Nature: sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold
Enters: Lung, Heart, Stomach
Actions: Nourishes Yin; moistens the Lungs, stops coughing; generates Yin and body fluids for the stomach; clears heat from the heart to ease restlessness; moistens the intestines.
Indications:
• Lung heat and Yin deficiency: dry cough, thick, difficult to expectorate sputum, coughing up blood.
• Stomach Yin deficiency: dry mouth, thirst.
• Heart heat and Yin deficiency or ying-level febrile disease: restlessness, insomnia, irritability, worse at night.
• Yin deficiency or aftermath of a febrile disease: constipation, dry mouth, irritability.
• Can reach the upper and middle Jiaos.
• May lower blood sugar.
• For Lung heat and dryness, compared to Tian hua fen and Tian men dong, Mai men dong is best when the origin is heart fire (Tian hua fen is best when the origin is stomach heat and Tian men dong is best when the origin is kidney Yin deficiency)
• Frying the herb in wine reduces its cold properties, which is indicated when the herb is used in tonic formulas.
Dui Yao (Sionneau): Compared to Tian men dong, Mai men dong is better for Lung/stomach Yin deficiency, and better for nourishing the heart and quieting the spirit.
Hong-Yen Hsu (Oriental Materia Medica): Antipyretic, antitussive, expectorant, cardiotonic, diuretic, hypoglycemiant, antibacterial, may have anti-inflammatory properties.
Dose: 6-15g
Wonderful resource!