Cypress Leaf – 1 lb (454 g)

Cypress Leaf, known in Chinese as 侧柏叶 (Cèbǎiyè) and scientifically as Cacumen Platycladi, 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 Cypress Leaf carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Cypress Leaf 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 Cypress Leaf, 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 Baiye or Bianbaiye. It is the branch tips and leaves of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco, a member of the Cupressaceae family. It is produced throughout most regions of China. It can be harvested year-round, with the best quality obtained from tender branches and leaves collected in summer and autumn, then dried in a ventilated, shaded place.

[Properties] Bitter and astringent in taste, cold in nature. Enters the Lung, Liver, and Spleen meridians.

[Actions] Cools the blood and stops bleeding; promotes hair growth and blackens hair; stops cough and resolves phlegm.

[Applications]
1. Used for various bleeding disorders such as hemoptysis, hematemesis, epistaxis, hematuria, and metrorrhagia. Particularly effective for heat-induced bleeding, such as bleeding due to reckless movement of hot blood (e.g., hemoptysis, epistaxis), often combined with Rehmanniae Radix (Sheng Dihuang), fresh lotus leaf, and fresh mugwort leaf, as in the formula Sisheng Wan (Four Raw Pill). For bloody urine and stranguria due to blood heat, combined with Puhuang, Xiaoji, and Baimaogen. For intestinal wind with hemorrhoidal bleeding or dysentery with blood, often combined with Sophorae Flos (Huaihua) and Sanguisorbae Radix (Diyu). For metrorrhagia and excessive uterine bleeding, combined with Paeoniae Radix Alba (Baishao). It is also commonly used with processed ginger and mugwort leaf to treat bleeding due to deficiency cold.
2. Used for hair loss due to blood heat and premature graying of hair. For hair loss, it can be ground into powder and mixed with hemp oil for topical application or made into a tincture for external use. For liver and kidney deficiency causing premature graying, it is combined with Ligustri Lucidi Fructus (Nüzhenzi), Rehmanniae Radix (Sheng Dihuang), and Polygonum multiflorum (Heshouwu).
3. Used for cough with copious phlegm due to lung heat, often combined with Mori Cortex (Sangbaipi), Scutellariae Radix (Huangqin), and Platycodonis Radix (Jiegeng). Clinically, it is used to treat acute and chronic bronchitis, pertussis, and other respiratory diseases with some efficacy.
Additionally, this herb can be used for wind-damp-heat bi syndrome and chronic joint pain, either soaked in wine alone or combined with Akebiae Caulis (Mutong) and Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix (Fangji). It also has detoxifying and wound-healing properties and can be used for erysipelas, mumps, and burns caused by fire or water.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 6–12 g; or incorporated into pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount; fresh herb mashed and applied topically; dried herb powdered and mixed for topical application; decoction used for washing or bathing. For hemostasis, use charred; for resolving phlegm and stopping cough, use raw.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The leaves contain volatile oils including cedrol, cedrone, anethole, pinene, and caryophyllene. They also contain lipids such as palmitic acid, stearic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid; flavonoids including biflavones of Platycladus, apigenin, myricetin, quercetin, hesperetin, and biflavones of Cunninghamia lanceolata. Additionally, tannins, resins, vitamin C, and waxes are present.
2. Pharmacological effects: Decoction of Platycladus leaf shortens bleeding time in mice and coagulation time in rabbits, demonstrating hemostatic effects; flavonoids have significant expectorant effects; the decoction has antitussive and bronchodilatory effects; it inhibits Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria catarrhalis, Shigella, Salmonella typhi, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Streptococcus B, Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, influenza virus type 681, and herpes virus; the decoction has sedative and anticonvulsant effects; it also mildly lowers blood pressure and causes vasodilation.
3. Clinical reports: (1) Pediatric pneumonia: Using Hubaizhen (each ml containing 1 g each of Platycladus leaf and Polygonum cuspidatum raw herbs), administered intravenously at 2 ml per kg body weight daily in 5% glucose solution over 8–12 hours, for 5–8 consecutive days. Among 40 cases treated, 32 were effective and 8 ineffective, with an overall efficacy rate of 80%. [Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1987, (11):11] (2) Seborrheic alopecia: Fresh Platycladus leaf, Gnaphalium affine, and Drynaria fortunei in appropriate amounts soaked in 100 ml of 85% ethanol for 2 weeks, filtered and used externally several times daily for 1–5 minutes each time. Among 200 cases treated, 29 cured, 61 markedly effective, 76 effective, 34 ineffective, total effective rate 83%. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1983, (8):46] (3) Mumps: Fresh Platycladus leaf 200–300 g washed and mashed, mixed with egg white and applied to affected area, changed 7–8 times daily. Swelling reduced in about one day. Among 50 cases, except 2 with secondary infection treated with antibiotics, 48 cases cured with Platycladus leaf topical application alone within 1–2 days. [Hebei Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1985, (4):31] (4) Burns: Fresh Platycladus leaf 300–500 g washed and mashed, mixed with a small amount of 75% ethanol to form a paste, applied externally to wounds, changed 3 times daily. Among 61 cases, except 3 with extensive deep second-degree burns transferred for other treatment, the remaining 58 cases were cured. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1989, 9(10):630]