Herba Schizonepetae   (jing jie/jīng jiè,荆芥)

Pharmaceutical name        Herba Schizonepetae   

English name               Schizonepeta    

Processed form             Sliced and dried schizonepeta, charred schizonepeta   

Property and taste         Slightly warm;acrid  

Channels entered           Lung,liver

Actions                Dispels wind and releases the exterior, vents rashes and alleviates itching, stops bleeding. 

Dosage                  4.5-9g; decocted for a short time; charred schizonepeta for stopping bleeding; schizonepeta spikes for dispelling wind.   

Cautions & contraindications

Contraindicated where there is deficiency of the exterior, fully-erupted measles or open sores, or an absence of pathogenic wind of any kind.

Indications

ü For exterior patterns of either wind-cold or wind-heat (depending on the herbs with which it is combined).

       For exterior wind-cold with headache, fever, aversion to cold and lack of sweating, as in Schizonepeta and Saposhnikovia Toxin-Resolving Powder (jing fang bai du san / jīng fáng bài dú săn);

       For exterior wind-heat with headache and fever, as in Lonicera and Forsythia Powder (yin qiao san / yín qiào săn).

ü For measles and rubella with wind-cold externally contracted. Periostracum Cicadae (chan tui), Herba Menthae (bo he), Radix Arnebiae (zi cao) are often combined with Schizonepeta to strengthen the efficacy.

ü For carbuncles or boils when they first erupt, especially symptoms are accompanied by chills and fever.  

ü For nasal bleeding, hematochezia, uterine bleeding, flooding and spotting (bēng lòu, 崩漏).

Quality Criteria

Good quality consists of light green, long, and dense spikes with a strong aromatic fragrance.

Production Regions  

It is mainly grown in Jiangshu, Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei provinces of China.