Promotes urination and treats strangury - this Jin Qian Cao variant is used for damp-heat urinary obstruction, heat strangury, and stone-type disorders with painful, difficult urination.
Clears heat and removes toxicity - traditional indications include boils, sores, damp-heat jaundice, and inflammatory lower-burner irritation.
Eliminates stasis and resolves swelling - beyond urinary use, it is also applied to traumatic injury, bruising, and localized swelling when heat and stasis combine.
Acts as a regional stone herb - in some herb lists and market traditions, Glechoma longituba functions as a Jin Qian Cao source herb for urolithiasis-style patterns, overlapping but not perfectly matching Lysimachia-based Gold Coin Grass.
Secondary Actions
The naming around Jin Qian Cao is regionally variable: some pharmacopoeial and market traditions use the name for Lysimachia christinae, while others extend it to Glechoma longituba or related stone herbs.
Because of that variability, this record is best read as a Glechoma-based Jin Qian Cao variant rather than assumed identical in all respects to Lysimachia christinae.
Classic Formulas
Jin Qian Cao with Hai Jin Sha and Ji Nei Jin - classic stone-oriented pairing logic for urinary gravel, painful strangury, and recurrent urolithiasis.
Jin Qian Cao with Yin Chen and Zhi Zi - damp-heat and jaundice strategy when biliary or hepatic heat accompanies yellowing and urinary discomfort.
External Jin Qian Cao application with heat-toxin-clearing herbs - traditional use for boils, swellings, and traumatic injury with localized inflammation.
Classical References
TCM Wiki's Lian Qian Cao entry for Herba Glechomae describes the herb as acrid, slightly bitter, and slightly cold, entering the Liver, Kidney, and Bladder channels, with actions of promoting diuresis, clearing heat and removing toxicity, and eliminating stasis and swelling.
The same source lists indications including heat strangury, urolithiasis, jaundice due to damp-heat, traumatic injury, and sores or boils.
Import and trade lists sometimes label Christina Loosestrife or Jin Qian Cao with the Latin Herba Glechomae Longitubae, illustrating a naming overlap that is real in catalog practice even when botanical identities differ by region.
Modern Research
Active Compounds
Quercetin - a major flavonoid identified from Glechoma longituba
Corosolic acid - a triterpenoid constituent reported from the plant
Glecholone and ionol-type terpenoids - notable small molecules isolated in constituent studies
Phenolic-acid-rich fraction - a bioactive antioxidant component characterized analytically
Triterpenoid glycosides - newer constituents with cytotoxic and broader pharmacologic interest
Studied Effects
Glechoma longituba extract demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo antiurolithic activity, reducing calcium-oxalate-related injury, oxidative stress, and crystal deposition in experimental models (PMID 27840669).
Constituent-isolation work from Glechoma longituba identified multiple flavonoids, triterpenoids, and related small molecules, helping define the plant's pharmacologically relevant chemistry (PMID 16848319).
Analytical profiling quantified major bioactive phenolic compounds in Glechoma longituba, supporting its antioxidant and inflammation-related research potential (PMID 21366038).
Recent phytochemical work continues to identify new terpenoid glycosides with in-vitro cytotoxicity, broadening modern interest in the herb beyond stone-related use (PMID 37963510).