Nan He Shi南鹤虱
Carotae Fructus · Wild Carrot Fruit · Southern He Shi
Overview
Nan He Shi is the ripe fruit of wild carrot (Daucus carota), appended in the textbook to the He Shi 鹤虱 entry and carried by the pharmacopoeia as a drug in its own right. Bitter and acrid, neutral, graded slightly toxic, it shares the indication and the dose of He Shi proper — roundworm, pinworm, tapeworm and the colicky pain of parasite accumulation. The pair matters at the counter rather than at the bedside: two different plants circulate under one name, and the label should say which. Recorded here as classical materia medica, not as a treatment recommendation.
Nature & Flavor
Bitter, acrid · Neutral · Slightly toxicChannels
Spleen · StomachTypical Dosage
3–9 g — the pharmacopoeia ceiling is 9 g per day, the same as. Given in decoction or, for the anthelmintic use, as powder or pills on an empty stomach.Actions
2 core actions
- Kills parasites, disperses accumulationUsed for the same range as He Shi proper: roundworm, pinworm and tapeworm, with the intermittent periumbilical pain and the childhood the tradition read as parasite accumulation.
- The appended to He ShiThe textbook lists it directly under He Shi because the two are dispensed interchangeably in different regions — Carpesium fruit in the north, wild-carrot fruit in the south. The pharmacopoeia keeps them as separate monographs with identical dosing and the same pregnancy caution.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Nan He Shi
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Roundworm, pinworm and tapeworm infestation
- Parasite-accumulation abdominal pain
- Childhood
As with every herb in this chapter, the organism is identified in a laboratory before anything is treated.
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Slightly toxic. Pharmacopoeia dose 3–9 g; 9 g per day is the ceiling. Overdose brings nausea, vomiting, dizziness and abdominal discomfort.
Preparation: the vermifuge constituents sit in the volatile-oil fraction and are not well extracted by prolonged boiling, so powder or pills are preferred for the parasite indication; if decocted, it goes in late. Do not raise the dose to make up for it.
Substitution note: Nan He Shi and are different plants sold under one common name. Check the label rather than assuming. Not for the weak and cold Spleen and Stomach.
Suspected parasitic infection is diagnosed in a laboratory, not from symptoms: a stool ova-and-parasite examination — with serology or imaging where the organism calls for it — identifies what is actually present, and treatment is a modern antiparasitic prescribed by a physician. This entry records the classical materia medica and is not a treatment recommendation.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Use with caution in pregnancy — treat it as avoid. The pharmacopoeia carries the same pregnancy caution as for, and a slightly toxic vermifuge is not appropriate in pregnancy; an obstetrician decides how parasitic infection is handled then.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Classical source not securely attributable — the drug is distinguished from 北鹤虱 in the later materia medica.
2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
3. 《中华人民共和国药典》(2020年版一部).
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.