Dodder Seed is the dried mature fruit of the Chinese Taxillus Herb, a vine plant of the Convolvulaceae family. It is widely distributed in most regions of China. The original plant prefers to grow on the edges of fields, roadsides, wastelands, and thickets; in the south, Dodder Seed Chinese Taxillus Herb is found on legumes, Artemisia of the Asteraceae family, and European Verbena Herb of the Vitex genus on the edges of fields and roadsides; Jin Deng Teng Chinese Taxillus Herb grows on herbs or shrubs. It thrives in warm and humid climates and is not demanding on soil. It has a sweet taste and a warm nature. It belongs to the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians. Its effects include tonifying yang, benefiting yin, securing essence and reducing urination, improving vision, and stopping diarrhea. Clinical names include Dodder Seed and Tu Si Bing.
bubble_chart Compendium of Materia Medica
Shennong Bencao Jing: It has a pungent taste and is neutral. It primarily heals injuries, supplements deficiencies, tonifies qi, and strengthens the body. Its juice removes facial blemishes.
Mingyi Bielu: It has a sweet taste and is non-toxic. It primarily nourishes muscles, strengthens yin, and fortifies bones and tendons. It treats cold in the middle of the stem, spontaneous emission of essence, residual dripping of urine, bitter mouth, dry thirst, and accumulation of cold blood.
Yaoxing Lun: It is a sovereign herb. It can treat cold deficiency in both men and women, enhance essence and marrow, and relieve lumbago and knee cold. It also treats consumptive thirst and heat in the middle.
Rihuazi Bencao: It supplements five strains and seven injuries, treats ghostly intercourse and seminal emission, hematuria, and moistens the heart and lungs.
Kaibao Bencao: It has a pungent and sweet taste, is neutral, and non-toxic. It nourishes muscles, strengthens yin, and fortifies bones and tendons. It treats cold in the middle of the stem, spontaneous emission of essence, residual dripping of urine, bitter mouth, dry thirst, and accumulation of cold blood.Bencao Tujing: Baopuzi Take one dou of the fruit, soak it in one dou of wine, dry it in the sun, soak it again, and repeat until the wine is exhausted. Then grind and sieve it. Take two qian with wine twice a day. This medicine treats waist and knee pain, dispels wind, and improves vision. Long-term use makes the skin radiant and turns old age into youth. After ten days, eating and drinking will feel like pouring hot water on snow.
Bencao Jingshu: Dodder Seed is a sovereign herb, born with the qi of late spring and early summer, formed by the earth's rushing qi, and matured with the qi of autumn. Therefore, Benjing states that it has a pungent and neutral taste, Bielu adds that it is sweet, which aligns with Leigong's statement that it is formed by the harmonious and concentrated yang qi, clearly indicating its non-toxicity. Among the five flavors, only pungent can penetrate the four properties and also encompass the four tastes. The classic says: the kidney suffers from dryness, urgently consume pungent to moisten it, and Dodder Seed is such a herb. Its pungent nature is entirely different from the pungent dryness-heat of other herbs, and scholars should not mistake the meaning. It is an essential herb for supplementing the spleen, kidney, and liver meridians. It primarily heals injuries, supplements deficiencies, tonifies qi, and strengthens the body. When these three meridians are strong, injuries are healed and deficiencies are supplemented. The spleen controls blood, combines with muscles, and governs the limbs. When the qi of the stomach and spleen meridians is abundant, strength increases and muscles become strong. Supplementing the spleen nourishes muscles, benefiting the liver and kidney strengthens yin and fortifies bones and tendons. Its warmth can tonify the yang qi of the kidney, thus treating cold in the middle of the stem, spontaneous emission of essence, and residual dripping of urine. Bitter mouth and dry thirst are due to spleen and kidney deficiency generating internal heat, leading to insufficient body fluids. Supplementing these two organs naturally cures these ailments. Accumulation of cold blood is due to overwork causing blood stasis, and yang qi exhaustion causing internal cold. Blood follows qi, and weak qi cannot control blood flow, leading to accumulation over time. All overwork injuries are governed by the spleen, kidney, and liver. When the liver and spleen qi are strong, static blood flows naturally. Long-term use improves vision, lightens the body, and prolongs life. The eyes can see when they receive blood, the liver governs the eyes, the pupil's divine light belongs to the kidney, and when the liver and kidney are strong, the eyes are bright. When the organs are strong and essence is full, the body becomes light, and longevity is assured.
