Codonopsis, Klu bdud rdo rje ཀླུ་བདུད་རྡོ་རྗེ

Klu bdud rdo rje (C. ovata) (Tibet)
Xin Jiang Dang Shen (C. clematidea) (TCM)

C. ovata.
Edwards’s Botanical Register, vol. 28 (1842)

C. ovata (Royle, J.F., Illustrations of the botany … of the Himalayan Mountains and … of Cashmere (1839)

Codonopsis clematidea
(Photo by Agnieszka Kwiecień) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Codonopsis spp.
Several types are used:

Klu bdud rdo rje. ཀླུ་བདུད་རྡོ་རྗེ་: C. ovata
Klu bdud rdo rje nag po (“Black variety”) ཀླུ་བདུད་རྡོ་རྗེ་ནག་པོ་: C. nervosa, C. bhutanica, C. thalictrifolia
Klu bdud rdo rje dkar po (“White variety”) ཀླུ་བདུད་རྡོ་རྗེ་དཀར་པོ་: C. canescens, C. viridis
Klu bdud rdo rje mchog (“Supreme”) ཀླུ་བདུད་རྡོ་རྗེ་ མཆོག་: C. clematidea (Xin Jiang Dan Shen), C. mollis

Parts used:

Aerial parts; some say whole plant

Temperature & Taste:

Neutral/Cool, dry. Bitter, Pungent
One Tibetan text describes it as ‘Hot in taste, Cool in power’.

Uses:

1. Tonifies Spleen, Increases Qi: (TCM)

-Fatigue, Weakness
-poor appetite, indigestion, stomach discomfort, diarrhea from deficiency
-Cough, shortness of Breath from Lung Qi deficiency

2. Clears Wind-Damp: (Tibet)

-Skin diseases with weeping and itchiness, with or without heat; Eczema
-Leprosy, Elephantiasis (especially Klu bdud rdo rje mchog)
-Spasms and contracture of tendons and ligaments
-painful swelling of the limbs, rigid and painful swollen joints
-Arthritis; Gout
-Rheumatoid arthritis
-Goiter (Klu bdud rdo rje mchog)

3. Clears Wind, Settles Spasms: (Tibet)

-‘Brain disorders’, neurological disorders
-Tingling or Numbness
-Convulsions, Epilepsy, Apoplexy
-diseases caused by Naga Spirits (‘Nature’ Spirits, spirits of Water and Earth)
-“Evil afflictions”

4. Resists Poison:

-Epidemic diseases

Dose:

Decoction: 3–12 grams
Powder: 1–4 grams

Comment:

1. Some of the species used as the source of this medicine are used as a source of Codonopsis Dang Shen (Root) in TCM. Klu bdud rdo rje mchog is obtained from C. clematidea. This is called ‘Xin Jiang Dan Shen‘ in TCM. This supports the idea that Codonopsis Dang Shen can be used as a substitute for Codonopsis Klu bdud rdo rje. In fact, there are records of Tibetan physicians using Dang Shen root when the aerial parts are unavailable. Nevertheless, the Tibetan indications are different, so we have separated them.
2. Difference between Dang Shen and Klu bdud rdo rje
Dang Shen is the root of various species of Codonopsis (some being the same species used for Klu bdud rdo rje) and is viewed as Warm, sweet and moist, and is a Qi and Blood tonic, used for deficiency, being regarded as similar to, but far milder in effect, to Ginseng.
Klu bdud rdo rje is the aerial parts and is viewed as Cool, Bitter, Pungent and Neutral–Cooling in nature. It is used for skin disruptions, weeping eczema, leprosy, and elephantiasis, as well as joint inflammation (arthritis, gout) as well as, tingling, or tremors.
Despite having different focuses, Dang Shen can still be used for the purposes of Klu bdud rdo rje due to its effects of strengthening the Spleen, if it is combined with suitable medicines (such as in Codonopsis 18). Some modern Tibetan Medicine manufacturers reportedly use Codonopsis Dang Shen roots as a substitute.

Substitute

1. Codonopsis Dang Shen (root) is routinely used as a substitute when Chinese companies make Tibetan Formulas containing Codonopsis Klu bdun rdo rje. According to some sources, this has become common by some Tibetan physicians when the rarer, high altitude aerial parts of the Tibetan Codonopsis is unavailable.
2. Adenophora is used for Klu bdud rdo rje by Russians.
3. Campanula persicifolia is also used by Tibetans in the Buryat region

Main Combinations:

1. Chronic Skin diseases, Rheumatism, Sinusitis, Codonopsis Klu bdud rdo rje with Cassia tora seed, Triphala, Shilajit, Bdellium

Major Formulas:

Codonopsis 18 (Klu bdud ‘bco brgyad) (Tibetan)
Vajra Conquering Heart Wind 17 (Srog rlung ‘joms pa’i rdo rje bcu bdun)

Cautions:

None noted

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Herb categories: Klu bdud rdo rje