Herb

Pharbitis Seed (Qian niu zi)

牵牛子qian niu zi

1 sourceSafety notes recordedSemen Pharbitidis

Modern safety information is being compiled for this entry.

Drives water downward to relieve edema, frees the bowels and urine, expels phlegm-rheum, and kills worms. Recorded as toxic and as abortifacient.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·主治（《别录》）

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：下气，疗脚满水肿，除风毒，利小便（《别录》）；治痃癖气块，利大小便，除虚肿，落胎（甄权）；逐痰消饮，通大肠气秘风秘，杀虫，达命门（时珍）。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 苦，寒，有毒（甄权谓甘、有小毒）。

Citations

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子（《别录》下品）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·主治（《别录》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·主治（甄权）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·主治（时珍）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·牵牛子·发明（震亨·不可轻用）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.