Lü Dou绿豆
Phaseoli radiati Semen · Mung Bean · Green Gram
Overview
A kitchen staple that doubles as a medicinal — the small green seed of the mung bean, sweet and cold, entering the Heart and Stomach. It is the household answer to summer heat: the soup drunk through the hot months for thirst, irritability and scanty dark urine. It is also the first thing reached for to relieve toxicity, whether from heat-toxin sores or from an overdose of harsh, hot herbs, where it supports urgent medical care rather than replacing it. The thin green skin alone (Lü Dou Yi) is lighter and cools more; the whole bean also drains damp-heat downward through the urine.
Nature & Flavor
Sweet · ColdChannels
Heart · StomachTypical Dosage
15–30 g in decoctionActions
3 core actions
- Clears heat, relieves summerheatSummerheat with thirst that water does not settle, irritability, a hot head and scanty dark urine — the classic mung-bean soup.
- Relieves toxicityHeat-toxin boils, sores and swelling. Traditionally also given after swallowing a toxic substance or after an overdose of hot, harsh herbs — as support alongside emergency care, never instead of it.
- Promotes urination, reduces swellingDamp-heat edema with puffy limbs and difficult, burning urination.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Lü Dou
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Summerheat with thirst, irritability and scanty dark urine
- Heat-toxin boils, sores and hot swelling
- Damp-heat edema with difficult urination
- Supportive use after ingesting a toxic substance, alongside urgent medical care
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Cold in nature: unsuitable for a cold, weak Spleen and Stomach, chronic loose stools, or cold abdominal pain that eases with warmth. By long convention it is held to blunt warming tonics, so it is kept apart from a course of warming herbs — practitioners usually advise not taking mung bean in the same hours as a warming prescription. If it is being used because someone has swallowed something toxic, that is a medical emergency: call for help first. Our dispensary data flags no toxicity and no allergy risk for this herb.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: No specific restriction — practitioner judgment applies
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Kai Bao Ben Cao《开宝本草》 (classical source, public domain).
2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.