Bistort Rhizome

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Northwest, north and Shandong, Jiangsu.

Flat cylindrical, curved and shrimp-like in shape, 4~15cm long, 1~2.5cm diameter. Externally purple-brown or purple-black, slightly rough, whole body densely covered in rough rings, with remnants of rootlets or roots; one side is raised, another is relatively flat or has slightly indented grooves. Hard texture, fractured surface is kidney-shape, pale brownish-red, and yellowish-white vascular bundles appear as small spots arranged in intermittent rings. faint odor, bitter, astringent taste.

Superior medicinal material is thick, large, hard, with pale reddish-brown fractured surface.

Bitter, astringent, slightly cold

Clears heat, calms fright, resolves dampness, eliminates swelling. Apply to convulsion due to heat, tetanus, dysentery, swelling abscess, scrofula. Clears heat, promotes urination, cools blood, stops bleeding, resolves toxin, and disperses stasis. Apply to cough due to lung heat, convulsion due to heat, dysentery, heat diarrhea, hemoptysis, epistaxis, hemorrhoids hemorrhage, abscess swelling and sore toxin.