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Cura x Cura

Ma Chi Xian马齿苋

Portulacae Herba · Purslane

Herbs that Clear Heat 清热药《本草经集注》

Overview

The fleshy, sour-tasting succulent eaten as a vegetable from China to the Mediterranean, and one of the standard herbs for damp-heat in the intestines. Sour and cold, it clears heat-toxin and cools the blood; its best-known use is dysenteric diarrhoea with blood and mucus, urgency and burning. Pounded fresh or decocted as a wash, it is equally at home on the skin, settling hot, weeping, itchy rashes and insect bites.

Nature & Flavor

Sour · Cold

Channels

Liver · Large Intestine

Typical Dosage

9–15 g in decoction
马齿苋Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Clears heat, resolves toxicityDamp-heat dysenteric diarrhoea with blood and mucus, urgency and burning; hot boils, carbuncles and swelling.
  • Cools the blood, stops bleedingBlood in the stool, uterine bleeding and heavy blood-streaked vaginal discharge arising from blood heat.
  • Cools and dries the skin (external)Weeping eczema, hot itchy rashes, insect bites and stings — applied as a pounded poultice or a cooled decoction wash.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Ma Chi Xian

No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Damp-heat dysenteric diarrhoea with blood and mucus
    - Blood in the stool; uterine bleeding of blood heat
    - Hot boils, carbuncles and swelling
    - Weeping eczema, hot rashes and insect bites (external)

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

DysenteryDiarrheaEczemaInsect bitesRectal bleeding

Contraindications

Cautions

Sour and markedly cold: not for a cold, weak Spleen and Stomach, nor for diarrhoea that is watery and cold rather than hot and urgent. Purslane is high in oxalate, so anyone with a history of oxalate kidney stones should limit it. Blood in the stool always needs a diagnosis — it should be investigated conventionally rather than treated as a passing complaint, and dysentery with high fever or dehydration is a medical emergency. It is contraindicated in pregnancy. Our dispensary data flags no toxicity and no allergy risk.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Contraindicated in pregnancy — it is slippery and downward-draining, and is traditionally held to stir the uterus

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu《本草经集注》 (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.