Contraindications: Those with excessive fire in the kidney and strong yang without impotence should avoid it. Those with dry stool accumulation should also avoid it.Bencao Mengquan: It has a pungent and sweet taste, and a neutral qi. It is non-toxic. It tonifies qi, strengthens the body, supplements marrow, and enhances essence. It is suitable for frequent use in cases of cold knees and back pain due to deficiency and cold; ghostly intercourse and nocturnal emission should not be avoided. It fattens and strengthens muscles and fortifies bones and tendons. Long-term use improves vision and prolongs life. A decoction of its stems and leaves can be used to bathe children. It resolves heat toxin rashes and disperses itchy smallpox.
《Materia Medica Cheng Ya》: Ginseng and Cuscuta are associated with the rabbit, as their natures are similar. They consume the essence of the moon to achieve longevity. Yin is the body, and Yang is the function. Leigong states that by embodying harmony, one can solidify the Qi of true Yang and attain its nature. Neijing says: Yang is the envoy of Yin on the outside; Yin is the guardian of Yang on the inside. The mechanism of mutual interaction is uniquely possessed by Cuscuta. If there is no Yin inside, how can such a delicate substance receive Qi to grow? It truly grasps the pivot of Yin-Yang inside and out, thus it governs the deficiency of Yin-Yang Qi, addresses severe injuries, and its power to tonify Qi results in muscles becoming as one, forming a robust and healthy person. Bielu governs strengthening Yin, which means Yang has no internal guardian. Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang governs the instability of true Yin, which means Yin has no external envoy. It further governs the non-interaction between the heart and kidney, assisted by Poria and Lotus Seed, indicating that although Cuscuta has the mechanism of internal and external purgation, its specialized essence is closely related to the external and upper parts. Poria, with its essential Qi revolving and lying at the heel, is closely related to the internal and lower parts. Furthermore, by borrowing the fullness of the Lotus Seed's Kan, it fills the empty position in Li, so that the internal, external, upper, lower, and middle parts each have their support. Assisted by Scrophularia Root, it subtly eliminates pox toxins. The formula is named Xuan Tu, as pox is the toxin received at conception, contained within the utmost Yin, relying on the mysterious end of Scrophularia Root to tease out the beginnings from the midst of the utmost Yin at midnight, interacting with the Yin envoy of Cuscuta's external Yang, silently nurturing, the internal guardian Yin becomes pure without seeking purity. The external Yang rises lightly without seeking to rise. It only requires the internal, external, upper, and lower parts, not necessarily the pivot in the middle. As for the meeting of heart and kidney in Magnetic Cinnabar, it also involves the internal, external, upper, middle, and purgation mechanisms. Cinnabar above fire, magnet below water, without Medicated Leaven as the pivot in the middle, the upper and lower cannot interact. Leaven is the wheat of the liver's grain, but wood floats with water, and the liver sinks with water. First, half-raw leaven, using corrigent to purge water, then half-cooked leaven, sinking then floating, as the liver floats when cooked, still following the wood phase. Thus, the upper purgation interaction entirely relies on the mutual assistance of the central pivot. Therefore, the upper, lower, and middle parts each have their specialization. It all lies in careful consideration and meticulous examination, to infer ten from one, and a hundred from ten. Generally, the mechanism of disease does not depart from ascent and descent, ascent and descent do not depart from upper and lower, upper and lower do not depart from opening and closing, opening and closing do not depart from Yin-Yang, Yin-Yang do not depart from internal and external, their names may differ, but they all return to one origin. The scripture says Yin inside is Yang's guardian, Yang outside is Yin's envoy, to comprehend the origin of Yin-Yang, then upper, lower, internal, external, left, right, front, back, all can be concluded in one word.
