Ze Lan泽兰
Lycopi Herba · Bugleweed Herb · Shiny Bugleweed
Overview
The above-ground parts of a mint-family bugleweed, gathered while it is in flower. Among the blood-movers it occupies a useful middle ground: acrid and mildly warm, it moves blood and opens the menses without the harshness of the breaking-and-attacking herbs, and it drains water at the same time. That double action is why it is chosen when stasis and swelling appear together — postpartum abdominal pain with puffiness, or the oedema that follows an injury.
Nature & Flavor
Bitter, acrid · Slightly warmChannels
Liver · SpleenTypical Dosage
10–15 g in decoctionActions
3 core actions
- Moves blood, regulates the mensesDelayed or scanty periods, clotted flow and cramping pain from stasis; retained lochia and postpartum abdominal pain.
- Disperses stasis, reduces sores and injuryBruising, sprains and traumatic swelling; unripe abscesses and breast lumps, internally or crushed as a poultice.
- Frees the water passages, reduces swellingPuffiness after childbirth and oedema where fluid and stasis are bound together — the feature that separates it from most blood-movers.
In Formulas
Formulas containing Ze Lan
No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.
Indications & Clinical Uses
- Painful, delayed or clotted menstruation with a fixed, stabbing quality
- Postpartum abdominal pain and retained lochia
- Bruising and swelling after injury
- Oedema and puffiness accompanying blood stasis
Western Medical Keywords
Searchable condition terms
Contraindications
Cautions
It moves blood: not for someone who is actively bleeding, and used cautiously where the blood is deficient with no sign of stasis, since it disperses rather than nourishes. Contraindicated in pregnancy. If you take anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication, tell the prescriber that a blood-moving herb is in the formula, as the effects may add together. Keep to the practitioner's amount and do not exceed 15 g a day.
Contraindicated in pregnancy: Contraindicated in pregnancy — it moves blood and opens the menses. After delivery, by contrast, it is one of the herbs most commonly used.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only
References
- 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.