Chinese Herbalism
Capillary wormwood
Artemisia capillaris
Also known as yin-chen wormwood, yin chen hao, virgate wormwood (A. scoparia), redstem wormwood (A. scoparia), yīn chén hāo, yīn chén, mián yīn chén.
Yin chen hao is the dried aerial part of Artemisia capillaris or Artemisia scoparia, two closely related wormwoods of sandy riverbanks and coasts across China, Korea and Japan that the Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists under one drug name. The downy spring shoots, mian yin chen, are considered best; the autumn flowering tops are sold as hua yin chen. It is the leading herb for jaundice in Chinese medicine and the namesake of Yin Chen Hao Tang.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Jaundice of damp-heat type with bright yellow skin and eyes
- Jaundice of cold-damp type with dull yellow skin (with warming herbs)
- Acute and chronic hepatitis with damp-heat signs
- Cholecystitis and biliary sluggishness
- Neonatal jaundice (in formula, supervised)
- Damp-heat urinary difficulty with scanty dark urine
- Eczema and urticaria with damp-heat itching
- Fatty liver with a greasy yellow tongue coat
- Summer-heat with dampness, nausea and heaviness
- Gallstones with damp-heat (supportive)
Specific indications
Yellow sclerae, dark tea-colored urine, bitter taste and a greasy yellow tongue coat with a slippery rapid pulse.
Dull, smoky yellow skin with cold limbs, loose stools and fatigue: yin jaundice calling for yin chen with fu zi and gan jiang.
Itchy weeping skin eruptions in a hot, damp patient, used as both decoction and wash.
Safety
The record lists 6 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
Yin chen is the first herb to consider whenever jaundice is on the table, and its usefulness depends on reading the pattern. Bright yang jaundice with heat and constipation calls for Yin Chen Hao Tang, where zhi zi and da huang help purge damp-heat through the bowels.
In Chinese medicine
Temperature: slightly cold. Taste: bitter, acrid. Channels: Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder. Actions: Clears damp-heat from the Liver and Gallbladder and relieves jaundice; Promotes urination to drain dampness; Relieves damp-heat itching of the skin; Cools and disperses summer-heat and dampness (mild).
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Decoction | 6-15 g dried aerial parts daily | 6000-15000 mg |
| Decoction (heavy damp-heat jaundice) | 15-30 g dried aerial parts daily for short courses | 15000-30000 mg |
| External wash | strong decoction of 30-60 g applied to itching skin as needed | 30000-60000 mg |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Yin chen hao is the dried aerial part of Artemisia capillaris or Artemisia scoparia, two closely related wormwoods of sandy riverbanks and coasts across China, Korea and Japan that the Chinese Pharmacopoeia lists under one drug name. The downy spring shoots, mian yin chen, are considered best; the autumn flowering tops are sold as hua yin chen. It is the leading herb for jaundice in Chinese medicine and the namesake of Yin Chen Hao Tang.
Clinical Notes. Yin chen is the first herb to consider whenever jaundice is on the table, and its usefulness depends on reading the pattern. Bright yang jaundice with heat and constipation calls for Yin Chen Hao Tang, where zhi zi and da huang help purge damp-heat through the bowels.
Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: slightly cold. Taste: bitter, acrid. Channels: Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder. Actions: Clears damp-heat from the Liver and Gallbladder and relieves jaundice; Promotes urination to drain dampness; Relieves damp-heat itching of the skin; Cools and disperses summer-heat and dampness (mild).
In formulas
Capillary wormwood stands in 42 documented formulas in the library, among them gǎn lù yìn, thèn gàn xì fêng tāng, gàn lù xião dú dàn, dàng guì niãn tòng tàng, yin chén sì nì tàng, yin chén thú fù táng.
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CarobCeratonia siliqua
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