《Medicinal property explanation》: Dodder Seed, sweet and pungent in taste, neutral in nature, non-toxic, enters the kidney meridian. Mainly treats kidney deficiency and cold essence in men, cold pain in the waist and knees, cold in the middle of the stem, spontaneous emission of essence, residual dripping after urination, ghostly intercourse and seminal leakage. Long-term use strengthens yin and bones, preserves youth, improves vision, lightens the body, and promotes fertility. Chinese Yam and rosin are its adjuvants.Note: Leigong says that Dodder Seed inherits a balanced and concentrated yang qi, thus it is used to supplement Shaoyang, warming without dryness, and does not promote ministerial fire. It is a most harmonious and excellent remedy, suitable for regular use.
Jingyue Quanshu : Sweet and pungent in taste, slightly warm in qi. Its nature is consolidating, enters the liver, spleen, and kidney meridians. First, wash the stems clean, soak until swollen, then soak in wine, cook until done, dry in the sun, and stir-fry for better effect. It replenishes marrow and essence, aids yang and consolidates leakage, heals severe injuries, nourishes consumptive thirst, reduces urination, stops nocturnal emission and turbid dripping, warms the waist and knees from cold pain, strengthens qi and bones, improves vision, stimulates appetite, promotes muscle growth, prevents ghostly intercourse, and especially calms dreams. Decoction, pills, or powder can be used as desired. The ancients did not use it in decoction, also a package. To stop consumptive thirst, decoct and drink freely.
Bencao Beiyao : Neutral, supplements the three yin.
Sweet, pungent, and harmonious, concentrates the qi of true yang, enters the three yin meridians of the foot: spleen, liver, and kidney. Strengthens yin and benefits essence, warming without dryness, does not promote ministerial fire. Treats five strains and seven injuries, cold essence and dripping, bitter mouth and dry thirst. Spleen deficiency and kidney dryness produce wind-heat, Dodder Seed benefits yin and clears heat. Dispels wind and improves vision, supplements defense qi, aids tendons and vessels, tonifies qi and strength, fattens and strengthens the body. The effect of tonifying the liver and kidney. "Laoxue'an Notes": My younger cousin took Dodder Seed for several years, his diet doubled, blood and qi were abundant, suddenly he saw a swelling on his back while bathing, which grew rapidly, forming a large ulcer. Just as Lonicera was blooming, he drank several pounds, and the swelling subsided. Overdosing on Dodder Seed can still cause ulcers, hence the caution against mineral medicines. Wang Ang notes: This person might have been affected by other toxins, not entirely blaming Dodder Seed. Chinese Yam is its adjuvant.
Benjing Fengyuan : Dodder Seed dispels wind and improves vision, a medicine for liver and kidney qi. Its nature is pungent and warm, sticky in texture, similar to Eucommia Bark in strengthening tendons and warming the waist and knees. Among the five flavors, only pungent penetrates the four properties, also combining the four flavors. The "Classic" says the kidney suffers from dryness, urgently eat pungent to moisten it, Dodder Seed and Schisandra Fruit are such, differing from the bitter of pungent fragrance and dryness-heat, this is an essential medicine for the spleen, kidney, and liver meridians.
Benjing says it heals severe injuries, supplements deficiencies, tonifies qi and strength, fattens and strengthens the body: the three meridians are all solid, severe injuries heal, deficiencies are supplemented, qi and strength grow, making one fat and strong. Its function specializes in benefiting essence and marrow, strengthening bones and tendons, stopping leakage, treating cold stem and essence leakage, residual dripping after urination, relieving soreness and weakness in the knees and shins, liver and kidney qi deficiency in the elderly, cold waist and knees, used with Psoralea and Eucommia Bark, all meridian membranes belong to the liver. Qi deficiency and pupil without spirit, use Ophiopogon Tuber as adjuvant, honeyed pill is effective. Do not use for priapism, dry stool accumulation, and red, astringent urine, as its nature tends to aid yang.
