Ba Xian Cao is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It consists of the whole plant of Galium aparine L. (commonly known as cleavers) or Galium asperifolium Wall. (commonly known as rough-leaved cleavers), both belonging to the Rubiaceae family. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting urination and relieving urinary obstruction, reducing swelling, and alleviating pain.It is primarily used to treat boils, abscesses, and toxic swellings; mastitis; appendicitis; edema; common cold with fever; dysentery; urinary tract infections; hematuria; bleeding gums; and bleeding from cuts.
Eight Immortals Herb
Ba Xian Cao is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It consists of the whole plant of Galium aparine L. (commonly known as cleavers) or Galium asperifolium Wall. (commonly known as rough-leaved cleavers), both belonging to the Rubiaceae family. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting urination and relieving urinary obstruction, reducing swelling, and alleviating pain.It is primarily used to treat boils, abscesses, and toxic swellings; mastitis; appendicitis; edema; common cold with fever; dysentery; urinary tract infections; hematuria; bleeding gums; and bleeding from cuts.
Chinese Name : 八仙草
Aliases : Sawtooth Grass, Lala Vine, Small Sawtooth Vine, Small Rubia, Small Flying Vine, Red Silk Thread, Blood-Shy, Slender Rubia, Small Muscle-Relaxing Herb, Small Blood Vine
Authentic Producing Area : Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Pungent and slightly bitter in taste; slightly cold in nature
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat and detoxifies; promotes urination and relieves urinary obstruction; reduces swelling and alleviates pain.
Indications
Ba Xian Cao is primarily used to treat abscesses, boils, and toxic swellings; mastitis; appendicitis; edema; common cold with fever; dysentery; urinary tract infections; hematuria; bleeding gums; and bleeding from cuts.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Decoct 15–30 g in water; or crush to extract juice and drink. 2. External use: Apply an appropriate amount after crushing as a poultice.
Precautions
Patients requiring treatment with Chinese herbal medicine should first consult a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and prescribe an herbal formula.
Chemical Constituents
1. Pig’s Bane: The aerial parts contain alkaloids such as proto-opiumine, halmine, and small amounts of racemic duckbillone, L-1-hydroxy-deoxy-camelina, and L-8-hydroxy-2,3-dehydro-deoxy-camelina.It also contains cycloartenes, such as crystal orchid glycoside, peach-leaf coral glycoside, and caragane glycoside. Additionally, it contains flavonoids, such as rutin and quercetin galactoside; organic acids, such as chlorogenic acid, succinic acid, and sodium lactate;coumarin compounds, such as scopolin; tannins; and anthraquinones, among others. The fruits contain barley maltamine, gallic acid, luteolin, mannitol, inositol, ceryl alcohol, and sitosterol. 2. Coarse-leaved Lala Vine: The aerial parts contain carotenoids and vitamin C. The roots contain anthraquinone pigments, such as 4-methoxy-1-naphthol,1-naphthol isopentyl ether, 1-naphthol isopentenyl ether, 2,2-dimethylnaphthol[1,2-b]furan, and 3,4-dihydro-2,2-dimethylnaphthol[1,2-b]furan.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has antibacterial and other effects.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Herbal Medicine of Southern Yunnan*: “Treats damp-heat in the spleen, transient heat in various meridians, various forms of consumption, deficiency heat, restlessness due to heat, and pain in the tendons and bones. It enters the Small Intestine Meridian and treats the five types of heat-induced dysuria, red or white turbid urine, and pain in the penis.”
2. *Guizhou Herbal Medicine*: “Drains dampness, removes blood stasis, and stops bleeding. Treats otitis media, bleeding from knife wounds, heat-induced dysuria, red and scanty urine, fractures, chronic cough, and oral thrush in children.”
3. *Yunnan Herbal Medicine*: “Clears heat, cools the blood, and promotes urination. Treats hematuria, urinary tract infections, and otitis media.”
4. *Hunan Materia Medica*: “Clears heat, detoxifies, reduces swelling, and relieves pain. Used to treat abscesses, boils, and toxic swellings; amenorrhea in women; and traumatic swelling.”
5. *Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine*: “Promotes blood circulation, unblocks meridians, and has anticancer properties. Used to treat uterine cancer, chronic leukemia, and bacillary dysentery.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. For acute appendicitis: 90 g of *Zhu Yang Yang*, 30 g of *Aconitum carmichaeli*, and 30 g of *Cissus quadrangularis*; decoct in water and take orally.
