Clinopodium Herb

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Cools blood and stops bleeding - Duan Xue Liu is primarily used for uterine bleeding, heavy menstrual bleeding, hemoptysis, hematuria, bloody stool, and other hemorrhagic presentations with heat or restless-blood features.
• Restrains bleeding while supporting tissue recovery - later clinical use especially emphasizes gynecologic bleeding and repair of the damaged endometrial environment rather than only blunt astringency.
• Clears heat and helps treat damp-heat or toxic bowel disorders - traditional and ethnomedical use extends to dysentery-type diarrhea, intestinal irritation, and inflammatory lower-burner patterns.
• Can be used externally for traumatic bleeding - this preserves the herb's folk identity as a practical hemostatic rather than a purely internal gynecologic medicinal.

Secondary Actions

• Duan Xue Liu is a comparatively modern officially recognized folk hemostatic, so its literature base is stronger in Pharmacopoeia-era and regional practice sources than in very old classical formula canons.
• The herb name now covers two legitimate Pharmacopoeia sources, Clinopodium chinense and Clinopodium polycephalum, which is important for quality control and consistency.

Classic Formulas

• Duan Xue Liu Pian or capsules - modern Chinese hemostatic preparations used especially for dysfunctional uterine bleeding and other nonemergency hemorrhagic disorders.
• Duan Xue Liu with cooling-blood hemostatics such as Di Yu or Bai Mao Gen - pattern logic when bleeding is heat-driven and lower-tract irritation is prominent.
• Duan Xue Liu with San Qi or other stasis-aware hemostatics - practical pairing logic when bleeding and tissue injury coexist.

Classical References

• Modern Chinese materia-medica references describe Duan Xue Liu as slightly bitter to astringent and cool, entering the Liver, with the core function of cooling blood and stopping bleeding.
• The 2024 quality-control paper on the two official Clinopodium sources notes that both Clinopodium chinense and Clinopodium polycephalum are legitimate origins of Duan Xue Liu in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China.
• Traditional and regional usage consistently centers on hemorrhagic disease, especially gynecologic bleeding, while also preserving a broader folk role in dysentery and traumatic bleeding.