Rhizome of Asiatic Moonseed

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Clears heat and resolves toxicity ... this Menispermum dauricum rhizome lane is best known for swollen painful throat, mumps, toxic-heat cough, and other inflammatory upper-body conditions.
• Reduces swelling and alleviates pain ... classical use includes severe throat swelling where a bitter-cold herb was used to directly reach the affected area.
• Resolves damp-heat in the intestines ... older use includes dysentery and enteritis when heat, toxicity, and dampness combine.
• Dispels wind-damp in painful obstruction patterns ... beyond throat complaints, the rhizome also appears in rheumatic and arthralgia applications.

Secondary Actions

• IMPORT NOTE ... the inherited pinyin here is unusual, but the Latin and source-plant identity clearly place this record in the Menispermi Rhizoma or Bei Dou Gen tradition already represented elsewhere in the library.
• This page should be treated as a naming-lane sibling of the already-live `chinese-cinquefoil` record, which was earlier corrected to the real Asiatic moonseed identity.

Classic Formulas

• Moonseed rhizome with Ban Lan Gen and Niu Bang Zi ... common toxic-heat sore-throat strategy when swelling and pain dominate.
• Pairing with Bai Tou Weng and Huang Lian ... traditional logic when damp-heat dysentery or enteritis needs both detoxification and intestinal heat clearing.
• Slow-swallow throat methods ... older administration style for severe throat swelling so the bitter-cold action contacts the affected tissue.

Classical References

• Traditional references describe Rhizoma Menispermi as bitter, cold, and slightly toxic, used for sore throat, toxic cough, damp-heat dysentery, and painful obstruction.
• The naming needs care ... this is not actually cinquefoil, and it should also be distinguished from Shan Dou Gen despite overlapping throat indications.