Croton Seed – 1 lb (454 g)

Croton Seed, known in Chinese as 巴豆 (Bādòu) and scientifically as Fructus Crotonis, 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 Croton Seed carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Croton Seed 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 Croton Seed, 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 Baren, Bami, Hongziren, and Xieguo. It is the mature fruit of Croton tiglium L., a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family. It is mainly produced in Sichuan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and other regions. The fruit is harvested in autumn when mature, spread out for 2 to 3 days, then opened, sun-dried or oven-dried.

[Properties] Pungent in taste, hot in nature, highly toxic. Enters the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians.

[Actions] Erodes ulcers and kills parasites; purges cold accumulation; promotes urination to reduce swelling; dispels phlegm and benefits the throat.

[Applications]
1. Used for carbuncles and scabies. For carbuncles with formed but unruptured pus, it can be combined with frankincense, myrrh, and Semen Momordicae to make a plaster applied to the affected area to promote rupture, as in the verified formula Yaotou Gao (咬头膏). If the carbuncle has ruptured but necrotic flesh remains, the herb can be stir-fried until the smoke dissipates, then ground and applied topically. For scabies, it can be fried in oil and applied to the affected area.
2. Used for cold pathogenic food accumulation causing intestinal and stomach obstruction, constipation, abdominal fullness and pain, shortness of breath, and clenched mouth. For those with intact qi and blood, Fructus Crotonis powder can be taken alone internally, or combined with dried ginger and rhubarb in pill form, as in Sanwu Beiji Wan (三物备急丸). For pediatric milk food stagnation, constipation, abdominal distension, excessive phlegm, and convulsions, a very small dose of Fructus Crotonis powder can be used as a strong medicine, combined with Shenqu, Tiannanxing, and Cinnabar, as in Baochi San (保赤散). For chronic cold accumulation with prolonged diarrhea or dysentery and unsatisfactory bowel movements, the herb can be used as “Tongyin Tongyong” after oil removal, combined with dried ginger, costus, nutmeg, and Baicao powder.
3. Used for large abdominal edema and distension, it can be combined with roasted apricot kernel to form pills for oral administration. Modernly, it has been combined with alum and Shenqu in pills to treat late-stage schistosomiasis-induced liver cirrhosis with ascites.
4. Used for throat obstruction due to cold phlegm stagnation, chest binding, and lung abscess. For throat obstruction with abundant phlegm causing breathing difficulty and near suffocation, Fructus Crotonis powder can be administered orally or via nasal feeding to expel phlegm. It is currently often used to treat diphtheria and laryngeal inflammation causing throat obstruction. For cold excess chest binding with abundant phlegm and chest fullness, cold limbs, and sweating, it can be combined with Fritillaria and Platycodon, as in Sanwu Xiaobai San (三物小白散). For lung abscess with cough, chest pain, and foul-smelling phlegm, it can be combined with Pinellia, apricot kernel, and Platycodon. For phlegm confusing the heart orifices causing epilepsy and madness, it can be combined with Cinnabar and Calculus Bovis.

[Dosage and Administration] External use: appropriate amount, crushed and applied topically or wrapped in gauze and rubbed on the affected area. Internal use: incorporated into pills or powders, 0.1–0.3 g. Mostly prepared as Fructus Crotonis powder. Generally not used in decoctions.

[Cautions] Internal use should be cautious. Contraindicated in cases without cold food accumulation or stagnation, in weak patients, and in pregnancy. After taking Fructus Crotonis, avoid eating hot porridge or drinking hot water to prevent aggravation of diarrhea. Should not be used together with Semen Pharbitidis (Qian Niu Zi).

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents include croton oil containing crotonic acid, glycerides, crotonyl diester and triester, croton toxin, croton glycosides, alkaloids, and stigmasterol.
2. Pharmacological effects: Fructus Crotonis has a marked excitatory effect on intestinal muscles, stimulating intestinal mucosa to inflammation, increasing secretions, promoting peristalsis, causing severe diarrhea accompanied by intense abdominal pain and tenesmus; it also increases bile and pancreatic juice secretion. Extracts show significant inhibition of ascitic tumors in mice; decoctions have broad-spectrum antibacterial effects; extracts inhibit various cancers; externally applied croton oil strongly irritates the skin. Oral doses as small as half to one drop cause burning sensations in the oral cavity, throat, and gastric mucosa, and induce vomiting.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Appendicitis: 0.5–1.5 g each of Fructus Crotonis and Cinnabar ground finely and mixed, applied to the appendiceal acupuncture point. In 99 cases of acute appendicitis, 85 were cured, 14 ineffective with diarrhea. [Zhejiang Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1981, 16(6):285]
2) Chronic nonspecific ulcerative colitis: appropriate amounts of Fructus Crotonis and beeswax; beeswax melted over low heat in a sand pot, Fructus Crotonis pierced with a fine needle dipped twice in the wax, needle withdrawn and hole pinched closed. 1–7 pills swallowed each time (gradually increasing), three times daily. 8 cases treated, all cured. [Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1990, 12(4):10]
3) Pediatric oral thrush: 1 g Fructus Crotonis and 0.5 g watermelon seed kernel ground to release oil, mixed with a little sesame oil, rolled into small pills, applied to the Yintang acupuncture point for 15 seconds once daily for 2 days. 190 cases treated: 171 cured, 15 improved, 4 ineffective. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1987, (9):548]
4) Facial paralysis: 6–8 shelled Fructus Crotonis and 3 cloves garlic mashed into a paste, applied to the temple (1.5 cm diameter). After 6–8 hours, blisters formed; fluid aspirated with sterile syringe, treated externally with Jingwanhong ointment, dressing changed every other day. 14 cases treated: 13 cured, 1 ineffective due to herpes zoster with facial paralysis. [North China National Defense Medicine, 2003, 15(5):379]
5) Breast lumps: 5 pills of Ba La Wan (Fructus Crotonis and beeswax pills) taken with warm water three times daily for one month per course. After one course, stop for 10 days, then repeat until cured. 458 cases treated: except 3 cases of cancerous transformation, all lumps completely or basically disappeared. [Henan Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1983, (3):35]

附药: Fructus Crotonis Powder (Badoushuang) is a processed product of Fructus Crotonis. It is pungent, hot, and highly toxic. Enters the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. Actions: strongly purges accumulation, promotes urination to reduce swelling, resolves phlegm and benefits the throat. Mainly used for cold accumulation constipation, milk food stagnation, lower abdominal edema, blocked bowels, throat wind, and throat obstruction. Internal dose: 0.1–0.3 g, mostly used in pills or powders. Contraindicated in pregnancy and should not be used with Semen Pharbitidis.