Herb
Gou wen (Gelsemium)
钩吻gou wen
1 sourceSafety notes recordedGelsemium elegans (Gardner & Champ.) Benth.
Recorded, used only externally in salves and never taken internally, for wind disorders, swelling and toxic sores. A deadly poisonous plant.
Source
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十七·毒草·钩吻·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).
Further reading · modern literature
Third-party peer-reviewed literature listed for further reading. Not a MateriaTrace safety determination, and not a diagnostic or treatment recommendation.
- Gelsemium elegans Benth: Chemical Components, Pharmacological Effects, and Toxicity MechanismsMolecules · 2021 · PMID 34885727
- Medicinal plants of the genus Gelsemium (Gelsemiaceae, Gentianales): a review of their phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and traditional useJournal of Ethnopharmacology · 2014 · PMID 24434844
Nature, flavor & meridians
Nature & flavor: 辛，温，大有毒（雷公谓有毒杀人；时珍谓其性大热，《本草》毒药止云有大毒）。
Citations
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十七·毒草·钩吻·集解Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十七·毒草·钩吻·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十七·毒草·钩吻·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十七·毒草·钩吻·主治（本经）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十七·毒草·钩吻·气味（杀人）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.