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Yuan Hua芫花

Genkwa Flos · Genkwa Flower · Lilac Daphne Flower Bud

Downward-Draining Herbs 泻下药《神农本草经》

Overview

One of the harsh water-expelling herbs — acrid, bitter, warm and toxic — reserved for substantial fluid accumulation in the chest and abdomen that milder draining herbs cannot shift. It is used vinegar-processed to blunt its toxicity, in small doses over a short course, and only under a practitioner's direct supervision; externally it is applied to parasitic skin lesions.

Nature & Flavor

Bitter, acrid · Warm · Toxic

Channels

Lung · Spleen · Kidney

Typical Dosage

1.5–3 g in decoction
芫花Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Drives out water, expels thin mucusFluid in the chest and flank with cough and pain on breathing, ascites and marked generalized edema — classically with Gan Sui and Da Ji in Shi Zao Tang.
  • Dispels phlegm, calms coughCough and wheezing from congested thin mucus in the chest.
  • Kills parasites, treats sores (external only)Applied topically to tinea of the scalp and body and to parasitic skin lesions.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Yuan Hua

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Fluid accumulation in the chest and flank with cough and pain on breathing
    - Ascites and marked generalized edema
    - Cough and wheezing from congested thin mucus
    - Tinea and parasitic skin lesions (external application only)

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Pleural effusionAscitesSevere edemaTinea

Contraindications

Cautions

Toxic and drastically purging — prescribed only by a practitioner who is watching the patient closely, and never self-administered. Overdose causes severe vomiting, abdominal pain and watery diarrhea, and the resulting fluid loss can become life-threatening. It must be vinegar-processed for internal use, given on an empty stomach as a single small dose, and stopped as soon as the fluid has moved. It belongs to the classical eighteen incompatibilities and is not combined with Gan Cao 甘草. Not for weak, depleted or dehydrated patients, and not for the elderly or for children except under specialist care.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(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.