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Cnidium, She Chuang Zi 蛇床子

She Chuang Zi (TCM)
La la phud ser po  ལ་ལ་ཕུདསེར་པོ  (Tibetan Medicine)
Jacquin, Hortus botanicus Vindobonensis, (1770)

Botanical name:
Cnidium monnieri (syn. Selinum monnieri)

Parts used:
Seed

Temperature & Taste:
Warm, dry. Pungent, Sweet

Classifications:
T. External Medicines

Uses:
1. Warms the Kidneys, Tonifies Yang:
-Impotence, Frigidity, Lack of Sex drive
-Infertility (men or women), Warms the Uterus and male organs
-Lumbago from Cold Kidneys
-Incontinence

2. Clears Wind-Damp:
-Leukorrhea, especially with itching
-Back pain from Wind-Damp
-'facilitates movements of joints'. (Shen Nong Ben Cao)

3. Clears Wind-Cold, Stops Cough:
-allergy
-Cough, Asthma from Cold Phlegm

4. Settles Wind, Calms the Mind and Nerves:
-Epilepsy
-Depression, Melancholy
-'Long-term use makes one feel happy' (Shen Nong Ben Cao)
-'Long-term use makes one look younger and become more productive (Ming Yi Bie Lu)

5. Externally:
-Weeping Eczema; Damp skin lesions
-Scabies, Tinea (topically as powder, wash or tincture)
-itching of the Vulva or Penis, Trichomonas
-Hemorrhoids, topically as a wash
-a strong decoction used as a wash for the male genitals has an aphrodisiac effect
-Toothache


Dose:
1. The stir-fried seed was recommended for internal use.
2. The crude seed is best for external washes etc.
Decoction: 3–9 grams
Powder: 1–3 grams
Used as a wash (15–30 grams per liter), or the powder is mixed with water to be applied externally

Comment:
'This is a drug that makes man become excessive and pressing in sex. It is therefore called Guikao'. (Lei Xiao)

Substitutes:
1. In Tibetan Medicine, it is used the same as Fennel seed (Drungtso)
2. La la phud refers to Bishop's Weed seed. Cnidium is La la phud ser po, the yellow variety. This suggests similar use to Bishop's Weed.

Preparation:
1. Stir-fried Cnidium She Chuang Zi:
  Remove the shell of the seed, then stir-fry briefly until yellowed and fragrant. This lessens its harsh nature.
2. Prepared Cnidium She Chuang Zi
  Soak the seed in juice of Indigo plant (Polygonum tinctorium) and juice of Stemona Bai Bu, then dry in the sun. Then blend with Rehmannia Di Huang juice, and steam it. Then dry in the sun and keep for use. This is a traditional preparation from Lei Xiao as recorded in Ben Cao Gang Mu.

Main Combinations:
1. Cold-Damp Leukorrhea:
i. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Dioscorea Shan Yao and Cornus Shan Zhu Yu
ii. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Cuttlefish bone Hai Piao Xiao and Cornus Shan Zhu Yu
2. Lower Back pain from Cold-Damp and Kidney weakness:
i. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Mistletoe (Sang Ji Sheng), Eucommia Du Zhong
ii. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Cibotium Gou Qi, Anhgelica pubescens Du Huo, Eucommia Du Zhong
3. Infertility from Kidney Yang deficiency:
i. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi)
ii. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi), Rehmannia Shu Di Huang, Velvet Deer Horn (Lu Rong),
4. Impotence:
i. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Cinnamon, Cistanche Rou Cong Rong and Morinda Ba Ji Tian
ii. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi), Cistanche Rou Cong Rong, Ginseng, Velvet Deer Horn (Lu Rong)
iii. Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi), Epimedium Yin Yang Huo, Schisandra Wu Wei Zi, Eucommia Du Zhong
5. For itching, use as a wash with Alum
6. Genital Itching, Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Sichuan Pepper (Hua Jiao), Sophora Ku Shen, Alum, prepare a wash and apply warm for 15 minutes once daily.
7. Trichomonas, as a douche Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Alum and Phellodendron Huang Bai
8. Weeping skin lesion:
i. topically Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Sophora Ku Shen
ii. topically Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Alum and Sulphur
9. Eczema, topically Cnidium She Chuang Zi with Calomel

Major Formulas:
Zan Yu Dan

Cautions:
1. Not used in excess Heat conditions or Yin deficiency
2. Not used in Damp-Heat of the lower abdomen (Strangury, Yellow Discharge etc.)

Main Preparations used: