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Polygonum, Knotgrass, Bian Xu 萹蓄

Knotweed; Bian Xu (TCM)
Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, 1640
Kurtzes Handtbuchlein, Ryff, 1599
Chaumeton, Flore médicale, 1829
Botanical name:
Polygonum aviculare
Greater and Lesser types were used

Parts used:
Herb

Temperature & Taste:
Cold, dry.

Classifications:
2T. GLUTINATE
4i. UTERINE

Uses:
1. Clears Heat and Damp, Promotes Urine (TCM, West):
-hot, painful urination, or Urinary Difficulty from heat; Urethritis, acute Urinary tract infections
-Strangury is treated with small repeated doses of the decoction
-Urinary infection with difficult painful urination (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-Rheumatic diseases, chronic Arthritis, Gout
-Urinary or Gall Stones, Jaundice and Hypertension; especially useful for Kidney Stones

2. Clears Heat, Resists Poison:
-acute Wind-Heat with Cough, Sore Throat, Fever
-Eczema (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-'principle to eradicate all internal and external heat' (Matthiolus, New Kreuterbuch, 1626)
-‘Boiled in wine and drunk, it is profitable for those Bitten or Stung by Venomous creatures’. (Culpeper)
-Tertian Fever.

3. Clears Heat, Stops Leakage and Bleeding (TCM, West):
-stop all Fluxes, Diarrhea, Dysentery
-Uterine Bleeding, Vomiting Blood, and Blood Noses.
-Urinary Incontinence
-Leukorrhea (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-Excessive Menstruation (Kneipp)
-bleeding of Miscarriage, Labor and Delivery

4. Clears Heat and Damp, Benefits the Joints and Bones:
-strengthen the back in Lumbago; strengthen the Joints
-Fractures.

5. Kills Worms:
-Tapeworm, Hookworm, Pinworm and Roundworm. (TCM, West)
   
6. Externally:
-gargle for Mouth and Throat Inflammations, and Rotten Gums
-Eye wash (infusion) for red and sores eyes.
-paste with Myrrh, it is applied to the chest for Pleurisy.
-swellings of the Breasts
-applied fresh to the wrists (pulses) for Tertian Agues.
-as a wash to hot, moist and itchy skin lesions, weeping Eczema, Tinea, damp Pruritus etc; also Eruptive diseases
-old Ulcers, Abscesses.
-Vulval itching (as a strong wash)
-Wounds and Injuries, especially about the genitals (Bock, Kreutterbuch, 1565)
-Fistulas (Matthiolus, New Kreuterbuch, 1626)
-in douches for Uterine Cancer


DOSE:
9–15 grams in decoction

Main Combinations:
1. Difficult and painful urination, Knotgrass with Plantain seed
2. Kidney and bladder diseases, and stomach ulcers, Knotgrass with Uva Ursi, Nettle (Müller)
3. Incontinence, Knotgrass with Hemp seed, Agrimony, Shepherds Purse, Plantain (as in Decoction of Hemp Seed)
4. Stones, Knotgrass with Shepherd's Purse, Agrimony, Camomile, Horsetail (as in Decoction for Stones)
5. Gastric bleeding and Urinary Stones, Knotgrass with Yarrow, Calendula, St. Johns wort (Fischer)
6. Duodenal Ulcer, Knotgrass with Centaury, Lanceleaf Plantain, Peppermint, Sanicle, Potentilla anserina (Görgens)
7. Arthritis, Knotgrass with Mistletoe and Birch
8. Cough with Mucus, Knotgrass with Coltsfoot (Hammerschmidt)
9. Asthma, Knotgrass with Horehound, Blessed Thistle
10. Hemoptysis:
i. Knotgrass with Shepherd's Purse, Mistletoe, Tormentil
ii. Knotgrass with Willow leaf, Periwinkle, Daisy (Meyer)
11. Tuberculosis:
i. Knotgrass with Horsetail and Hemp Nettle
ii. Knotgrass with Primula root, Horsetail
12. Douche for Leukorrhea, Knotgrass with Nettle, Oak bark and Camomile (Dinand)
13. Cancers of the Uterus has been treated with injections of juices of Plantain, Knotgrass, Lettuce and Purslane mixed together

Major Formulas:
Decoction for Stones
Decoction of Hemp Seed
Syrup of Comfrey Compound

Cautions:
Not used in difficult urination from marked weakness.

Main Preparations used:
Distilled Water of the Herb