Houttuynia Herb – 1 lb (454 g)

Houttuynia Herb, known in Chinese as 鱼腥草 (Yúxīngcǎo) and scientifically as Herba Houttuyniae, 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 Houttuynia Herb carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Houttuynia Herb 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, Houttuynia Herb provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Houttuynia Herb 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 Houttuynia Herb, 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 Zucai, Zuzi, Purple-backed Yuxingcao, and Purple Jicai. It is the aerial part of Houttuynia cordata Thunb., a plant of the Saururaceae family. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. Harvest when stems and leaves are luxuriant and flower spikes are abundant in summer; wash and dry in the sun. Fresh herb can be harvested at any time for use.
[Properties] Pungent in taste, slightly cold in nature. Enters the Lung and Bladder meridians.
[Actions] Clears heat and detoxifies, expels pus and reduces swelling, promotes urination and unblocks strangury.
[Applications] 1. Used for lung abscess with expectoration of pus, phlegm-heat cough and asthma. For lung abscess with coughing up pus and blood and chest pain, often combined with Platycodon root (Jiegeng), Reed rhizome (Lugen), and Trichosanthes fruit (Gualou). For lung-heat cough with expectoration of yellow thick sputum, combined with Anemarrhena (Zhimu), Scutellaria (Huangqin), Fritillaria (Dabeimu), and Mulberry root bark (Sangbaipi). Commonly used currently for acute and chronic bronchitis and pneumonia.
2. Used for toxic heat dysentery and damp-heat strangury. For toxic heat dysentery, combined with Coptis (Huanglian), Phellodendron (Huangbai), and Pulsatilla (Baitouweng). For damp-heat strangury with red, painful urination, combined with Plantain seed (Cheqianzi), Pyrrosia leaf (Shiweicao), and Juncus (Dengxincao).
3. Used for toxic sores and abscesses, snake and insect bites. Internally decocted with Dandelion (Pugongying), Viola (Zihuadiding), and Wild chrysanthemum (Yejuhua). Externally, dry herb powdered and mixed with honey for application, or fresh herb mashed and applied externally. Also used for eczema and female genital itching as a single herb decoction for external wash; for hemorrhoidal swelling and pain, decocted for internal use and fumigation wash. Recently also used for cholecystitis and acute icteric hepatitis.
[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction 15–25 g, not suitable for prolonged decoction; or fresh herb mashed for juice, dose doubled. External use: appropriate amount, mashed for application or decocted for washing.
[Cautions] Use with caution in cases of deficiency cold syndrome.
[Modern Research] 1. Chemical constituents: The aerial parts contain volatile oils including antibacterial active components decanoyl acetaldehyde (Houttuynin), lauric aldehyde, α-pinene, and linalool; also methyl nonyl ketone, camphene, laurene, limonene, bornyl acetate, and eugenol. Additionally contains afzelin, hyperoside, rutin, chlorogenic acid, β-sitosterol, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. Leaves contain quercitrin; flowers and fruit spikes contain isoquercitrin.
2. Pharmacological effects: Herb Houttuyniae exhibits inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus, Escherichia coli, and Gram-positive spore-forming bacilli. Fresh juice has stronger antibacterial activity than decoction; main active component is decanoyl acetaldehyde (Houttuynin). Decoction inhibits Coxsackie virus B3 in vitro and delays cytopathic effects of ECHO virus 11. Both decoction and Houttuynin enhance leukocyte phagocytosis. It has significant diuretic effects, possibly related to high potassium content and quercitrin-induced vasodilation increasing renal blood flow.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Pediatric bronchopneumonia: Compound Houttuynia injection (mainly extracts of Houttuynia, Da Qing Ye, and volatile oil from Chaihu; 2 ml per ampoule, each 1 ml containing 2 g crude drug), 1 ampoule per dose, 2–4 times daily, intramuscular injection for 7 consecutive days. Among 153 cases, cure rate was 73.8%, total effective rate 88.1%. [Anhui Medical Journal, 1988, 9(5):28] 2) Respiratory infections: Houttuynia injection 100 ml intravenous drip twice daily; Cefradine 2 g with 250 ml saline intravenous injection twice daily. Among 50 cases, 31 cured, 14 markedly effective, 2 effective, 3 ineffective; total effective rate 94.0%, significantly better than Cefradine alone control group. [Jiangsu Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2003, 24(12):19]