Lygodium spores (Haijinsha)
Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw. (Fam. Lygodiaceae)
Pharmaceutical Name: Spora Lygodii
Botanical Name: Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw. (Fam. Lygodiaceae)
Common Name: Lygodium spores, Japanese fern spores, Japanese climbing fern spore.
Source of Earliest Record: Jiayou Bencao.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The spores are gathered in autumn and dried in the sun.
Properties & Taste: Sweet and cold.
Meridians: Urinary bladder and small intestine.
Functions: To promote water metabolism and regulate abnormal urination.
Indications & Combinations:
1. Damp-heat in the urinary bladder manifested as various abnormal urinary symptoms including hot urine, urinary tract stones, bloody urine, turbid urine, dysuria, painful urination, urgency of micturition and frequent urination. Lygodium spores (Haijinsha) is used with Talc (Huashi), Lysimachia (Jinqiancao), Plantain seed (Cheqianzi) and Amber (Hupo).
2. For galacturia due to Pathogenic Heat, it is used with Pulvis Talci (Hua Shi), Folium Pyrrosiae (Shi Wei) and Semen Plantaginis (Che Qian Zi).
3. For edema due to Pathogenic Dampness in the Spleen, it is used with Semen Pharbitidis (Qian Niu Zi) and Radix Kansui (Gan Sui).
Dosage: 6-12 g, wrapped in gauze and decocted in water for an oral dose.
Cautions & Contraindications: The herb should be wrapped with a cloth for decoction, or decoction should be put through a strainer.
