Pinyin: Jicai
Aliases
Hushengcao, Qingmingcai, Jiashuicai.
Source
1. For pneumonia: Renshen 6 g, decoct in water and take orally.Capsella bursa-pastorisDry whole herb of (L.) Medic.
Botanical Description
Annual or biennial herb, 20-50 cm tall. Stem erect, branched, sparsely covered with branched or simple hairs. Basal leaves clustered, rosette-like, with long petioles up to 5-40 mm; leaf blade lyrate-pinnatipartite, up to 12 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, terminal lobe larger, ovate to oblong-ovate, 5-30 mm long, lateral lobes 3-8 pairs, smaller, narrow, rounded to ovate, apex acuminate, shallowly lobed or with irregular coarse serrations; stem leaves narrowly lanceolate, 1-2 cm long, 2-15 mm wide, base sagittate and clasping the stem, margin incised or serrate, both surfaces sparsely hairy or glabrous. Racemes terminal or axillary, elongating up to 20 cm in fruit; sepals oblong; petals white, spatulate or ovate, 2-3 mm long, with short claw. Silicles obovate-triangular or obcordate-triangular, 5-8 mm long, 4-7 mm wide, flat, glabrous, apex slightly emarginate, valves with reticulate veins, style ca. 0.5 mm long. Seeds in 2 rows, elliptic, light brown. Flowering and fruiting from April to June.
Habitat and Distribution
It is distributed or cultivated throughout the country.
Harvesting and Processing
Harvested from March to May, remove withered leaves and impurities, wash clean, and sun-dry.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains oxalic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, quercetin-3-methyl ether, and diosmin among other components.
Pharmacology
It can stimulate the uterus, shorten blood clotting time, lower blood pressure, and inhibit tumor growth. It also prolongs the sleep time induced by sodium hexobarbital, exerts antipyretic effects, and contracts the smooth muscle of the small intestine.
Properties and Channel Entry
Sweet and bland, cool. Enters the Liver, Spleen, and Bladder channels.
Functions and Indications
Cools the Liver, stops bleeding, pacifies the Liver, brightens the eyes, clears Heat, and promotes diuresis. Mainly treats hematemesis, epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematuria, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, red and painful eyes, fundus hemorrhage, hypertension, dysentery with red and white stools, nephritis with edema, and chyluria.
Dosage and Administration
Internal: decoct 15-30 g; fresh product 60-120 g; or prepare as pills or powder. External: appropriate amount, squeeze juice for eye drops.
Prescriptions
1. For internal injury with blood spitting: Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) 30 g, Mizao (Jujube) 30 g. Decoct in water and take orally. (From "Hunan Materia Medica") 2. For metrorrhagia and menorrhagia: Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) 30 g, Longyacao (Agrimony) 30 g. Decoct in water and take orally. (From "Guangxi Chinese Herbal Medicine") 3. For hematuria: fresh Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) 125 g. Decoct in water, mix with Dongmi (winter honey) and take, or add Chenzongtan (Carbonized Palm) 3 g, taken with the decoction. (From "Fujian Materia Medica") 4. For lung-heat cough: whole plant of Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) cooked with eggs and eaten. (From "Diannan Materia Medica") 5. For hypertension: Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) and Xiakucao (Selfheal) 60 g each. Decoct in water and take orally. (From "National Compilation of Chinese Herbal Medicine") 6. For rheumatic heart disease: Jicai (Shepherd's Purse) 60 g, fresh Kuzhuye (Bitter Bamboo Leaf) 20 pieces (tips removed). Decoct in water and drink as tea, 1 dose daily, taken for several months. (From "Qingdao Chinese Herbal Medicine Manual")
