Chinese Herbalism
Houttuynia
Houttuynia cordata
Also known as fish mint, fish wort, fish leaf, heartleaf, chameleon plant, rainbow plant, Chinese lizard tail, yu xing cao, yú xīng cǎo, shí yào.
Yu xing cao is the fresh or dried aerial parts of Houttuynia cordata, a low, creeping, heart-leaved perennial of damp shady ground across East and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, named for the raw fish smell of its crushed leaves. It is eaten as a vegetable in southwest China and Vietnam and is one of the principal lung heat-clearing herbs of Chinese medicine, prized for purulent lung infections and hot urinary and skin conditions. In Japan it is dokudami, a household tea.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Lung abscess with foul purulent sputum
- Pneumonia and bronchitis with lung heat and thick yellow phlegm
- Acute upper respiratory infection with fever and sore throat
- Chronic sinusitis with purulent discharge
- Damp-heat urinary tract infection with burning and frequency
- Damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery
- Boils, carbuncles and infected skin lesions (internal and topical)
- Eczema, tinea and anal fistula as a wash
- Leukorrhea from damp-heat
- Allergic rhinitis and asthma with heat signs (traditional and preclinical)
- Edema with heat signs
Specific indications
A productive cough with foul-smelling, thick yellow or blood-flecked sputum, chest pain and fever, the classic picture of lung abscess or a resolving pneumonia
Burning, frequent urination with a yellow tongue coat in an otherwise robust patient
Hot, weeping skin infections where an internal decoction and a cooled wash can be used together
Safety
The record lists 9 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
This is the herb for hot, purulent infection, above all in the lung. For lung abscess and pneumonia with foul sputum, pair it with jie geng, lu gen, dong gua ren and yi yi ren; for lung heat cough with yellow phlegm, with huang qin and zhe bei mu; for hot urinary dribbling, with bai mao gen and che qian zi; and for hot diarrhea, with huang lian and ma chi xian.
In Chinese medicine
Temperature: slightly cold. Taste: acrid. Channels: Lung. Actions: Clears heat and resolves toxin, with a special affinity for the lung; Reduces swellings and expels pus from abscesses; Promotes urination and relieves painful, hot urinary dribbling; Drains damp-heat from the lower burner and skin.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Decoction (dried herb, added late) | 15-25 g dried herb daily in decoction, added in the last 5-10 minutes | 15000-25000 mg |
| Decoction (fresh herb) | 30-60 g fresh herb daily, briefly simmered or steeped | 30000-60000 mg |
| Tincture (1:5, 45%) | 2-5 mL three times daily | 2-5 mL |
| Topical wash | 30-60 g decocted in 500 mL water, cooled, applied as a wash or compress twice daily | 30000-60000 mg |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Yu xing cao is the fresh or dried aerial parts of Houttuynia cordata, a low, creeping, heart-leaved perennial of damp shady ground across East and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, named for the raw fish smell of its crushed leaves. It is eaten as a vegetable in southwest China and Vietnam and is one of the principal lung heat-clearing herbs of Chinese medicine, prized for purulent lung infections and hot urinary and skin conditions. In Japan it is dokudami, a household tea.
Clinical Notes. This is the herb for hot, purulent infection, above all in the lung. For lung abscess and pneumonia with foul sputum, pair it with jie geng, lu gen, dong gua ren and yi yi ren; for lung heat cough with yellow phlegm, with huang qin and zhe bei mu; for hot urinary dribbling, with bai mao gen and che qian zi; and for hot diarrhea, with huang lian and ma chi xian.
Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: slightly cold. Taste: acrid. Channels: Lung. Actions: Clears heat and resolves toxin, with a special affinity for the lung; Reduces swellings and expels pus from abscesses; Promotes urination and relieves painful, hot urinary dribbling; Drains damp-heat from the lower burner and skin.
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