Tian Kui Zi天葵子
Semiaquilegiae Radix · Semiaquilegia Root · Muskroot-like Semiaquilegia
Overview
The small dark tuber of a low southern Chinese herb, sweet and bitter and frankly cold. Its work is toxic heat that has localized: boils and carbuncles, breast abscess, and the hard lumps of scrofula. It is best known as one of the five herbs in the classical decoction for toxic sores, and it has a second, quieter use draining heat downward through the urine in hot, gritty, painful urination.
Nature & Flavor
Sweet, bitter · ColdChannels
Liver · StomachTypical Dosage
9–15 g in decoctionActions
3 core actions
- Clears heat, resolves toxicityBoils, carbuncles and breast abscess in the hot, red, painful early stage; one of the five ingredients of the classical sore-clearing decoction.
- Reduces swelling, disperses nodulesScrofula and firm subcutaneous lumps along the neck and under the jaw, and swollen glands that persist after an infection.
- Promotes urination, frees painful dribblingHot, scanty, gritty and painful urination, including stone-type dribbling.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Tian Kui Zi
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Hot, red, painful sores, boils and carbuncles
- Breast abscess in the early inflammatory stage
- Scrofula and firm neck nodules
- Hot painful urination and stone-type urinary dribbling
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
Cold and draining, so it is unsuitable for anyone with Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold, poor appetite and loose stools, and it is prescribed in short courses rather than taken continuously. A sore that spreads quickly, throbs, or comes with fever, chills or a red streak needs urgent medical care — that is cellulitis, not a pattern to be waited out on herbs. A neck lump that does not settle within weeks needs diagnosis rather than repeated courses of nodule-dispersing herbs. Snakebite, for which this herb has a folk reputation, is a medical emergency and herbs are never the treatment.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Avoid in pregnancy unless a practitioner has assessed the case — it is cold and strongly heat-draining, and there is no established safety record for its use during pregnancy.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
2. 《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.