Bencao Chongyuan : All plant seeds can sprout after receiving the cool and moist qi of water. Dodder Seed, receiving the hot qi of boiling water, sprouts silk buds, as it inherits pure yin nature, sprouting with heat qi. Its qi is pungent and sweet, following the qi transformation of the hand and foot Taiyin of heaven and earth, in the air of Chinese Taxillus Herb, silk stems twine, thus it heals severe injuries.
Bencao Qiuzhen : [Comment] Warms the kidney and supplements the liver, stops leakage and consolidates collapse.
Dodder Seed specifically enters the liver and kidney, also the spleen. Pungent, sweet, warm, and neutral, sticky in texture, warming without dryness, supplementing without stagnation, receiving the harmonious qi of heaven and earth. Thus, it is said to replenish marrow and essence, strengthen tendons and bones, stop leakage and consolidate collapse, warm the waist and knees, improve vision and dispel wind, as blood is supplemented, wind is dispelled. It is an essential remedy for supplementing liver, kidney, and spleen qi. Used with Psoralea and Eucommia Bark, it is most appropriate. But Eucommia Bark and Psoralea are pungent and warm in qi, their nature tends downward, unlike Dodder Seed which is sweet and neutral, not heavily descending. "Laoxue'an Notes" says: My cousin took Dodder Seed and developed an ulcer, Wang Ang argued it might be due to other toxins, not entirely blaming Dodder Seed. If taken and priapism, dry stool accumulation, and red, astringent urine occur, it is due to its nature of supplementation. But Dodder Seed is most difficult to obtain genuine, sellers use water rhinoceros grass seeds, which look very similar, most sold in pharmacies are this, yet taking it also has slight effects.
Depei Bencao : Best with wine. Chinese Yam and rosin are its adjuvants.
Pungent, sweet, neutral. Warm in nature. Enters the three yin meridians of the foot, blood aspect. Endowed with a harmonious qi, it consolidates the nature of true yang, warm but not dry. Benefits essence and marrow, strengthens bones and sinews. Treats nocturnal emissions, hematuria with residual dripping, red leucorrhea, turbidity, lower back pain, cold knees, dispels wind, improves vision, stops diarrhea, and secures essence.
Obtaining Scrophularia Root, it nourishes kidney yin without causing dryness. Paired with Prepared Rehmannia Root, it nourishes Yingqi without causing heat; paired with Ophiopogon Tuber, it treats red turbidity; paired with Nutmeg, it improves appetite. When the stomach is warm, it opens. Assisted by Sharpleaf Galangal Fruit, it warms defense qi; used with Plantain Seed, it treats transverse growth; mixed with egg white, it treats dim vision.
Rice washing water is used to wash, then soaked in wine for four to five days, steamed and sun-dried four to five times, ground into cakes, baked dry, and used to nourish kidney qi, stir-fried with light salt water; to warm the spleen and stomach, boiled with Solomonseal Rhizome juice; to warm the muscles, stir-fried with wine; to treat diarrhea, stir-fried with wine and rice.
Pregnant women, as it is slippery in nature. Menorrhagia, as warmth can move blood. Priapism, constipation, kidney fire, yin deficiency with moving fire, these six conditions are contraindicated.
This substance has no root, it grows by borrowing qi. For those with declining primordial essence, it is used to supplement, the so-called treating the false with the false. Only for those with cold in the middle of the stem and spontaneous emission of essence, using this warming and tonifying substance, the essence is nourished and stops by itself. If due to deficient fire causing leakage, taking it will make the water more unsettled, the more you supplement, the more it overflows.
Bencao Jing Jie: Dodder Seed has a neutral qi, inheriting the autumn metal qi of heaven, entering the hand Taiyin lung meridian; its taste is pungent and sweet, non-toxic, obtaining the two flavors of earth and metal, entering the foot Taiyin spleen meridian and the foot Yangming dry metal stomach meridian. The qi and taste ascend more than descend, it is yang.
