Stellaria root (Yinchaihu)
Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bge. (Fam. Caryophyllaceae)
Pharmaceutical Name: Radix Stellariae
Botanical Name: Stellaria dichotoma
L. var. lanceolata Bge. (Fam.
Caryophyllaceae)
Common Name: Stellaria root.
Source of Earliest Record: Bencao
Gangmu Shiyi.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:
The roots are dug in autumn or the Beginning of Spring (first solar term).
After the fibrous roots are removed, the roots are cleaned in water, dried in
the sun and cut into slices.
Properties & Taste: Sweet and
slightly cold.
Meridians: Liver and stomach.
Functions: 1. To reduce heat caused by
deficient yin; 2. To clear heat in infants caused by malnutrition.
Indications & Combinations:
1. Heat signs due to deficiency of yin
manifested as afternoon fever and night sweating. Stellaria root (Yinchaihu)
is used with Turtle shell (Biejia), Sweet wormwood (Qinghao) and Wolfberry bark
(Digupi) in the formula Qinggu San.
2. Infantile malnutrition manifested as
swollen abdomen and emaciation. Stellaria root (Yinchaihu) is used with Pilose
asiabell root (Dangshen), Capejasmine (Zhizi) and Scutellaria root (Huangqin)
in the formula Chaihu Qinggan Tang.
Dosage: 3-10 g, decocted in water for
an oral dose.
Cautions & Contraindications: This
herb is contraindicated in fever due to invasion by exogenous pathogenic wind
and cold, or in cases with deficient blood syndrome but no signs of heat.
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