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The dried fruiting spike of Prunella vulgaris (Lamiaceae). Enters the Liver and Gallbladder channels. Bitter, pungent, and cold, named for withering after the summer solstice. Endowed with pure yang qi that disperses when encountering yin, it excels at clearing Liver fire and dissipating nodules, making it the key herb for Liver fire with red eyes and for phlegm-fire scrofula.
清肝火、散郁结，为治肝火目疾及瘰疬之要药
内服煎汤9–15g；治瘰疬、瘿瘤可用至30g；熬膏或入丸散。
Reference range for non-pregnant adults. Not a personalized prescription. Pregnancy, lactation, and pediatric use require specialist supervision.
Protective guidance only — when to avoid or use with caution. This block deliberately omits pregnancy, lactation, and pediatric dosing: any such use must be managed by a qualified TCM practitioner or appropriate specialist.
脾胃虚寒者慎用。气虚者不宜单用久服，恐伤中气。
长期大量服用可损伤胃气，脾虚便溏者不宜。现代临床用于高血压病，宜辨证属肝火或肝阳者；阴虚阳亢者须配伍滋阴之品。
味苦辛，寒。主寒热，瘰疬，鼠瘘，头疮，破癥，散瘿结气，脚肿湿痹，轻身。
下品
@misc{bencaodian-xia-ku-cao,
author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
title = {Xià Kū Cǎo 夏枯草 (Prunella Spike) — Prunellae Spica},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/xia-ku-cao},
urldate = {2026-04-17},
note = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}© Bencaodian Editorial · Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
夏枯草主含三萜酸（熊果酸、齐墩果酸）及酚酸，具有降压、抗炎、抗病毒及免疫调节作用。
Prunella spike contains triterpene acids (ursolic and oleanolic acids) and phenolic acids with antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and immunomodulatory effects.
清肝泻火、明目、散结消肿，为治瘰疬、肝火目赤的常用药。
Clears Liver fire, brightens eyes and dissipates nodules; commonly used for scrofula and Liver-fire red eyes.
熊果酸显示抗炎、抗肿瘤及轻度降压的实验证据。
Ursolic acid shows experimental evidence of anti-inflammatory, antitumor and mild antihypertensive activity.
This section is provided for academic reference only and does not constitute medical advice.