Its main function is to continue and heal injuries, as the lung governs body fluids, the spleen controls blood, and the pungent and sweet can moisten, thus injuries are healed.
The lung governs qi, the spleen governs blood, the stomach is the root of the twelve meridians, with neutral qi and pungent sweet taste, it benefits both qi and blood, thus it supplements deficiencies.
Strength is obtained from heaven, filled by grains, the pungent and sweet benefit the spleen and stomach, thus appetite improves and strength is filled.
The spleen and stomach are earth, the pungent and sweet can moisten, moist earth naturally fattens the muscles.
Shennong Bencao Jingdu: Dodder is a lung medicine, but its use is in the kidney, not the lung, the seeds contain the most abundant fat, very similar to human essence, metal generates water. Its main function is to continue and heal injuries, as the fat in the seeds is like unbroken threads, beneficial for supplementation and continuation. Supplementing deficiencies, it takes the most abundant fat to fill the insufficient essence and blood, when essence and blood are sufficient, strength naturally increases, and health naturally improves.
Long-term use makes kidney water sufficient and vision clear, kidney qi strong and the body light. Hua Yuan-hua said, "The kidney is the root of life." Supplementing the kidney prolongs life.
Shennong Bencao Jing Hundred Records: Taste pungent, neutral. Mainly continues and heals injuries, as there are unbroken threads in the seeds, thus it can supplement and continue tendons and bones. Supplementing deficiencies, tonifying qi and strength, fattening and strengthening. Slippery and moist with fat, it naturally generates essence, tonifies qi, and grows muscles. The juice removes facial blemishes. Also due to its slippery and moistening effect. Long-term use improves vision, lightens the body, and prolongs life. Generating essence makes the eyes bright and strong, and life long.
Among seeds, none has as much fat as Dodder. Moreover, when fried, it becomes fragrant and moist but not slippery, thus it can tonify and replenish the liver and spleen.
All medicinal properties have their specialties, this lies between the explicable and inexplicable, even sages must test before knowing. Like Dodder Seed's ability to remove facial blemishes, it is one example. If it is due to its pungent dispersing nature, then there are many pungent dispersing medicines; if it is due to its slippery moistening nature, then there are many slippery moistening substances, why can't other medicines do it, but only Dodder can? It is because each living thing obtains a partial qi from heaven and earth, thus its nature has its own controlling principles. But what is apparent in form, substance, and taste can be speculated and known, what is deeply hidden in its nature cannot be sought by common reasoning. Therefore, the ancients had single and secret formulas, often using one or two medicines to treat a disease and achieve miraculous results. And when looking at the formula, it does not follow the classical formula's necessity of meridian and collateral odd and even matching principles, yet the effect is surprisingly fast, all due to the medicine's specialized ability. There are many such examples in medicine, which can be analogized.
