herbal Medicine*.
2. This herb has a bitter taste and a cold nature, entering the Lung Meridian; therefore, it can clear heat, resolve phlegm, and relieve cough. For treating coughs caused by heat-phlegm, decocting it alone is effective, or it may be combined with Trichosanthes peel, Bile-processed Pinellia, and Loquat leaves.
3. This herb is sweet, cold, and bitter in nature, with a purgative action; it clears heat, detoxifies, reduces swelling, and relieves pain. It can be decocted alone to treat bloody dysentery (*Chongqing Herbal Medicine*); it also treats sore throat and swelling; or it can be combined with Scutellaria baicalensis and Lonicera japonica to enhance its detoxifying effects; for treating boils, abscesses, and burns, it can be taken internally, or fresh, tender leaves can be pounded into a paste and applied externally.
4. It treats various types of pain, such as gastrointestinal pain, biliary colic, renal colic, dysmenorrhea, labor pains, neuralgia, as well as pain resulting from various traumatic injuries, fractures, and postoperative conditions. However, it is most effective for pain relief when administered as an injection (*Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicines*).
5. A decoction used for external washing or a poultice made from fresh plant material can treat eczema, neurodermatitis, and itchy skin.
Related Compatibility
Cock’s-Dung Vine combined with Atractylodes: Both herbs have a sweet and bitter taste and primarily enter the Spleen and Stomach meridians, possessing the ability to strengthen the spleen and dry dampness. Cock’s-Dung Vine has a slightly cold nature; although its ability to strengthen the spleen and dry dampness is not as strong as that of Atractylodes, it excels at promoting digestion, resolving food stagnation, and relieving pain. Atractylodes has a strongly warm and drying nature and is effective at tonifying the middle burner, boosting qi, drying dampness, and promoting diuresis.When combined, these two herbs balance cold and warm properties, resulting in a mild and harmonious formula. They are effective at strengthening the spleen, dispelling dampness, resolving food stagnation, and relieving pain. This combination is suitable for conditions such as spleen and stomach deficiency, undigested food stagnation, diarrhea and dysentery, epigastric and abdominal distension and pain, as well as edema and bloating caused by spleen deficiency leading to impaired transport and transformation and internal retention of dampness; excessive leukorrhea; or eczema and damp sores.
Medicinal Identification
Chicken-Dung Vine and Chicken Gizzard Liner: Both herbs have a sweet taste and primarily enter the Spleen and Stomach meridians; they both possess the ability to aid digestion, resolve food stagnation, and strengthen the spleen and stomach, and can be used together to treat various symptoms of food stagnation.However, while Chicken-Dung Vine is less potent than Chicken Gizzard in promoting digestion, resolving food stagnation, and strengthening the spleen and stomach, it excels at relieving pain and is an excellent choice for treating distension and pain in the epigastrium, abdomen, and flanks; it also has detoxifying and dampness-expelling properties, and is frequently used to treat swollen and painful sores, eczema, and similar conditions.Chicken Gizzard Membrane, on the other hand, is notably effective at aiding digestion and resolving food stagnation, making it widely applicable to various conditions caused by food stagnation; it is also particularly effective at reducing urination, retaining semen, stopping nocturnal emissions, and promoting the passage of urine to dissolve calculi, making it a key herb for treating nocturnal emissions, enuresis, and calculi-related urinary disorders.
Related Medicines
Warm Stomach Comfort Tablets.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvested in summer and autumn, then air-dried.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herbal material, remove impurities, rinse quickly with water, moisten slightly, cut into sections, and dry.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container in a well-ventilated, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
The stem is flattened and cylindrical, slightly twisted, glabrous or nearly glabrous; mature stems are grayish-brown, 3–12 mm in diameter, with the cork layer often peeling off; they bear longitudinal wrinkles and scars from petiole bases, are easily broken, and have a flat, grayish-yellow fracture surface; young stems are blackish-brown, 1–3 mm in diameter, tough, and difficult to break, with a fibrous fracture surface that is grayish-white or pale green.Leaves are opposite, often shriveled or fragmented; when intact and flattened, they are broadly ovate or lanceolate, with an acute apex, a wedge-shaped, rounded, or shallowly cordate base, entire margins, and a greenish-brown color; both surfaces are glabrous or nearly glabrous; petioles are glabrous or hairy.The cymes are terminal or axillary; the former are often leafy, while the latter are sparse and bear few flowers. Both the inflorescence axis and the flowers are sparsely pubescent, and the flowers are pale purple. It has a distinctive odor and a slightly bitter, astringent taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
The prepared slices are segmented; for other characteristics, see the “Characteristics of the Medicinal Material” section.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A species of the genus Polygonum in the Rubiaceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
A perennial herbaceous vine, 3–5 m long. The base is woody and highly branched. Leaves are opposite; petioles are 1.5–7 cm long; stipules are triangular, 2–3 mm long, and early deciduous;leaf blades are ovate, elliptic, oblong, or lanceolate, 5–15 cm long and 1–6 cm wide, with an acute to acuminate apex and a broadly cuneate base; both surfaces are glabrous or the lower surface is slightly covered with short soft hairs; the leaves are papery and emit a foul odor when fresh leaves are rubbed. The inflorescences are cymes arranged in terminal, leafy, large panicles or axillary, sparse, and few-flowered;Flowers are purple and nearly sessile; the calyx is narrowly campanulate; the corolla tube is 7–10 mm long, 5-lobed at the apex, arranged in a valvate manner, with the inner surface reddish-purple and covered with powdery pubescence; there are 5 stamens; the ovary is inferior and 2-chambered. The berry is spherical, 5–7 mm in diameter, glossy when ripe, and straw-yellow in color. Flowering occurs from July to August, and fruiting from September to October.
Distribution Area
Distributed in Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and other regions.
Growth Habits
Prefers a warm and humid environment. Fertile, deep, and moist sandy loam is the most suitable soil type.
Propagation Methods
Propagation is by seed or cuttings.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Seed Propagation: Harvest ripe fruits in October–November, pile them to rot, rub off the pericarp, and store them in moist sand for later use. Sow in March–April. Prepare the soil by creating 1.3-meter-wide raised beds; dig holes with row and hole spacings of approximately 33 cm each, and sow about 10 seeds per hole.
2. Propagation by Cuttings: In February–March, select two-year-old vines and cut them into 25–30 cm long cuttings with at least three nodes. Dig holes in the 1.3-meter-wide beds with a spacing of 33 cm between rows and 33 cm between holes. Plant three cuttings per hole, then fill with soil and press firmly. Water thoroughly to keep the soil moist.
3. Field Management: When seedlings reach 5 cm in height, thin and replant as needed, leaving 2–3 seedlings per hole. Cultivate the soil to remove weeds and apply top dressing. When the vines reach approximately 30 cm in length, cultivate the soil again to remove weeds and apply top dressing once more. At the same time, install support stakes to allow the vines to climb.After harvesting in September–October, cultivate the soil to remove weeds and apply fertilizer once to prepare for winter. Subsequent annual management follows the same procedures as the first year; use manure or livestock manure solution as fertilizer in spring and summer, and compost in winter.
Pest and Disease Control
Pests include aphids, which can be controlled with malathion.