Water plantain rhizome (ZE XIE)-Alisma plantago-aquatica-Rhizoma Alismatis

Water plantain rhizome (ZE XIE)

Alisma plantago-aquatica L. (Fam. Alismataceae)

Pharmaceutical Name:

Rhizoma Alismatis

Botanical Name:

Alisma plantago-aquatica L. var. Alisma orientale Samuels (Fam. Alismataceae)

Common Name:

Water plantain rhizome

Part Used:

Dried tuber

Rhizoma Alismatis is produced chiefly in the provinces of Fujian, Sichuan, and Jiangxi. It is collected in winter, sliced and dried in sunlight, and stir-baked with bran or salt water.

 Properties  Taste & Meridians:

Sweet and bland in flavor, cold in property, acts on the Kidney and Bladder channels.

Functions:

Diuretic for Excess Dampness and Heat.

Indications & Combinations:

1. For oliguria, edema, gonorrhea with turbid urine, or leukorrhea, it is used with Sclerotium Poriae Cocos (Fu Ling) and Sclerotium Polypori Umbellati (Zhu Ling).

2. For diarrhea and dizziness due to Phlegm, it is used with Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu) in “The Alismatis Decoction” (Ze Xie Tang).

Dosage and administration:

5–10 g, decocted in water for an oral dose.

Precautions:

Large doses may lead to spermatorrhea.

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