Heracleum candicans, Spru dkar སྤྲུ་དཀར་

Spru dkar, Spru ma dkar po (Tibet)
Ruan Mao Du Huo (H. lanatum, TCM)

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Heracleum lanatum
Illustrated Flors of the US, Canada, and the British Possessions, Britton & Brown, 1913

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Heracleum lanatum
(Photo by Dr. Alexey Yakovlev) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Heracleum candicans, H. nepalense, H. lanatum (Masterwort)
H. lanatum and H. hemsleyanum are used as alternate sources of Angelica Du Huo. in TCM.

In Tibet, there are 3 types of Spru ma:

  1. Spru dkar: Heracleum candicans, Heracleum candicans var. obtusifolium; H. Lallii in Nepal. H. lanatum and H. wallichi have also been listed.
  2. Spru nag: Angelica paeoniifolia; Heracleum dissectum in Buryat; Pterocyclus angelicoides is used in Nepal. Aralia atropurpurea and Notopterygium incisum have also been listed.
  3. Spru ser: Notopterygium incisum; Heracleum scabridum has also been given as a source.

Parts used:

Root, Seed

Temperature & Taste:

Warm. Bitter, Pungent. Slightly toxic.

Uses:

1. Clears Wind-Damp:

-Wind-Damp joint Pain; Arthritis, Rheumatism
-Leucoderma, Leprosy
-Tumors, Cancer

2. Settles Wind, Stops Spasm:

-Wind and Nervous diseases
-Headache, Toothache
-Hypertension

3. Clears Wind-Heat, Resists Poison::

-Fever, Cough and Cold; especially effective for Epidemic diseases
-Pain associated with Fever
-Diphtheria
-Earache, Acute Infection
-Stomachache, Diarrhea, Dysentery
-also Bleeding associated with Heat

4. Kills Worms:

-Seed is used for Worms
-abdominal pain from Worms

5. Externally:

-Boils, Abscesses, Skin diseases (paste)
-Blisters
-applied to Joint pain (root paste)

Dose:

Powder: 1–3 grams
Decoction: 3–9 grams
Often added to wine for Wind-Damp joint pain

Substitute:

1. The European Cow Parsnip (H. sphondylium) is probably a suitable substitute.
2. Heracleum lanatum is an alternate source of Angelica Du Huo in TCM. Therefore, the latter may be used as a substitute.
3. Angelica dahurica is used in Buryat region

Main Combinations:

1. Leukorrhea, Vaginal itching, Heracleum candicans, Sophora Ku Shen, Phellodendron Huang Bai (15 grams each), Cnidium She Chuang Zi (60 grams), burnt Alum (6 grams, added to the strained decoction). Use as a topical wash twice daily. (Barefoot Doctors Manual)

Cautions:

Avoid overdose

Main Preparations used:

1. GENERAL / REVIEW:
–Chemical studies on the root of Heracleum candicans Wall.
2. ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–principally due to Heraclenin
3. ANTI-BACTERIAL:
-Essential Oil
4. HEPATOPROTECTIVE:
–Hepatoprotective Effects of Heracleum candicans Against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Acute Liver Injury in Rats.
5. MELANOGENESIS STIMULATION:
–Melanogenesis stimulation in murine b16 melanoma cells by umberiferae plant extracts and their coumarin constituents.

Some Tibetan sources state that the root will clear Heat in adults but not in the old, young or weak.

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