Phyllanthus urinaria, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the whole plant, including the roots, of Phyllanthus urinaria L., a plant in the Euphorbiaceae family. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, improving vision, and eliminating food stagnation. It is primarily used to treat dysentery, diarrhea, jaundice, edema, heat-induced urinary disorders, calculous urinary disorders, red eyes, night blindness, malnutrition-related accumulation, abscesses and swellings, and venomous snake bites.
Phyllanthus
Phyllanthus urinaria, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the whole plant, including the roots, of Phyllanthus urinaria L., a plant in the Euphorbiaceae family. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, improving vision, and eliminating food stagnation. It is primarily used to treat dysentery, diarrhea, jaundice, edema, heat-induced urinary disorders, calculous urinary disorders, red eyes, night blindness, malnutrition-related accumulation, abscesses and swellings, and venomous snake bites.
Chinese Name : 叶下珠
Aliases : Day-Open Night-Close, Pearl Grass, Yin-Yang Grass, False Oil Citrus, True Pearl Grass, Crucian Carp Grass, Hu Xiuxiu, Old Crow’s Pearl, Night-Closing Pearl, Falling Oil Citrus, Small Li Citrus, Night-Closing Grass, Mountain Soapberry, Leaf-Behind Pearl, Oil Citrus Grass
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Slightly bitter in taste, cool in nature; enters the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat and detoxifies; promotes diuresis and reduces swelling; improves vision; eliminates food stagnation.
Indications
Dysentery, diarrhea, jaundice, edema, heat-induced dysuria, calculous dysuria, red eyes, night blindness, malnutrition-induced accumulation, abscesses and swellings, venomous snake bites.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decoct 15–30 g. External use: Apply an appropriate amount, pounded into a paste.
Precautions
Not yet established.
Chemical Constituents
The whole herb contains epigallogallic acid, 3,3′,4-tri-O-methyl epigallogallic acid, succinic acid, ferulic acid, β-sitosterol-β-D-glucoside, gallic acid, triacontanol,β-sitosterol, tricosanoic acid, stigmasterol, lupeol, triacontanoic acid, and stigmasterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside.
Pharmacological Actions
1. Hepatoprotective effects: When 10 g/(kg·d) of Ye Xia Zhu from Guangxi and Ye Xia Zhu from Yunnan were administered orally to Chongqing Maja ducks infected with duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) for one month, the DHBV DNA titer in the ducks’ serum decreased significantly as early as the second week of treatment.The Ye Xiazhu from Chongqing demonstrated this effect. For the Yunnan product, DHBV DNA levels rebounded one week after discontinuation of treatment. The Guangxi product showed no significant synergistic effect when used in combination with Sophora flavescens, but when used in combination with ciprofloxacin, it appeared to enhance its antiviral activity. Ye Xiazhu inhibits the reverse transcriptase of duck hepatitis B virus.In vivo experiments in ducks confirmed the effects of the active ingredients on duck hepatitis B virus, demonstrating a reduction in serum DHBV DNA and DNA polymerase activity. It also exhibited significant preventive and therapeutic effects against liver damage in mice induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) and D-galactosamine; at doses of 1.25 g/kg and 0.625 g/kg, ALT activity in treated mice was significantly lower than in the control group.When mice were administered 0.4 mL/mouse and 0.6 mL/mouse of a 1 g/mL Ye Xia Zhu preparation via gastric lavage twice daily for 7 consecutive days, ALT levels in mice with CCl₄-induced liver damage decreased significantly. Light microscopy revealed that liver cell damage—including vacuolar degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory cell infiltration—was greatly reduced in the treated groups.After in vitro co-incubation of rat hepatocytes with 10 mM/L CCl₄, both hepatocyte survival rate and cell membrane fluidity decreased, while the release of LDH and MDA, as well as intracellular Ca²⁺ levels, increased. The pretreatment with 10⁻³ g/L to 10⁻¹ g/L of Ye Xiazhu extract produced in Chongqing significantly inhibited these pathological changes, indicating that Ye Xiazhu has a protective effect on CCl₄-damaged hepatocytes.A 4 mg/mL solution of Ye Xia Zhu significantly inhibited the extracellular HBsAg levels in the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line PLC/PRF/5. The effect was most pronounced 48 hours after administration. It primarily affects the synthesis of HBsAg within these cells. Ye Xia Zhu exhibits a certain synergistic effect when combined with adenosine. 2. Antibacterial Activity: A 100% decoction of Ye Xia Zhu, tested using the agar disc diffusion method, demonstrated inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as some inhibitory effects against Shigella flexneri, hemolytic streptococci, and Salmonella typhi.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Essentials of the Medicinal Properties of Herbs*: “Treats eye disorders and malnutrition in children caused by malnutrition; can be simmered with meat or decocted for washing. Also treats lack of breast milk and is most effective for treating malnutrition caused by rice consumption.”
2. *Illustrated Compendium of Plant Names and Characteristics*: “It can dispel miasma.”
3. Guangzhou Military Region *Manual of Common Chinese Herbal Medicines*: “Clears the liver and improves vision; drains dampness and promotes diuresis. Treats nephritis with edema, urinary tract infections, urinary tract stones, and enteritis with diarrhea.”
4. *Commonly Used Folk Herbs of Zhejiang*: “Aids digestion.”
5. *Herbs of Guizhou*: “Clears heat, promotes diuresis, removes dampness, and clears the lungs.”
