Chinese Herbalism
Round cardamom
Wurfbainia compacta
Also known as Java cardamom, Siam cardamom, white cardamom (trade), Chinese white cardamom, bai dou kou, bái dòu kòu, dòu kòu, dòu kòu ké.
Round cardamom is a ginger-family perennial of the rainforests of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, and the Java cardamom of Indonesia, with clustered creamy-white capsules that ripen close to the ground. The ripe fruit is dried; the seeds inside carry a sharp, camphoraceous fragrance rich in 1,8-cineole. In Chinese medicine it is one of the aromatic herbs that transform dampness, lighter and more upward-moving than black cardamom, and the classical choice for damp fullness in the chest and stomach with nausea.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Abdominal and epigastric distension from damp obstruction
- Poor appetite with a greasy tongue coating
- Nausea and vomiting from cold in the Stomach
- Morning sickness with a cold, damp picture (in formula, low dose)
- Belching, bloating and a sense of stuffiness in the chest
- Early-stage damp-warmth febrile disease with a heavy body and chest oppression
- Damp obstruction in the upper and middle burner with a thick white coat
- Loss of taste and heaviness after a damp, humid climate
- Chronic gastritis with a bloated, cold Stomach
- Diarrhea from cold-damp with poor appetite
Specific indications
Distension under the ribs and across the upper abdomen with a thick, white, greasy coat and no appetite, where the aroma of the seed opens what magnolia bark and atractylodes are drying
Vomiting that follows eating in a person who feels chilled and is soothed by warmth, especially with a stuffy chest and a slippery pulse
The first days of a damp-heat fever in a humid season, with heaviness, a bland taste and chest oppression, where a small dose helps open the upper burner alongside apricot seed and coix
Safety
The record lists 7 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
Bai dou kou is the aromatic that opens the upper part of the digestive tract. Think of it when the patient describes a stuffy chest, no appetite, nausea and a thick white tongue coat: the aroma lifts and moves while heavier herbs dry.
In Chinese medicine
Temperature: warm. Taste: acrid. Channels: Lung, Spleen, Stomach. Actions: Aromatically transforms dampness and awakens the Spleen; Moves qi in the middle burner and relieves fullness and distension; Warms the middle and stops vomiting from cold in the Stomach; Opens the upper burner and lightly disperses damp-warmth at the onset of a damp-heat febrile illness; Stimulates appetite when dampness has dulled it.
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Decoction (pharmacopoeial range) | 3-6 g crushed fruit daily, added in the last few minutes | 3000-6000 mg |
| Powder | 1-2 g crushed seed two to three times daily, swallowed with warm water | 1000-2000 mg |
| Granules (5:1 concentrate) | 0.5-1 g two to three times daily | 500-1000 mg |
| Tincture (1:5, 60%) | 1-2 mL three times daily | 1-2 mL |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Round cardamom is a ginger-family perennial of the rainforests of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, and the Java cardamom of Indonesia, with clustered creamy-white capsules that ripen close to the ground. The ripe fruit is dried; the seeds inside carry a sharp, camphoraceous fragrance rich in 1,8-cineole. In Chinese medicine it is one of the aromatic herbs that transform dampness, lighter and more upward-moving than black cardamom, and the classical choice for damp fullness in the chest and stomach with nausea.
Clinical Notes. Bai dou kou is the aromatic that opens the upper part of the digestive tract. Think of it when the patient describes a stuffy chest, no appetite, nausea and a thick white tongue coat: the aroma lifts and moves while heavier herbs dry.
Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: warm. Taste: acrid. Channels: Lung, Spleen, Stomach. Actions: Aromatically transforms dampness and awakens the Spleen; Moves qi in the middle burner and relieves fullness and distension; Warms the middle and stops vomiting from cold in the Stomach; Opens the upper burner and lightly disperses damp-warmth at the onset of a damp-heat febrile illness; Stimulates appetite when dampness has dulled it.
In formulas
Round cardamom stands in 33 documented formulas in the library, among them xiãng shã yǎng wèi tàng, hui chùn dàn, gàn lù xião dú dàn, gé hua jiẽ chéng sǎn, sàn rén tàng, huo pò xia líng tāng.
Often paired with
PinelliaPinellia ternata
Sichuan fritillaryFritillaria cirrhosa
tangerineCitrus reticulata
costusSaussurea costus
Chinese skullcapScutellaria baicalensis
Magnolia BarkMagnolia officinalisNearby on the shelf
RoselleHibiscus sabdariffa
RosemaryRosmarinus officinalis
RoserootRhodiola rosea
Rosin weedSilphium laciniatum
Round-headed bush cloverLespedeza capitata
Round-leaved cornelCornus circinata
Royal fernOsmunda regalis
RudrakshaElaeocarpus ganitrusThe 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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