Benjing Shuzheng: The rabbit has no male, it is a yin creature, yet it is as cunning as a monkey and as swift as a snake, thus its uses are all yang. The rabbit is a small creature, so all beasts that encounter it desire to make it their meal. If the rabbit cannot escape, it crouches and lies flat on the ground. When another beast approaches to seize it, it kicks with its hind legs, often injuring the other beast, and then the rabbit takes advantage of the kick to escape. This is its most powerful feature, deeply hidden in its heels, where all its yang energy is utilized. The root of the dodder plant is like its heel, forced by the strong yang of April, the yin of the earthworm also transforms into yang, spreading out like threads, without direction, much like its cunning and swiftness. By July, influenced by the initial yin, it forms a fruit, which contains nothing but dense, sticky threads, coiled within, much like its burrowing and hiding. Yin is the seed of yang, which transforms and spreads upon encountering yang; yang is the use of yin, which bends and returns to the root upon encountering yin. This is its ability to connect and transform the rootless floating qi into living yang to mate with yin, returning to the origin and essence, back to its lair, becoming the unmoving yang. Therefore, its treatment can be divided into four aspects: it does not transform without stimulation, which is the meaning of Bielu in treating bitter mouth and dry thirst; it does not spread without emptiness, which is the meaning of Benjing in mending severe injuries and supplementing deficiencies; it does not form without mating, which is the meaning of Benjing in improving vision, tonifying qi, and enhancing strength and health, Bielu in nourishing muscles, strengthening yin, and solidifying bones and tendons; it does not hide without encountering a lair, which is the meaning of Bielu in treating cold penis, spontaneous emission, excessive urination, and accumulation of cold blood. Upon encountering yang, it spreads, using spreading as its return; upon encountering yin, it bends, using bending as its release, like a circle without end, much like its threads forming a fruit, the fruit containing threads, thus making it a top-grade essential medicine. However, in cold-damage disease with four unfavorable pattern of flushed face and yang on top, and Poria with four unfavorable pattern of slight body heat, all are floating yang, why not use this to transform into living yang and make it return? The original qi of great harmony naturally has yin and yang oscillating to generate and transform, just as the pathogenic qi also has cold and heat to stimulate and chase, causing harm. How can they be spoken of in the same breath? Thus, how can the dodder, with its gentle and warm qi, break the harsh and severe yin and make the yang return?
Bencao Xinbian: Dodder Seed, pungent and sweet in taste, warm in nature, non-toxic. It is a medicinal herb that enters the heart, liver, and kidney meridians. It tonifies qi, strengthens yin, replenishes marrow, enhances essence, relieves pain in the waist and knees, calms the mind, stabilizes the soul, stops nocturnal emissions, strengthens tendons and bones, and improves vision. It can be used in large doses or as a single herb, a fact unknown to many, which I hereby reveal. For those with heart deficiency who frequently experience nocturnal emissions, use three taels of Dodder Seed, boil in ten bowls of water until reduced to three bowls, and take one bowl each in the morning, noon, and night. This will stop the emissions and prevent future occurrences. Why is this so? The condition of nocturnal emissions often arises from lustful thoughts. When such thoughts persist, they inevitably lead to the involuntary emission of essence. After the emission, if the thoughts continue, the heart fire is secretly consumed, and the ministerial fire takes advantage of the heart's deficiency, usurping the sovereign's authority. When the fire stirs, the water also stirs, and over time, this results in dreams and nocturnal emissions. Consequently, the jade gate does not close, and emissions occur even without dreams. This is a condition involving the heart, liver, and kidney meridians, caused by the deficiency of both water and fire. Dodder Seed is a supreme herb for tonifying the heart, liver, and kidneys, and when used alone, its efficacy is even more concentrated, allowing it to directly enter these three meridians and achieve complete effectiveness. For other conditions such as restless sleep, dim vision, and weak legs, one to two taels can be used. When combined with Ginseng, Prepared Rehmannia Root, White Atractylodes Rhizome, and Cornus, it often produces remarkable results. The ancients said it could stop lustful thoughts, but this is not entirely accurate.
Some may doubt that Dodder Seed, a rootless herb that relies on trees for growth, should be used in combination with other herbs for effectiveness, and not used alone. Ah, what a strange argument! Dodder Seed is a divine herb; are there any other rootless herbs like it in the world? None. Its ability to cure diseases is incredibly miraculous. Nocturnal emissions are also a strange condition, arising without cause and leading to dreams without reason, equally miraculous. Although the Lingshujing has a chapter on Yinxie Fameng, detailing dream disorders, it fails to explain why dreams occur. Even sages find it difficult to explain. Using Dodder Seed to treat nocturnal emissions is like using a miraculous herb to treat miraculous dreams, and its effectiveness is astonishingly swift, another miracle. I never imagined the world could be so full of wonders. Although Dodder Seed's ability to treat nocturnal emissions is not particularly surprising, what is surprising is your argument, which allows me to expound on its wonders. Precisely because it is miraculous, Dodder Seed is used alone to achieve extraordinary results. Why must it rely on other herbs to succeed?
