Herb
Plantago Seed (Che qian zi)
车前子che qian zi
1 sourceSemen Plantaginis
Promotes urination and clears damp-heat to free strangury, brightens the eyes, and checks summer-damp diarrhea.
Source
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十六·草部·车前·子·主治（《本经》）
References
- functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
- WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
- public pharmacopoeia & botanical facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Traditional functions
Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.
传统中医记载：《本经》载车前子主气癃止痛、利水道小便、除湿痹，久服轻身耐老；《别录》男子伤中、女子淋沥不欲食、养肺强阴益精、令人有子、明目疗赤痛；甄权谓去肝中风热、毒风冲眼、赤痛障翳、去心胸烦热；李时珍谓导小肠热、止暑湿泻痢。
Nature, flavor & meridians
Nature & flavor: 甘，寒，无毒（《本经》子）；《别录》谓咸；甄权谓甘、平。
Citations
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·隰草类·车前（《本经》上品）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·子·气味（《本经》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·子·主治（《本经》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·子·主治（《别录》·明目）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·子·主治（时珍·导小肠热）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·草部·车前·子·发明（时珍·单用泄太过）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.