Clears Heat and cools Blood — febrile illness, hemoptysis, hematuria, and nosebleed from Blood Heat
Resolves toxicity and reduces swelling — carbuncles, furuncles, and infected wounds
Clears Lung Heat and stops cough — Lung-heat cough and expectoration of blood-tinged phlegm
Clears Large Intestine Heat — bloody dysentery and diarrhea from Intestinal Damp-Heat
Secondary Actions
External use — fresh herb poultice for burns, scalds, skin rashes, and snake bite in southeast Asia and south China folk practice
Edible medicinal green — young shoots consumed as a vegetable in tropical folk cuisines; considered a cooling food
Classical References
Guang Zhou Min Jian Cao Yao (广州民间草药): records Lian Zi Cao (莲子草, 'lotus-seed herb', named for bead-like seed clusters) as a Heat-clearing folk herb used in south China and southeast Asia for febrile bleeding, dysentery, and topical burns; closely related to and used interchangeably with Kong Xin Lian Zi Cao (herb #90, Alternanthera philoxeroides) in most folk contexts
SPECIES NOTE: Lian Zi Cao (莲子草) most likely refers to Alternanthera sessilis (L.) R.Br. ex DC. (Sessile Joyweed; Amaranthaceae) — a cosmopolitan tropical weed used as a vegetable and medicine throughout south and southeast Asia; shares the Herba Alternantherae Latin designation with herb #90 (A. philoxeroides); the two species have overlapping pharmacological profiles but A. sessilis has more extensive use as an edible herb
Modern Research
Active Compounds
Quercetin and kaempferol glycosides (flavonoids; anti-inflammatory, antioxidant)
β-Sitosterol and stigmasterol (phytosterols; anti-inflammatory)
Chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid (phenolic acids; antioxidant)
Protein-bound polysaccharides (immunostimulatory)
Studied Effects
Anti-inflammatory: flavonoid and phenolic acid fractions from Alternanthera sessilis inhibit COX-2 and reduce LPS-induced cytokine production in macrophage models; in vivo anti-inflammatory activity confirmed in paw-edema models — validates the Heat-clearing and toxin-resolving folk applications for febrile and inflammatory conditions
Antioxidant and hepatoprotective: quercetin glycosides and betacyanins from A. sessilis demonstrate significant DPPH scavenging and protect hepatocytes against CCl4-induced oxidative injury in rodent models; antioxidant capacity correlates with the Blood-cooling, Heat-clearing TCM energetic profile
Antidiabetic: aqueous extract of A. sessilis reduces fasting blood glucose and improves lipid profiles in diabetic rodent models; α-glucosidase inhibition by flavonoids delays postprandial glucose absorption — consistent with the cooling vegetable food-as-medicine approach in southeast Asian traditional diet
Safety & Interactions
Contraindications
Spleen-Stomach Deficiency Cold — cool nature impairs digestive Yang
Cold-pattern bleeding — cooling action inappropriate for cold-deficiency haemorrhage
Cautions
Standard dose: 15–30 g dried herb in decoction; 30–60 g fresh herb; widely consumed as a vegetable at food doses without adverse effects