What are the effects and uses of Pyrrosia lingua? Read this one article to understand this Chinese herbal medicine
Pyrrosia lingua, also known as Shi Zhe, Shi Pi, Shi Wei and so on, is a medium-sized epiphytic fern of the genus Pyrrosia in the family Polypodiaceae. Used as medicine, it has the effects of promoting diuresis and treating strangury, and clearing lung heat and purging heat. It has therapeutic effects on strangury pain, hematuria, urinary tract stones, nephritis, metrorrhagia, dysentery, cough due to lung heat, chronic bronchitis, incised wounds, carbuncles and so on. Now let us take a look together at the effects and uses of Pyrrosia lingua!
Medicinal Value of Pyrrosia lingua
[Nature and Flavor] Bitter and sweet in flavor, cool in nature.
[Meridians Entered] Lung and bladder meridians.
[Effects] Promotes diuresis and treats strangury, clears lung heat and purges heat. Mainly treats strangury pain, hematuria, urinary tract stones, nephritis, metrorrhagia, dysentery, cough due to lung heat, chronic bronchitis, incised wounds, carbuncles.
Medicinal Effects of Pyrrosia lingua
1. Promoting diuresis and treating strangury: Pyrrosia lingua is bitter, sweet and cold. Bitterness can descend and drain and dry dampness, sweetness can relax tension and relieve pain, and coldness can clear heat and purge fire. Entering the lung and bladder meridians, it can clear lung heat above and disinhibit the bladder below, opening the water source to free the water passages, and therefore has the function of promoting diuresis and treating strangury. It is suitable for strangury with difficult, painful urination, contracture and urgency of the lower abdomen, red or turbid urine, and urine containing sand, and also has the power to clear heat and stop bleeding.
2. Clearing lung heat and resolving phlegm: Pyrrosia lingua enters the lung meridian, so its coldness can clear lung heat. Its bitterness can descend rebellious qi and also dry dampness; when dampness is removed, phlegm is resolved. Therefore it has the function of clearing lung heat, resolving phlegm and stopping cough. It is more suitable for those with cough due to lung heat and profuse phlegm.
3. Clearing heat and purging fire: Pyrrosia lingua is bitter and cold. It can clear heat and purge fire, and also enters the liver meridian. The liver governs storing blood. Therefore it is good at clearing heat in the blood aspect and has the function of cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It is very suitable for metrorrhagia and metrostaxis and hematemesis and epistaxis due to frenetic movement of blood caused by blood heat. Among the people, this single herb is used decocted in water, or the medicinal powder is taken with wine, to treat metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, with marked effects.
4. Diuresis and treating strangury: For urinary tract infection with painful, difficult urination with blood or hematuria, Pyrrosia lingua is often used together with Plantago seed (cheqianzi), talc (huashi), akebia stem (mutong), dianthus (qumai) and the like. For urolithic strangury with hematuria, it is often used together with Lygodium spore (haijinsha), Lysimachia christinae (jinqiancao), winter mallow seed (dongkuizi), talc (huashi) and the like.
5. Clearing heat and resolving phlegm: For cough and asthma due to lung heat, such as bronchitis or bronchial asthma, Pyrrosia lingua is often used together with raw gypsum (shengshigao), ephedra (mahuang), apricot seed (xingren) and the like, or used alone decocted with rock sugar, or used together with areca seed (binglang).
Cautions and Contraindications for the Use of Pyrrosia lingua
1. "Bencao Jing Jizhu": Talc and apricot seed act as its guides. Combined with calamus (changpu) it is good.
2. "Bencao Congxin": Do not give to those without damp-heat.
3. "Depei Bencao": Prohibited for those with true yin deficiency.
Medicinal Formula Selections for Pyrrosia lingua
1. To treat bloody strangury: Pyrrosia lingua, Angelica sinensis (danggui), cattail pollen (puhuang) and peony root (shaoyao) in equal parts. Grind the above four ingredients and sift; take one square-inch spoonful with wine, three times a day.
2. To treat strangury turbidity and hematuria: Pyrrosia lingua, pig bristle grass (zhuzongcao) and Glechoma longituba (lianqiancao) 25 grams each, simmer in water and take.
3. To treat urolithic strangury: Pyrrosia lingua (dehaired) and talc 1.5 grams each. Grind the above two ingredients and sift into a powder; take one daogui with rice water or honey, twice a day.
4. To treat urinary tract stones: Pyrrosia lingua and plantain herb (cheqiancao) 50 grams each, raw gardenia (shengzhizi) 25 grams, licorice 15 grams. Decoct twice in water; take once each in the morning and evening.
5. To treat heat accumulated in the heart meridian transmitted to the small intestine, with initial slight difficulty and reddish-yellow urination that gradually becomes completely blocked and abdominal distension: Pyrrosia lingua (dehaired, chopped) and Plantago seed (cheqianzi) (plantain leaf may also be used) in equal parts. Decoct the above in a thick decoction and drink.
6. To treat dysentery: One handful of the whole plant of Pyrrosia lingua, decoct in water, mix in 25 grams of rock sugar, and take before meals.
7. To treat metrorrhagia and metrostaxis: Pyrrosia lingua ground into powder; take 15 grams each time with warm wine.
8. To treat cough: Pyrrosia lingua (dehaired) and areca seed (chopped) in equal parts. Sift the above two ingredients into a fine powder and take 10 grams mixed with ginger decoction,
9. To treat chronic bronchitis: Pyrrosia lingua, dandelion (pugongying), Gnaphalium affine (fo'er cao) and Solidago decurrens (yizhihuanghua) 50 grams each. Decoct in water and concentrate; take in two divided doses.
10. Difficult, painful urination: Use Pyrrosia lingua and talc, ground into powder in equal parts; take a small pinch each time and take with water.
11. Blood before stool: Grind Pyrrosia lingua into powder and take 10 grams with a decoction made from eggplant branches.
12. Cough due to qi heat: Use Pyrrosia lingua and areca seed, ground into powder in equal parts; take 10 grams each time with ginger decoction.
13. Metrorrhagia and metrostaxis: Grind Pyrrosia lingua into powder; take 15 grams each time with warm wine.
14. Blood before stool: Grind Shi Pi into powder. Take 10 grams with a decoction made from eggplant branches.
15. Cough due to qi heat: Pyrrosia lingua and areca seed in equal parts, ground into powder. Take 10 grams with ginger decoction.