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HerbHouttuyniae Herba

鱼腥草

Yú Xīng Cǎo

Houttuynia

The dried aerial part of Houttuynia cordata (Saururaceae). Slightly cold and pungent, entering the Lung channel. Excels at clearing Lung heat and draining abscesses; the premier herb for lung abscess. Known as a natural antibiotic in Chinese folk medicine. Can be used fresh or dried, internally or externally.

Actions · 功效

清热解毒Clear heat and resolve toxicity
消痈排脓Reduce abscesses and expel pus
利尿通淋Promote urination and free strangury

Indications · 主治

肺痈吐脓，肺热咳嗽Lung abscess with purulent sputum, Lung-heat cough
热毒疮痈Heat-toxin sores and abscesses
湿热淋证Damp-heat strangury (urinary tract infection)

Dosage · 用量

Per day · decoction · non-pregnant adult

15–30 g

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

Draft· 2026-04-16

Footnotes · 引用

[1]Mingyi Bielu (Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians)
[2]Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica)

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Cite this entry

@misc{bencaodian-yu-xing-cao,
  author       = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
  title        = {Yú Xīng Cǎo 鱼腥草 (Houttuynia) — Houttuyniae Herba},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
  url          = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/yu-xing-cao},
  urldate      = {2026-04-16},
  note         = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}

Permalink is fixed

@misc{bencaodian-yu-xing-cao, author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}}, title = {Yú Xīng Cǎo 鱼腥草 (Houttuynia) — Houttuyniae Herba}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine}, url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/yu-xing-cao}, urldate = {2026-04-16}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }