Lychee seeds (LI ZHI HE)-Litchi chinensis-Semen Litchi Chinensis

Lychee seeds (LI ZHI HE)

Litchi chinensis Sonn. (Fam. Sapindaceae)

Pharmaceutical Name:

Semen Litchi Chinensis

Botanical Name:

Litchi chinensis Sonn. (Fam. Sapindaceae)

Common Name:

Lychee seeds

Part Used:

Dried ripe seed

Semen Litchi Chinensis is produced chiefly in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan. Collected in June and July, the seeds are dried in sunlight and broken into pieces or stirbaked with salt water.

Properties  Taste & Meridians:

Sweet and sour in flavor, warm in property, acts on the Liver and Stomach channels.

Functions:

Promotes the flow of Qi, relieves pain, expels Cold.

Indications & Combinations:

1. For enterocele, swelling of the testes, and testalgia due to Stagnation of Cold in the Liver channel, it is used with Fructus Foeniculi (Xiao Hui Xiang), Fructus Evodiae (Wu Zhu Yu), and Semen Citri Reticulatae ( Ju He); for enterocele, swelling of the testes and testalgia due to Excessive Heat and Dampness in the Liver channel, it is used with Radix Gentianae (Long Dan Cao), Fructus Gardeniae (Zhi Zi), Radix et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang), and Fructus Meliae Radicis (Chuan Lian Zi).

2. For dysmenorrhea due to Stagnant Liver Qi, it is used with Rhizoma Cyperi (Xiang Fu).

Dosage and administration:

10–15 g, decocted in water for an oral dose.

Precautions:

None noted.

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