Herb

Amaranth (Xian cai)

苋xian
1 sourceAmaranthus tricolor L.

Recorded that white amaranth supplements qi, clears heat and frees the nine orifices, and red amaranth is used for red dysentery, clearing heat, resolving toxin and freeing the bowels and urine.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷二十七·柔滑·苋·主治

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：白苋补气除热、通九窍；赤苋主赤痢、射工沙虱；清热解毒、利大小便。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 甘，冷利，无毒。

Citations
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷二十七·柔滑·苋·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷二十七·柔滑·苋·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷二十七·柔滑·苋·主治Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.