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Leonurus japonicus Houtt.
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English Name |
Wormwoodlike Motherwort, |
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Latin name |
Leonurus japonicus Houtt. |
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Family & Genus |
Lamiaceae, Leonurus |
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Description |
Annual or biennial herb, 60-100cm tall. Stem upright, 4 angled, covered by invert coarse adpressed hairs. Leaf opposite; leaf varied in shape; basal petiole 0.5-8cm long; lamina slightly round, 4-8cm in diameter, 5-9 shallowly lobed, lobe with blunt tooth, basal part heart shaped; petiole in the middle part of stem short, palmate 3 entirely lobed, lobe nearly lanceolate, central lobes again 3 lobe, both lateral lobes again 1 to 2 lobed, leaflet tip suddenly pointed, margin sparsely grown with sawtooth or entire; most upper leaf not divided, linear, nearly sessile, upper surface green, covered by coarse adpressed hairs, lower surface light green, covered by soft hairs and glandular dot. Verticillaster axillary, with 8-15 flowers; bractlet linear, without peduncle, covered by procumbent soft hairs; calyx campanulate, with 5 tine lobes in the tip, with spiny tines, covered by procumbent soft hairs, lower 2 teeth longer than upper 3 teeth, persistent; corolla whitish pink or light purplish red, labiate, 1-1.2cm long, covered by soft hairs, entire, lower lip 3 lobed, middle lobe comparatively big, invert heart shaped, lateral lobe ovate; stamens 4, didynamous, filament covered by scale like hairs, anther with 3 ventricles; pistil 1, ovary 4 lobed, style filamentous, slightly longer than stamen, stigma 2 lobed. Nutlet light brown, long circular, prismatoidal, about 2.5mm long, smooth. Flowering: June to September, fruiting: July to October. |
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Distribution |
Growing on wastelands of mountains and plains, rand, grasslands and streamsides, etc. Distributed in all parts of China. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Songxian and Luanzhou of Henan, Liuan and Bengbu of Anhui, Wenjiang of Sichuan, Nanjing of Jiangsu, Fenghua of Zhejiang and etc. |
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Part Used |
Medical part: whole plant. Chinese name: Yimucao. |
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Harvest & Processing |
Cut aboveground parts in summer when the plant thrives, while flowers not fully bloom, and sun-dried. |
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Chemistry |
Contains various alkaloids: leonurine, staehydrine, leonuridine and leonu-rinine, etc. |
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Pharmacology |
Preserving effects on uterus, cardiovascular system, immunity, respiratory center, intestinal smooth muscle; resistant to platelet aggregation and thrombosis-resisting. |
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Properties & Actions |
Pungent, bitter, little cold.Promoting blood circulation, dispelling stasis, regulating menstruation and dispersing water swelling. |
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Indications & Usage |
Irregular menses, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy and difficult labour, retention of afterbirth, postpartum anemic fainting, bloody phlegm and stomachache, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hematuria, bloody diarrhea, furuncles and ulcers.Oral administration: decocting, 15-30g; prepared ointment or made as pills or powders. External application: decocted for washing or smashed for applying. |
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Examples |
1. Treat algomenorrhea: wormwoodlike motherwort 5 qian, corydalis tuber 2 qian. Decoct in water and swallow.
2. Treat depletion of blood circulation and vital energy after childbirth: wormwoodlike motherwort, grind into powder, wring to collect juice, and drink one cup. |
| Link to |
 Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database
Chinese Medicine Specimen Database
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