Botanical Name: Stellaria dichotoma L. var.
lanceolata Bge.
Common Name : Stellaria root
Source of Earliest Record : Bencao Gangmu
Shiyi
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical
Preparations : The roots are dug in autumn
or the Beginning of Spring (first solar term).
After the fibrous roots are removed, the roots
are cleaned in water, dried in the sun and
cut into slices.
Properties & Taste : Sweet and slightly
cold
Meridians : Liver and stomach
Functions:
1. To reduce heat caused by deficient yin;
2. To clear heat in infants caused by malnutrition
Indications & Combinations:
1. Heat signs due to deficiency of yin manifested
as afternoon fever and night sweating. Stellaria
root (Yinchaihu) is used with Sweet wormwood
(Qinghao), Turtle shell (Biejia) and Wolfberry
bark (Digupi) in the formula Qinggu San.
2. Infantile malnutrition manifested as swollen
abdomen and emaciation. Stellaria root (Yinchaihu)
is used with Capejasmine (Zhizi), Pilose asiabell
root (Dangshen) and Scutellaria root (Huangqin)
in the formula Chaihu Qinggan Tang.
Dosage: 3-10 g
Cautions & Contraindications:
This herb is contraindicated in fever due
to invasion by exogenous pathogenic wind and
cold, or in cases with deficient blood syndrome
but no signs of heat.
