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HerbArnebiae Radix / Lithospermi Radix

紫草

Zǐ Cǎo

Arnebia / Lithospermum Root

The dried root of Arnebia euchroma or Lithospermum erythrorhizon (Boraginaceae). Cold and sweet, entering the Heart and Liver channels. Cools and invigorates the blood, resolves toxicity, and vents rashes. A valued herb for blood-heat macules and incomplete measles eruption; externally, purple gromwell oil is widely used for burns and eczema.

Actions · 功效

凉血活血Cool the blood and invigorate blood
解毒透疹Resolve toxicity and vent rashes
清热消肿Clear heat and reduce swelling

Indications · 主治

温病血热毒盛，斑疹紫暗Warm disease with blood-heat toxin excess and dark purple macules
麻疹不透Incomplete eruption of measles
湿疹，水火烫伤Eczema and burns

Dosage · 用量

Per day · decoction · non-pregnant adult

5–10 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]Shennong Bencao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica)
[2]Mingyi Bielu (Supplementary Records of Famous Physicians)
[3]Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica)

Permalink · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cite this entry

@misc{bencaodian-zi-cao,
  author       = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
  title        = {Zǐ Cǎo 紫草 (Arnebia / Lithospermum Root) — Arnebiae Radix / Lithospermi Radix},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
  url          = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/zi-cao},
  urldate      = {2026-04-16},
  note         = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}

Permalink is fixed

@misc{bencaodian-zi-cao, author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}}, title = {Zǐ Cǎo 紫草 (Arnebia / Lithospermum Root) — Arnebiae Radix / Lithospermi Radix}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine}, url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/herbs/zi-cao}, urldate = {2026-04-16}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }