Plantain Herb – 1 lb (454 g)

Plantain Herb, known in Chinese as 车前草 (Chēqiáncǎo) and scientifically as Herba Plantaginis, 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 Plantain Herb carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

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

Trusted for centuries, Plantain 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 Plantain 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 Wheel Vegetable, Ox Tongue Herb, and Pig Ear Herb. It is the whole herb of Plantago asiatica L. or Plantago depressa Willd., plants of the Plantaginaceae family. It is produced in most regions of the country. Harvest in summer by digging up the whole herb, washing off dirt and sand, and drying in the sun.

[Properties] Sweet in taste, cold in nature. Enters the Kidney, Liver, and Spleen meridians.

[Actions] Promotes urination and drains dampness, clears the liver and improves vision, clears heat and detoxifies.

[Applications]
1. Used for difficult urination, edema, turbid painful urination, and leukorrhea. For difficult urination and edema, it can be combined with Atractylodes macrocephala (Baizhu), Poria (Fuling), and Polyporus (Zhuling); for damp-heat accumulation in the lower burner with turbid, painful urination, it can be combined with Akebia (Mutong), Talc (Hua Shi), and Dianthus (Qu Mai); if accompanied by hematuria, it can be combined with Imperata root (Baimaogen) and Small Thistle (Xiao Ji); for damp-heat leukorrhea with continuous discharge, it is often combined with Phellodendron (Huang Bai) and Atractylodes (Cang Zhu).
2. Used for damp-heat jaundice and dysentery. For damp-heat jaundice, it is commonly combined with Artemisia capillaris (Yin Chen), Gardenia (Shan Zhi), and Polygonum cuspidatum (Hu Zhang); for damp-heat dysentery, it can be combined with Coptis (Chuan Lian), Cortex Fraxini (Qin Pi), and Atractylodes (Cang Zhu).
3. Used for red swollen painful eyes and heat toxin sores and ulcers; can be used both internally and externally. For red swollen painful eyes, it can be combined with Scutellaria (Huang Qin), Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua), and Cassia seeds (Jue Ming Zi) decocted for internal use and fumigation or washing of the affected area; for heat toxin sores and ulcers, it can be combined with Lonicera (Jin Yin Hua), Forsythia (Lian Qiao), and Wild Chrysanthemum (Ye Ju Hua) decocted for internal use and fresh herb pounded and applied topically.
Additionally, this herb has the effect of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, and relieving cough, and can be used for phlegm-heat cough.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 9–15 g; fresh herb 30–60 g; or juice extracted and drunk. External use: appropriate amount, pounded and applied topically.

[Cautions] Use with caution in the absence of damp-heat.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The whole herb contains plantamajoside, plantainoside, high plantainoside, ursolic acid, hentriacontane, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, palmitate esters, vitamins B1 and C, etc. The root also contains plantamajoside.
2. Pharmacological actions: Herb Plantain has diuretic and litholytic effects; its decoction and flavonoid glycosides have antitussive, antiasthmatic, and expectorant effects; it exhibits varying degrees of bactericidal and inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sonnei, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, fungi, and Leptospira; it also has hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Chyluria: used Herb Plantain 30 g, Bidens pilosa 30 g, fresh Ziziphus jujuba root 150 g, one dose daily, decocted to 1500 ml, taken in three doses; each dose preceded by 150 ml of slightly warmed beer, with a short pause before taking the decoction. In 21 cases treated, 17 were cured. [Jiangsu Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1983, (5): back cover] 2) Bacterial dysentery: used 100% fresh Herb Plantain leaf decoction, 60–120 ml daily. Treated 43 cases of acute bacterial dysentery and 45 cases of chronic bacterial dysentery, with a total effective rate of 84%. [Shaanxi Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1989, 10(4):174]