Lysimachia (Jinqiancao)
Dessmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr. (Leguminosae)
Pharmaceutical Name: 1. Herba Lysimachiae; 2. Herba Desmodii
Botanical Name: 1. Lysimachia christinae Hance (Primulaceae); 2. Dessmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr. (Leguminosae)
Common Name: Lysimachia, loosestrife Guang jin, Dessmodium
Source of Earliest Record: Bencao Gangmu Shiyi.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The whole plant is gathered in summer or autumn, cleaned and dried in the sun.
Properties & Taste: Sweet or no taste and neutral.
Meridians: Liver, gall bladder, kidney and urinary bladder.
Functions: 1. To promote water metabolism and relieve abnormal urination; 2. To transform dampness and relieve jaundice.
Indications & Combinations:
1. Damp-heat in the urinary bladder manifested as hot urination, urinary tract stones, painful urination, frequent urination, urgency of micturition, abdominal pain and biliary stones. Lysimachia (Jinqiancao) is used with Lygodium spores (Haijinsha) and Chicken's gizzard skin (Jineijin) in the formula Sanjin Tang.
2. Damp-heat jaundice. Lysimachia (Jinqiancao) is used with Oriental wormwood (Yinchenhao) and Capejasmine (Zhizi).
3. For boils, sores, and carbuncles, fresh Herba Lysimachiae is pounded to extract the juice for oral administration.
Dosage: 30-60 g g, decocted in water for an oral dose; 60–120 g, if used fresh. Appropriate quantity for external application.
