What are the effects and uses of madder?
Madder, also known as Xuejianshou, Huoxuedan, Tudanshen, etc., is a perennial herbaceous climbing vine of the genus Rubia in the family Rubiaceae. As a medicine it has the effects of promoting blood circulation and stopping bleeding, dredging meridians and activating collaterals, and relieving cough and phlegm. It has therapeutic effects on hematemesis, epistaxis, hematuria, hematochezia, metrorrhagia, amenorrhea, rheumatic arthralgia, traumatic injuries, blood stasis swelling and pain, jaundice, chronic bronchitis, and more. Let us take a look at the effects and uses of madder below!
The medicinal effects of madder
[Nature and flavor] Bitter in taste, cold in nature.
[Meridian entry] Heart and liver meridians.
[Effects] Promotes blood circulation and stops bleeding, dredges meridians and activates collaterals, relieves cough and phlegm. It mainly treats hematemesis, epistaxis, hematuria, hematochezia, metrorrhagia, amenorrhea, rheumatic arthralgia, traumatic injuries, blood stasis swelling and pain, jaundice, and chronic bronchitis.
Related discussions on madder
1. "Shennong Bencao Jing": Mainly treats cold-dampness wind arthralgia, jaundice, and tonifies the middle.
2. "Bielu": Stops bleeding, internal collapse with bleeding, bladder insufficiency, and sprains from falling. Mainly treats arthralgia and heat in the middle, and injuries from falls and fractures.
3. "Gangmu": Dredges meridians and vessels, treats wind pain of the bones and joints. Activates blood and moves blood.
4. "Yaojian": Its action is specialized in activating blood, treats injuries from falls, carbuncle toxin, abdominal masses, amenorrhea, hematochezia, uterine bleeding with leukorrhea, hemorrhoids and fistula, wind arthralgia, abdominal distension, jaundice, and insect bites.
Medicinal contraindications of madder
1. "Bencao Jing Jizhu": It is antagonistic to Shugu.
2. "Bencao Mengqian": Do not let it come into contact with copper or iron.
3. "Bencao Jingshu": Although the patient shows blood symptoms, if there is added diarrhea and inability to take food, do not administer.
4. "Bencao Zheng": Do not use in cases of qi deficiency failing to contain blood and in those with cold spleen.
5. "Bencao Huiyan": In those with essence deficiency and scant blood, in those with spleen deficiency and weak stomach, and in those with yin deficiency and excess fire, it is all contraindicated.
6. "Bencao Congxin": It is contraindicated in those without blood stasis.
7. "Bencao Qiuzhen": It is contraindicated in those with blood deficiency and fever.
Medicinal formulas containing madder
1. To treat hematemesis: Use 1 liang of madder root, crush into powder. Take 2 qian each time, decoct in water, take cold; taking 2 qian of the powder mixed with water is also acceptable.
2. To treat amenorrhea in women: Use 1 liang of madder root, decoct with wine and take.
3. To treat gu poisoning (vomiting blood and passing blood like pig liver): Use 3 fen each of madder root and buckwheat leaves, add 4 sheng of water, boil down to 2 sheng and take.
4. To treat rectal prolapse: Use 1 handful each of madder root and pomegranate peel, add 1 bowl of wine, decoct down to 70 percent, and take warm.
5. To treat epistaxis without fixed timing: 1 liang each of madder root and mugwort leaf, and 15 g of dark plum flesh (roasted dry). Grind the above into a fine powder. Form honey pills the size of wu seeds. Take 30 pills with dark plum decoction.
6. To treat chronic bronchitis: 20 g madder, 10 g Zhejiang fritillary, 10 g apricot seed, 5 g ephedra, 30 g gypsum, 10 g licorice. Decoct in water, one dose per day.
7. To treat urticaria: 5 qian of madder root, 3 qian of Botrychium ternatum. Decoct in water, add 2 liang of yellow rice wine and take after mixing.
8. To prevent sores and rashes: Take madder root juice. To treat seasonal pestilential toxin with sores and pox just emerging: Decoct madder root juice, add wine and drink.
9. To treat ding sores: Take Disumu, dry in the shade and grind into powder; 8 qian for severe cases and 5 qian for mild cases, decoct with good wine and take; if pus is discharging, mix with wine and take; apply the residue over the ding sore.
10. To treat traumatic injuries: 120 g madder root, 20 g safflower, 30 g Chuanxiong, 1000 mL white liquor. Place the above medicines in white liquor and soak for 7 days; take 30 mL each time, twice daily.
11. To treat chronic diarrhea: Appropriate amounts of madder and Chinese yam, fry until black while preserving their nature, grind into a fine powder, and add a little brown sugar. Take 9 g each time, 3 times daily, before meals; one week is one course of treatment.
12. To treat allergic purpura: 30 g madder root, 15 g raw rehmannia, 12 g Xuanshen, 10 g tree peony bark, 10 g Fangfeng, 10 g white peony root, 10 g Scutellaria baicalensis, 6 g licorice. Decoct in water, one dose per day.
13. To treat oral ulcers: 20 g madder, 5 g Coptis chinensis. Decoct in water. One dose per day, taken continuously for 14 days.
14. To treat external injury bleeding: Appropriate amounts of madder root and Panax notoginseng, grind into a fine powder, apply externally to the injured area, once daily.
15. To treat incessant nosebleeds: 50 g each of madder root and mugwort leaf, 15 g dark plum flesh, grind into powder, form honey pills the size of wutong seeds; take 50 pills each time with dark plum decoction.