Pinyin: Zelan
Aliases
Hulan, Digua'er Miao, Shewang Cao.
Source
Lamiaceae plant Lycopus lucidus var. hirtus RegelLycopus lucidusTurcz.var.hirtusRegel's dried aerial parts.
Botanical Description
Perennial herb, up to 1.7 m tall. Rhizome creeping, cylindrical, multi-noded, with scales and fibrous roots at nodes. Stem erect, unbranched, quadrangular, with white upward stiff hairs on angles and dense stiff hairs at nodes. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, dark green, acuminate at both ends, upper surface densely covered with fine bristle-like stiff hairs, lower surface mainly with bristle-like stiff hairs on ribs and veins, margin sharply serrate with cilia. Verticillaster inflorescence many-flowered, axillary; bracteoles ovate-lanceolate, apex spinose, shorter than or nearly equal to calyx, pubescent; calyx campanulate, about 4 mm long, glabrous on both sides, 4-6-lobed, lobes narrowly triangular, apex awned; corolla campanulate, white, 4.5-5 mm long, glabrous externally, with yellow shiny glands; anterior pair of fertile stamens 2, exceeding corolla, anther cells slightly divergent, posterior pair of stamens reduced. Ovary oblong, 4-lobed deeply, seated on disc, style exserted beyond corolla, glabrous, stigma 2-lobed unequal, flat. Nutlets flat, obovate-trigonous, 1-1.5 mm long, dark brown. Flowering June to September, fruiting August to October.
Habitat and Distribution
Grows in marshes, watersides, and other moist areas below an altitude of 2100 m. Also cultivated. Distributed throughout most of China.
Harvesting and Processing
Harvested in summer and autumn when the stems and leaves are lush, cut and dried in the sun.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains ursolic acid, glucose, lycoperdon sugar, laccol, betulinic acid, and other components.
Pharmacology
Has the effect of improving microcirculatory disorders, inhibiting blood coagulation, and exerting a cardiotonic action.
Properties and Channel Entry
Bitter, acrid, and slightly warm. Enters the Liver and Spleen channels.
Functions and Indications
Activates Blood and regulates menstruation, dispels stasis and reduces abscesses, promotes urination and alleviates edema. Used for irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, postpartum Blood stasis with abdominal pain, abscesses and toxic swellings, and edema with ascites.
Dosage and Administration
Oral: decoct in water, 6-12 g, or made into pills or powder. External use: appropriate amount, crush fresh product for topical application, or decoct in water for fumigation and washing.
Precautions and Contraindications
Use with caution in patients without blood stasis or blood deficiency.
Prescriptions
1. For amenorrhea with abdominal pain: 9 g each of Lycopus lucidus and Smilax china, 15 g each of Verbena officinalis and Leonurus japonicus, 3 g of Achyranthes bidentata. Decoct and take together. (Zhejiang Folk Herbal Medicine) 2. For postpartum blood deficiency, wind edema, and edema: Equal parts of Lycopus lucidus leaf and Stephania tetrandra. Grind into powder, take 6 g each time, adjust with warm wine. For those who cannot drink alcohol, adjust with vinegar water instead. (Furen Liangfang, quoting Zhang's formula) 3. For edema: 30 g each of Lycopus lucidus and Centella asiatica, 25 g of Emilia sonchifolia. Decoct in water and take. (Fujian Materia Medica) 4. For postpartum vaginal inversion (dryness and heat of the vagina causing inversion): 120 g of Lycopus lucidus. Decoct the liquid and use for fumigation and washing 2-3 times, then add alum and decoct again for washing. (Binhu Ji Jianfang) 5. For early-stage sores and traumatic bruising: Lycopus lucidus, pound and apply topically, effective. (Binhu Ji Jianfang) 6. For all early-stage breast abscesses: 30 g of Lycopus lucidus, 9 g of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride, 15 g of Bletilla striata, thirty leaves of Citrus reticulata. Decoct in half a cup of water, add half a cup of wine. Take orally, and it will resolve immediately. (Xian Nian Ji, Ze Lan Jian) 7. For deep-rooted carbuncles on the back: 60-120 g of whole Lycopus lucidus plant, decoct and take; also take a handful of leaves, mix with winter honey, pound into a paste, and apply topically, changing twice daily. (Fujian Folk Herbal Medicine) 8. For snake bites: 60-120 g of whole Lycopus lucidus plant, add an appropriate amount of water, decoct and take; also take a handful of leaves, pound, and apply to the wound. (Fujian Folk Herbal Medicine)
