ALIMENTOS SALUDABLES A BASE DE HIERBAS ORIENTALES

MEDICINA HERBARIA

 

 

 

 

Scrophularia Root

(Xuán Shēn 玄参)

 

 

English name: Ningpo Figwort Root / Scrophularia Root
Botanical source: Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. (玄参), Scrophularia buergeriana Miq. (北玄参)

玄参 is the dried root of plants in the Scrophulariaceae family. It is a tall herb that can exceed 1 meter in height. The plant has multiple spindle-shaped or carrot-shaped swollen roots, sometimes more than 3 cm thick. It grows in bamboo forests, streamside areas, thickets, and tall grasslands below 1700 meters.

 

Produced in: Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan, etc.

 

玄参 has a sweet, bitter, and salty taste, slightly cold in nature, and functions to clear heat and cool the blood, nourish Yin and reduce fire, detoxify and dissipate nodules.

 

Medicinal Part (入药部位)

Roots of:

• 玄参 Xuán Shēn — Scrophularia ningpoensis
• 北玄参 Běi Xuán Shēn — Scrophularia buergeriana

 

Properties (性味)

• Taste: Sweet, bitter, salty
• Nature: Slightly cold (微寒)

 

Channel Tropism (归经)

• Spleen meridian
• Stomach meridian
• Kidney meridian

 

Functions (功效)

• Clears heat and cools the blood (清热凉血)
• Nourishes Yin and reduces fire (滋阴降火)
• Detoxifies and disperses nodules (解毒散结)

 

Indications (主治)

Used for:

• Warm-heat diseases entering the Ying-blood level (温热病热入营血)
• High fever, irritability, thirst (身热，烦渴)
• Dark-red tongue, skin eruptions (舌绛，发斑)
• Bone-steaming tidal fever, consumptive cough (骨蒸劳嗽)
• Restlessness, insomnia (虚烦不寤)
• Constipation due to fluid deficiency (津伤便秘)
• Blurred or dry vision (目涩昏花)
• Sore, swollen throat (咽喉肿痛)
• Scrofula, lymph node nodules (瘰疬痰核)
• Carbuncles, abscesses, toxic sores (痈疽疮毒)

 

Dosage & Administration (用法用量)

• Internal use:
  Decoction, 9–15 g; also used in pills or powders
• External use:
  Appropriate amount, crushed for topical application or mixed into a paste

 

Contraindications (使用注意)

• Contraindicated in patients with spleen dampness, spleen deficiency, or loose stools.

 

Processing Methods (炮制方法)

1. Remove impurities and stem base, wash clean, moisten, cut into slices, and dry.
2. Or wash, slightly soak, steam thoroughly in a steamer basket, dry to 60–70%, allow to soften evenly to black color throughout, slice, and dry.

 

Botanical Characteristics (生理特性)

• Tall perennial herb, over 1 meter in height
• Multiple spindle-shaped or carrot-like swollen roots, up to 3 cm thick
• Stem quadrangular with shallow grooves, with or without narrow wings, glabrous or with white curled hairs
• Branching is common
• Grows below 1700 m in bamboo forests, stream banks, thickets, and tall grasslands
• Prefers warm and humid climates; cold- and drought-tolerant but sensitive to waterlogging
• Adaptable to plains, hills, and low mountain slopes
• Thrives in deep, loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam soils

 

Distribution (产地)

Widespread in:
Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou
Main production areas: Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei

 

Classical References (相关论述)

1. 《医学启源》

“Treats heart vexation and insomnia, confusion of spirit, blood stasis, and difficulty in urination.”

2. 《本草纲目》

“When kidney water is damaged and true Yin fails to anchor Yang, fire arises. Xuan Shen, like Rehmannia (地黄), should be used to nourish water and control fire. It also disperses scrofula.”

3. 《药品化义》

• States玄参 nourishes Yin and suppresses fire caused by Yin deficiency.
• Treats: headache, toxic heat, tinnitus, throat swelling, scrofula, yin deficiency fire, vexation, etc.
• Excellent for nourishing the Kidneys and clearing deficiency heat without being overly cooling.

4. 《本草正义》

玄参 is extremely Yin in nature, focusing on heat diseases.

• Bitter taste disperses internal heat
• Slightly salty and pungent nature moves blood and resolves nodules
• Clears chest and lung heat
• Treats red eyes, sore throat, spontaneous/night sweating, hematemesis, epistaxis

Warns that it should not be used indiscriminately for Yin deficiency, as it may extinguish floating fire prematurely and hinder recovery.

5. 《医学衷中参西录》

玄参 clears lung heat, detoxifies, relieves cough, and is suitable for postpartum heat conditions.

• Can substitute for Anemarrhena (知母) in certain formulas
• Helps chronic dryness, tongue without fluids, post-fever Yin deficiency
• Benefits vision through nourishing Kidney-water

6. 《别录》

"Treats stroke, fever, mania, malaria, blood stasis, chest Qi blockage, edema, thirst, neck nodules, abscesses, abdominal pain, and organ disorders."

7. 《药性论》

“Treats acute heat accumulation, fever headaches, cold damage relapse, scrofula, neck lumps.”

8. 《日华子本草》

“Treats wind-heat toxins, deficiency fatigue, restlessness, bone steaming, chronic illnesses, forgetfulness, swelling, and toxic sores.”