Herb
Selfheal (Xia ku cao)
夏枯草xia ku cao
1 sourceSpica Prunellae
Clears liver-fire and disperses scrofula and goiter nodules, and relieves eye pain.
Source
Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十五·草部·夏枯草·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》载夏枯草主寒热瘰疬鼠瘘头疮、破癥、散瘿结气、脚肿湿痹、轻身；李时珍谓治目珠疼（解内热、缓肝火、补厥阴血脉）。
Nature, flavor & meridians
Nature & flavor: 苦、辛，寒，无毒（《本经》茎叶）。·Meridians: 肝（足厥阴）, 胆（足少阳）
Citations
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·隰草类·夏枯草（《本经》下品）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·气味（《本经》茎叶）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·发明（时珍·补厥阴血脉）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its meridian tropism.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·主治（《本经》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·发明（时珍·治目疼）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
- Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·夏枯草·气味（之才·土瓜为使）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.