Catechu – 1 lb (454 g)

Catechu, known in Chinese as 儿茶 (érchá) and scientifically as Catechu, 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 Catechu carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Catechu 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 Catechu, 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 Hai’ercha, Ercha Gao, and Fang Ercha. It is the peeled branches and dried extract of the Fabaceae plant Acacia catechu (L.) Willd. It is distributed in Zhejiang, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces. Except for the wild populations in the Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan, all others are cultivated introductions. Branches are harvested in winter, peeled, cut into large pieces, decocted with water, concentrated, and dried.

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

[Actions] Astringes dampness and promotes healing of sores, stops bleeding, transforms phlegm and relieves cough.

[Applications]
1. Used externally for chronic non-healing ulcers, damp sores with exudation, and dental caries. For treating carbuncles and ulcerations, catechu is combined with frankincense, myrrh, dragon’s blood, and Panax notoginseng powder as a topical powder, e.g., in the formula Fugu Shenji San (腐尽生肌散). For damp sores with exudate, it is combined with calomel, dragon bone, and litharge. For dental caries and ulcers, it is ground with borax and applied topically.
2. Used for excessive leukorrhea and vulvar itching in women, combined with snake bed seed (Cnidium monnieri) decoction for sitz baths. Currently used topically as a fine powder for cervicitis.
3. Used for various bleeding disorders such as hemoptysis, hematemesis, epistaxis, hematochezia, metrorrhagia, and traumatic bleeding, taken orally as a powder. For nosebleeds, it can be powdered and applied nasally; for traumatic bleeding, it can be combined with Panax notoginseng powder externally. Currently commonly used for hemoptysis in pulmonary tuberculosis and bleeding from gastric and duodenal bulb ulcers.
4. Used for cough with phlegm-heat, combined with mint and fine tea powder to form honey pills for sucking; or combined with Scutellaria baicalensis, Morus alba bark, and Trichosanthes fruit.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 1–3 g, decocted separately or included in pills or powders. External use: appropriate amount, powdered and applied or made into a paste for topical application.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents include catechu tannins, levorotatory and racemic catechu extracts, epicatechin, fisetin, quercetin, and quercetagetin.
2. Pharmacological actions: catechu tannins have astringent, antidiarrheal, and nonspecific inhibitory effects; catechu decoction can kill ascitic cancer cells in vitro; epicatechin inhibits cancer cells; also exhibits hypoglycemic, antithrombotic, hepatoprotective, and choleretic effects.
3. Clinical reports:
1) Oral ulcers: catechu powder applied topically 2–3 times daily. In a study of 162 cases, the cure rate was 100%. [Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1988,(5):40]
2) Impetigo: 25% catechu solution applied externally once daily after disinfecting and cleaning lesions. In 100 cases with 824 skin lesions, 768 lesions healed, 54 markedly effective, 2 effective. [Chinese Journal of Dermatology, 1990, 23(3):178]
3) Chronic colitis: oral catechu powder or retention enema; oral dose 0.6–2.0 g three times daily, retention enema with 40–100 ml warm saline or water once daily for 15–30 days per course. In 93 cases, total effective rate was 95.7% after 2–3 courses. [Guangdong Medical Journal, 1984,(5):25]
4) Ulcer bleeding: 102 patients divided into three groups: Group A received 3 g rhubarb powder plus 3 g catechu orally three times daily; Group B received 3 g Panax notoginseng powder plus 3 g catechu orally three times daily; Group C received Western hemostatic drugs. Total effective rates were 88.2%, 85.29%, and 58.82%, respectively. [Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, 1984, 4(4):226]