Dandelion

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Clears heat and resolves toxicity - Pu Gong Ying is a major herb for boils, furuncles, breast abscess, and other hot toxic swellings, whether superficial or internal.
• Reduces breast swelling and supports resolution of mammary abscess - it is one of the best-known herbs for painful red breast lumps, mastitis-type presentations, and nodular heat toxicity in the breast.
• Clears fire and toxicity from the throat, eyes, and gums - it is used for sore throat, red painful eyes, and gum swelling when heat or toxin rises upward.
• Clears damp-heat and promotes urination - traditional use also includes painful urinary difficulty, damp-heat jaundice, and heat-type diarrhea or dysentery.

Secondary Actions

• Pu Gong Ying is stronger at heat-toxin and abscess work than many ordinary food-grade dandelion preparations, even though it remains gentler on the Stomach than some bitter detoxifying herbs.
• Fresh juice, thick decoction, and topical applications all appear in traditional practice, especially for breast abscess, boils, and venomous bites.

Classic Formulas

• Wu Wei Xiao Du Yin - Pu Gong Ying is one of the key toxin-resolving herbs in this classic formula for boils, carbuncles, and early suppurative swellings.
• Pu Gong Ying with Gua Lou and Jin Yin Hua - a classic breast-abscess and nodulation-clearing strategy.
• Pu Gong Ying with Yin Chen, Zhi Zi, and Da Huang - a damp-heat clearing combination for jaundice and lower-burner heat accumulation.

Classical References

• Traditional texts describe Pu Gong Ying as bitter, sweet, and cold, entering the Liver, Stomach, and Lung to clear heat, remove toxicity, reduce abscesses, and drain damp-heat.
• Its special reputation for breast abscess comes from its ability to clear heat-toxin from the Liver and Stomach while also helping the breast tissue soften and discharge.
• Because Pu Gong Ying also clears the throat, eyes, gums, and urinary tract, it is broader than a simple skin-detox herb.