6. *Commonly Used Chinese Herbs of Sichuan*: “Clears summer heat and stops dysentery; treats red and white dysentery, redness, swelling, and pain in the eyes, cloudiness in the eyes, and corneal opacities.”
7. *Compendium of Hubei Herbal Medicines*: “Clears heat and promotes diuresis; improves vision; eliminates food stagnation. Used for conjunctivitis, night blindness, nephritis with edema, urinary tract infections and stones, jaundice-type hepatitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, indigestion, enteritis, dysentery, pediatric malnutrition, unexplained swellings and abscesses, and snake bites.”
Applications
Related Compatibility
1. For dysentery, enteritis, and diarrhea: 30g each of Ye Xia Zhu and Iron Amaranth. Decoct into a decoction, add an appropriate amount of sugar, and drink while hot; or combine with Old Stork Grass and take as a decoction. (Southern Medicinal Herbs: *Pharmacognosy*)
2. For jaundice: 60g fresh Ye Xia Zhu, 90g fresh Verbena, and 60g fresh Half-Side Lotus. Decoct in water and take orally.(Jiangxi *Manual of Herbal Medicine*)
3. For hepatitis: 60g each of fresh Ye Xia Zhu and fresh Huang Dan Cao, 7 snail shells, 1 duck liver, and 60g rock sugar. Stew in water and consume. (*Fujian Pharmacopoeia*)
4. For night blindness: 30–60g of fresh Ye Xia Zhu, 120g of animal liver, and 9g of Atractylodes. Stew in water and consume.
5. For treating malnutrition in children: 15 g each of fresh Ye Xia Zhu root and fresh Mouse Ear root, and an appropriate amount of pork liver or lean pork. Simmer in water and drink the broth.
6. For treating malnutrition in children: 30 g each of fresh Ye Xia Zhu and Gourd Tea, 15 g of White Horse Bone root, and an appropriate amount of pork liver or lean pork. Simmer in water and drink the broth.(Formulas 4–6 are from *Fujian Materia Medica*)
7. For treating cough caused by water aspiration in children: 15 g of fresh mountain soapberry, 4.5 g of loquat bark, and 3 g of white goldrod. Decoct in water and drink. (*Guizhou Herbal Medicine*)
8. For green bamboo snake bites: Wash fresh Ye Xia Zhu leaves, pound them into a paste, and apply to the wound. (Jiangxi *Manual of Herbal Medicine*)
9. For early-stage boils and abscesses: Pound fresh Ye Xia Zhu leaves into a paste and apply externally; replace when dry. (*Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine*)
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest in summer and fall; remove impurities; use fresh or sun-dry.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herb, remove impurities, wash thoroughly, moisten slightly until soft, 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
This herb varies in length. The rhizome has a light brown exterior; the main root is underdeveloped, with numerous light gray-brown fibrous roots. The stem is 2–3 mm in diameter, and the base of older stems is gray-brown. Stems and branches have longitudinal wrinkles and are gray-brown, gray-brown, or reddish-brown in color; they are brittle and break easily, with a hollow cross-section. Branches feature longitudinal wrinkles and indistinct membranous ridges.The leaves are thin and small, oblong-elliptical, with a short, pointed tip; the base is rounded or oblique; the margins are covered with short white hairs; the leaves are gray-green, wrinkled, and easily shed. The flowers are minute, axillary beneath the leaves, and mostly desiccated. Some specimens bear trigonal, flattened-globose, yellowish-brown fruits with scaly protrusions on the surface, often splitting longitudinally into six sections.It has a faintly fragrant aroma and a slightly bitter taste.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Euphorbiaceae, genus Euphorbia, species Euphorbia subulata.
Morphological Characteristics
An annual herb, 10–60 cm tall, with an erect stem; branches are prostrate and then ascending, usually purplish-red, with wing-like longitudinal ridges. Glabrous or nearly glabrous.Leaves are simple and alternate, arranged in two rows; nearly sessile; stipules small, lanceolate or bristly; leaf blades oblong-elliptic, 5–15 mm long, 2–5 mm wide, with an oblique or slightly pointed apex, an oblique or rounded base, gray-green beneath, and glabrous on both surfaces; the lower margin of the leaf bears 1–3 rows of coarse, short hairs.Flowers are small, unisexual, and monoecious; petal-less; male flowers occur in clusters of 2–3 in leaf axils, with typically only the uppermost flower blooming; 6 sepals; 3 stamens with filaments fused into a column; 6 separate glandular disk structures, alternate with the sepals; no rudimentary ovary;female flowers are solitary in leaf axils, approximately 3 mm wide, with small spines or tubercles on the surface; sepals are 6, ovate-lanceolate, turning purplish-red in the middle after fruiting; the disk is disc-shaped; the ovary is nearly spherical; the style is 2-lobed at the apex.The capsule is sessile, flattened-round, about 3 mm in diameter, reddish-brown, with scaly protrusions on the surface; the seeds are triangular-ovate, pale brown, and transversely striated. Flowering occurs from May to October, and fruiting from July to November.
Distribution Area
It is distributed in southern Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other areas.
Growth Habits
Prefers warm, sunny locations; deep, well-drained yellow sandy loam is ideal.
Propagation Methods
Propagated by seed.
Cultivation Techniques
Seed propagation: Sow in March–April. Dig transverse furrows in the beds, about 7 cm deep, with a sowing width of about 100 cm. Use 11.25 kg of seeds per 1 h㎡; mix them with wood ash to form a seed-ash mixture, spread it evenly in the furrows, and cover with a layer of wood ash about 1 cm thick.