Small thistle (Xiaoji)
Cirsium setosum (Willd.) MB. (Fam. Asteraceae)
Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Cirsii Segeti
Botanical Name: Cirsium setosum (Willd.) MB. (Fam. Asteraceae)
Common Name: Small thistle, field thistle herb.
Source of Earliest Record: Mingyi Bielu.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The aerial parts of the plant and its rhizome are harvested in summer when the thistle is flowering. Then they are cleaned, dried in the sun and cut into pieces.
Properties & Taste: Sweet and cool.
Meridians: Heart and liver.
Functions: 1. To cool blood and stop bleeding; 2. To promote urination.
Indications & Combinations:
1. Hemorrhages due to extravasation of blood by heat. Small thistle (Xiaoji) is used with Imperata rhizome (Baimaogen), Cattail pollen (Puhuang) and Biota tops (Cebaiye).
2. Bloody urine, painful urination. Small thistle (Xiaoji) is used with Lotus node (Oujie), Talc (Huashi) and Clematis stem (Mutong) in the formula Xiaoji Yinzi.
3. For sores, boils, and carbuncles, it is used alone for an oral dose or crushed for topical application.
Dosage: 10-15 g or 30–60 g fresh herb, decocted in water for an oral dose. Appropriate quantity for external use.
Precautions: None noted.
