Burdock Fruit – 1 lb (454 g)

Burdock Fruit, known in Chinese as 牛蒡子 (Niúbàngzǐ) and scientifically as Fructus Arctii, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Burdock Fruit carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Burdock Fruit helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Burdock Fruit provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Burdock Fruit has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Burdock Fruit, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Eshi, Shunianzi, and Dali Zi. It is the mature fruit of Arctium lappa L., a plant of the Asteraceae family. The main production areas are Northeast China and Zhejiang Province. The fruit spikes are harvested in autumn when the fruits mature, then sun-dried, threshed to remove the fruits, impurities are removed, and dried again.

[Properties] The taste is pungent and bitter; the nature is cold. It enters the Lung and Stomach meridians.

[Actions] Disperses wind-heat, promotes lung ventilation and rash eruption, clears and benefits the throat, detoxifies and reduces swelling.

[Applications]
1. Used for externally contracted wind-heat with cough and difficult expectoration, sore and swollen throat. For mild exterior heat, it can be combined with mulberry leaf and chrysanthemum; for severe exterior heat, combined with Lonicera japonica (honeysuckle) and Forsythia suspensa, as in the formula Yin Qiao San (银翘散). For wind-heat invading the lung with difficult expectoration, it can be combined with Platycodon grandiflorus (jie geng) and Fritillaria thunbergii (Zhe bei mu). For sore throat, it can be combined with Scutellaria baicalensis (huang qin), Coptis chinensis (huang lian), Belamcanda chinensis (she gan), and Sophora tonkinensis (shan dou gen).
2. Used for incomplete or difficult measles eruption and itchy skin rashes, often combined with Cicadae Periostracum (chan tui), Mentha haplocalyx (bo he), Schizonepeta tenuifolia (jing jie), and Pueraria lobata (ge gen), as in the formula Zhu Ye Liu Bang Tang (竹叶柳蒡汤).
3. Used for heat toxin-induced abscesses and swellings, erysipelas, mumps, and throat carbuncles, especially when accompanied by wind-heat exterior symptoms or constipation. For heat toxin abscesses with constipation, often combined with Rheum palmatum (da huang), Mirabilitum (mang xiao), Gardenia jasminoides (zhi zi), Forsythia suspensa (lian qiao), and Mentha haplocalyx (bo he). For early-stage breast abscess without pus formation, combined with Lonicera japonica (jin yin hua), Forsythia suspensa (lian qiao), Gardenia jasminoides (zhi zi), and Trichosanthes kirilowii (gua lou), as in the formula Niubangzi Tang (牛蒡子汤).

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 6–12 g; or incorporated into pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount decocted for gargling. This herb is often stir-fried to reduce its bitterness, cold nature, and purgative effect.

[Cautions] This herb is cold and slippery; it is contraindicated in cases of spleen deficiency with loose stools.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The fruit contains arctiin, arctigenin, and other lignans. The seeds contain arctiin, arctigenin A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, as well as fatty oils composed of arachidic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, vitamin B1, and alkaloids.
2. Pharmacological effects: Niubangzi aqueous extract has inhibitory effects on common pathogenic fungi; extracts show anti-HIV activity; burdock extracts have hypoglycemic effects; arctigenin shows significant and sustained antihypertensive effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats; arctiin inhibits isolated rabbit uterus, intestines, motor nerves, and skeletal muscle; also exhibits antitumor and antimutagenic effects.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Habitual constipation: crushed Niubangzi 15 g brewed with 5000 ml boiling water for 20 minutes and taken as tea three times daily, with a total effective rate of 90%. [Zhong Yi Za Zhi, 1997, (12):709] 2) Flat warts: stir-fried Niubangzi 3–5 g each time, powdered and peeled, taken orally three times daily. Fourteen cases treated, all cured. [Sichuan Zhong Yi, 1999, (9):32]