Some may ask, if Dodder Seed is miraculous in treating nocturnal emissions, can it also treat other diseases with equally remarkable results? Indeed, Dodder Seed is not limited to treating nocturnal emissions; it can also strengthen yang and prevent impotence. Using two taels of Dodder Seed alone, decocted and taken as a soup, will make yang firm and prevent emissions. Some may doubt the efficacy of this formula, not realizing that Dodder Seed is a divine herb, and its divine nature aligns with the divine, a profound truth. For those who ejaculate easily during intercourse, it is because the heart's spirit is timid first. When the heart's spirit is timid, the ministerial spirit becomes vigorous. When the ministerial spirit is vigorous, yang is easily aroused but also easily collapses. When the heart's spirit is vigorous, the ministerial spirit is disciplined and dares not challenge the sovereign, thus the sovereign's authority is respected. When the sovereign's authority is respected, its commands are firm and unshakable, so yang either does not rise, or if it does, it remains firm and does not easily collapse. Dodder Seed calms the heart's spirit and tonifies the pericardium's qi, thus tonifying both monarch fire and ministerial fire. How can yang not be strong? Moreover, Dodder Seed excels in replenishing essence and marrow, supporting yang's vigor without harming yin's decline, ensuring that yang remains strong without the risk of yin deficiency and fire stirring. Although I have created this theory to proclaim Dodder Seed's miraculous properties, it is not to promote licentiousness. If yang fire is weak, taking this formula can be beneficial for fertility. However, if yin deficiency and fire excess are present, taking this formula may lead to the disaster of hyperactive yang, resulting in pulmonary tuberculosis and incurable conditions. This is not my fault.
Bencao Fenjing: Sweet, pungent, warm. Enters the liver, spleen, and kidneys. Strengthens yin, benefits essence, warm but not drying. Tonifies defense qi, supports tendons and vessels, dispels wind, and aids digestion. Treats cold essence and dribbling urination. Those with excessive fire in the kidney meridian should not use it.
Bencao Sibianlu: Dodder Seed juice removes facial blemishes. Xu Shi did not understand this, and Ye Xiang-yan said it ascends the Shaoyin, but Xu Shi still did not believe it. This is actually quite simple. Dodder Seed entwines plants, causing their roots to break, and its seeds are rich in essence, thus tonifying kidney essence and promoting ascent. The face is governed by the Yangming meridian, and Dodder Seed, being sweet, pungent, and warm, can ascend through the Yangming meridian to the face, exerting its moisturizing effect. How can facial blemishes not disappear? I hope this explanation resolves Xu Shi's doubts.
The spleen governs the muscles. The Chinese Taxillus Herb, with its root-cutting nature, nourishes and benefits the spleen, thus it can replenish defensive qi and promote robust health. The "Notes from the Old Study" mentions that prolonged use can lead to abscesses, indicating its warm nature is evident.
Other substances tonify the kidneys, merely supplementing them, but this can elevate while supplementing, hence it treats spontaneous seminal emission and dribbling of urine, and should not be regarded as an astringent formula. Treating consumptive thirst involves transforming the yin in the kidneys to elevate the fluids, which is not the same as enriching yin.
bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology
- Dodder Seed has immune-enhancing effects, promoting humoral immunity, cellular immunity, and the phagocytic capacity of the reticuloendothelial system.
- Dodder Seed has a protective effect on experimental myocardial ischemia and improves hemodynamics and hemorheology, enhancing microcirculation.
- Dodder Seed has therapeutic effects on hypothyroidism and can enhance animal sexual vitality.
- Dodder Seed has a protective effect on experimental liver injury.
- Dodder Seed has anti-aging effects.
- Dodder Seed can delay the formation and treat internal visual obstruction.
- Dodder Seed inhibits intestinal movement and has an excitatory effect on the isolated uterus.
- Dodder Seed, when combined with anti-inflammatory drugs, has therapeutic effects on acne and seborrheic dermatitis.