Chinese Herbalism
Gou teng
Uncaria rhynchophylla
Also known as Chinese cat's claw, hook vine, uncaria hook, gambir vine, gōu téng, diào gōu téng.
Gou teng is the hook-bearing stem of Uncaria rhynchophylla, a woody climber of the coffee family native to southern China, Taiwan, Vietnam and southern Japan, where it scrambles through subtropical forest and holds on with paired curved hooks at the leaf nodes. The Chinese pharmacopoeia accepts this species and four relatives (Uncaria macrophylla, U. hirsuta, U. sinensis and U. sessilifructus), and the drug is cut into short lengths of twig carrying one or two hooks. It has been a principal wind-extinguishing herb since the Tang period, chiefly for convulsions in children and for headache and dizziness from rising liver yang. It is not the South American cat's claw, Uncaria tomentosa, a different species with different chemistry and a different medical tradition.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Hypertension with headache and dizziness (adjunct)
- Liver yang rising headache with red face and irritability
- Vertigo of liver wind or liver heat
- Febrile convulsions in children
- Night terrors and fright crying in infants
- Epilepsy and seizure disorders (adjunct)
- Tremor and muscle twitching
- Agitation, irritability and insomnia with liver heat
- Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (in formula)
- Eclampsia and pregnancy hypertension (in formula, supervised)
- Common cold with fever and restlessness in children
- Tic disorders
Specific indications
Throbbing temporal headache with dizziness, flushed face, irritability and a wiry rapid pulse in a hypertensive patient
A feverish child who is restless, twitching and startles easily, at risk of a febrile convulsion
Elderly patient with dementia who is agitated, aggressive and sleepless at night, treated in a formula built around this hook and bupleurum
Safety
The record lists 6 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
Reach for gou teng when there is heat with movement: shaking, twitching, throbbing, spasm, or a rising restless quality in the head. In hypertension with liver yang signs it anchors Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin alongside gastrodia (tian ma), abalone shell, gardenia, scutellaria and eucommia, still one of the most prescribed antihypertensive formulas in Chinese hospitals.
In Chinese medicine
Temperature: cool. Taste: sweet. Channels: Liver, Pericardium. Actions: Extinguishes internal wind and stops tremor, spasm and convulsion; Clears heat and settles fright, especially in children; Pacifies the liver and subdues ascending liver yang.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Decoction (add in last 10-20 minutes) | 3-12 g dried hooks and stem daily | 3000-12000 mg |
| Decoction, hypertension (monitored) | 15-30 g dried hooks and stem daily | 15000-30000 mg |
| Concentrated granules | 2-4 g granules twice daily | 2000-4000 mg |
| Tincture (1:5, 25%) | 2-4 mL three times daily | 2-4 mL |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Gou teng is the hook-bearing stem of Uncaria rhynchophylla, a woody climber of the coffee family native to southern China, Taiwan, Vietnam and southern Japan, where it scrambles through subtropical forest and holds on with paired curved hooks at the leaf nodes.
Clinical Notes. Reach for gou teng when there is heat with movement: shaking, twitching, throbbing, spasm, or a rising restless quality in the head. In hypertension with liver yang signs it anchors Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin alongside gastrodia (tian ma), abalone shell, gardenia, scutellaria and eucommia, still one of the most prescribed antihypertensive formulas in Chinese hospitals.
Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: cool. Taste: sweet. Channels: Liver, Pericardium. Actions: Extinguishes internal wind and stops tremor, spasm and convulsion; Clears heat and settles fright, especially in children; Pacifies the liver and subdues ascending liver yang.
In formulas
Gou teng stands in 31 documented formulas in the library, among them hui chùn dàn, líng jiao gòu téng tâng, gõu téng yin, tiàn má gòu tếng yìn, yi gǎn san, gi wù jiàng xia tàng.
Often paired with
PoriaWolfiporia extensa
Licorice rootGlycyrrhiza glabra
punting-pole bambooBambusa tuldoides
Sichuan fritillaryFritillaria cirrhosa
gastrodiaGastrodia elata
tangerineCitrus reticulataNearby on the shelf
GoldenrodSolidago spp.
GoldensealHydrastis canadensis
GoldthreadCoptis trifolia
Gotu kolaCentella asiatica
Grains of ParadiseAframomum melegueta
GrapeVitis vinifera
GrapefruitCitrus x paradisi
Grass-leaf sweet flagAcorus gramineusThe whole plate is in the library. The compass, Compare, the Sky of eleven hundred plants and the formulary open with an email address and a password, free, with the formula builder and its safety engine. Herbert without limit, his formulating, clients, the handouts and the labels are the paid room.
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