2. For early-stage mastitis: 120 g of fresh *Zhu Yang Yang*; decoct in water and take orally; or use an appropriate amount of fresh herb, pound it into a paste, and apply externally. (Formulas 1 and 2 are from the 1979 edition of *Compendium of Sichuan Chinese Medicinal Herbs*)
3. For the common cold: 30 g of fresh Pigweed, 3 slices of ginger; pound to extract juice, mix with boiling water, and drink. (From the *Jiangxi Herbal Manual*)
4. For bleeding associated with heat syndromes: 30 g of Pigweed, 12 g of Sanguisorba officinalis, and 12 g of Small Thistle; decoct in water and drink. (From the 1979 edition of *Compendium of Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine*)
5. For bacterial dysentery: 15–60 g of *Zhu Yang Yang*, decocted in water and taken orally. (*Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine*)
6. For contusions and bruises: 12 g each of fresh *Zhu Yang Yang* root and *Malania* root; decoct in equal parts water and wine and take orally. Additionally, apply a poultice made by pounding fresh whole *Zhu Yang Yang* herb and wood sorrel in equal parts until pulverized.(Jiangxi *Manual of Herbal Medicine*)
7. For uterine cancer, breast cancer, and thyroid tumors: 30 g of *Zhu Yang Yang*, decocted in water; add an appropriate amount of brown sugar and drink. Alternatively, take 250 g of fresh *Zhu Yang Yang*, wash it, extract the juice, add brown sugar, and drink 3–5 times daily in divided doses. (*Sichuan Compendium of Chinese Materia Medica*, 1979 edition)
8. For treating amenorrhea in women: Decoct 6 g of Pigweed in water and drink the decoction. (*Hunan Materia Medica*)
Notes
Reference: *Chinese Materia Medica, Vol. 6*
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvested in the fall; used fresh or sun-dried.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herb, remove impurities, wash thoroughly, cut into sections, dry, and sift out dust and debris.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container in a well-ventilated, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
The whole plant is slender and brittle, with a gray-green or greenish-brown surface. The stem is quadrangular, 1–1.5 mm in diameter, with numerous reverse spines along the ridges; it is brittle, breaks easily, and is hollow when snapped. There are 6–8 leaves arranged in a whorl, sessile;the leaf blades are often curled and fragmented; when intact and flattened, they are lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, approximately 2 cm long and 2–4 mm wide, with small reverse-pointing spines along the margins and on the midrib of the lower surface. Cymes are axillary or terminal; the flowers are small and easily shed. The fruit is small, often hemispherical, and densely covered with white hooked hairs. It has a faint odor and a bland taste. Specimens that are green in color and contain flowers and fruits are considered superior.
Properties of Processed Slices
The raw material consists of mixed segments and pieces of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. The roots are slender and small. The stems are quadrangular, highly branched, with small, backward-pointing spines on the four ridges; the surface is gray-green or greenish-brown, and the cross-section is hollow. The leaves are fragmented, with small, backward-pointing spines on the midrib of the lower surface. The flowers are small and easily shed. The fruits are small and hemispherical. It has a faint odor and a bland taste.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A plant of the Rubiaceae family, specifically *Pig’s Bane* or *Coarse-leaved Lala Vine*.
Morphological Characteristics
1. *Zhu Yang Yang*: An annual trailing or climbing herb, 20–40 cm long. The stem is green, highly branched, quadrangular, and bears retrograde spines along the ridges. Leaves are arranged in whorls of 4–8;nearly sessile; leaf blades linear-lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 2–4 cm long, 2–6 mm wide, with a convex apex, 1-veined, green above and covered with white, backward-pointing spines, pale green below and hairy along the midrib and margins. Cymes are axillary or terminal, bearing several flowers; flowers are small and yellowish-green;the calyx is truncate, about 7 mm long, covered with hooked hairs; the corolla is 4-lobed, with oblong lobes; there are 4 protruding stamens; the ovary is inferior, 2-chambered, with a 2-lobed style. The fruit is dry, usually consisting of 2 (occasionally 1) nearly spherical mericarps, the surface densely covered with hooked spines; each mericarp contains a flat-convex seed.Flowering period: April–May; fruiting period: June–August.
2. Coarse-leaved Lala Vine: This species differs somewhat from Pigweed; its stem is hexagonal. It is greenish-white or has a purplish tinge, and the base is fused. The fruit is slightly fleshy.
Distribution Area
1. Pigweed: Distributed throughout most regions of the country. 2. Coarse-leaved Lala Vine: Distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, and other areas.