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HerbAkebiae Caulis

木通

Mù Tōng

Akebia Stem

The dried caulis of Akebia quinata or A. trifoliata (Lardizabalaceae). Enters the Heart, Small Intestine, and Bladder channels. Bitter-cold and downward-draining, it clears Heart fire above and disinhibits urination below, especially for oral sores with dark urine from Heart fire transferring to the Small Intestine.

Actions · 功效

利尿通淋Disinhibit urination and free strangury
清心火Clear Heart fire
通经下乳Unblock the menses and promote lactation

Indications · 主治

淋证涩痛Strangury with painful inhibited urination
口舌生疮，心烦尿赤Mouth and tongue sores with vexation and dark urine
乳汁不通Blocked lactation

Dosage · 用量

Per day · decoction · non-pregnant adult

3–6 g

现多用川木通或白木通代替关木通（含马兜铃酸，已禁用）

Reference range for non-pregnant adults. Not a personalized prescription. Pregnancy, lactation, and pediatric use require specialist supervision.

Draft

Footnotes · 引用

[1]Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica)
[2]Mingyi Bielu (Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians)

Permalink · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cite this entry

@misc{bencaodian-mu-tong,
  author       = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
  title        = {Mù Tōng 木通 (Akebia Stem) — Akebiae Caulis},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
  url          = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/mu-tong},
  urldate      = {2026-04-16},
  note         = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}

Permalink is fixed

@misc{bencaodian-mu-tong, author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}}, title = {Mù Tōng 木通 (Akebia Stem) — Akebiae Caulis}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine}, url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/mu-tong}, urldate = {2026-04-16}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }