Polygonum, Knotgrass, Bian Xu 萹蓄

Knotweed
Bian Xu (TCM)
Snyo lo སྙ་ལོ  (Tibetan Medicine)
Picture Kurtzes Handtbuchlein, Ryff, 1599

Picture Polygonum aviculare
Chaumeton, Flore médicale, 1829

Botanical name:


Polygonum aviculare
Greater and Lesser types were used
The Tibetan Medicine Snya lo incorporates P. aviculare, as well as a number of related speices:
  1. P. aviculare
  2. P. amphibium
  3. P. angustifolium
  4. P. divaricatum
  5. P. sibiricum and others
  6. Aconogonon rumicifolium (syn. Polyganum rumicifolium)

Parts used:


Herb

Temperature & Taste:


Cold, dry. Bitter, astringent

Classifications:


2T. GLUTINATE
4i. UTERINE

Uses:


1. Clears Heat and Damp, Promotes Urine (TCM, West):
–hot, painful urination, or Urinary Difficulty from heat; Urethritis, acute Urinary tract infections
-Strangury is treated with small repeated doses of the decoction
–Urinary infection with difficult painful urination (Chinese Pharmacopoeia; Tibetan Medicine)
–Rheumatic diseases, chronic Arthritis, Gout
-Urinary or Gall Stones, Jaundice and Hypertension; especially useful for Kidney Stones

2. Clears Heat, Resists Poison:
-acute Wind-Heat with Cough, Sore Throat, Fever
-Eczema (Chinese Pharmacopoeia); skin diseases (Tibetan Medicine)
-‘principle to eradicate all internal and external heat’ (Matthiolus, New Kreuterbuch, 1626)
-‘Boiled in wine and drunk, it is profitable for those Bitten or Stung by Venomous creatures’. (Culpeper)
-Tertian Fever.

3. Clears Heat, Stops Leakage and Bleeding (TCM, West):
-stop all Fluxes, Diarrhea, Dysentery (West, TCM, Tibetan Medicine)
-Uterine Bleeding, Vomiting Blood, and Blood Noses.
-Urinary Incontinence
-Leukorrhea (Chinese Pharmacopoeia)
-Excessive Menstruation (Kneipp)
–bleeding of Miscarriage, Labor and Delivery
-“Knot weed stops bleeding from the Uterus”. (Avicenna)
-“Its water is useful in Hemoptysis.” (Avicenna)

4. Clears Heat and Damp, Benefits the Joints and Bones:
-strengthen the back in Lumbago; strengthen the Joints
-pain in the lumbar, kidney or lower abdominal region, including after childbirth (Tibetan Medicine)
-Fractures.
-“Cures diseases of the Heart and Back” (Culpeper)

5. Kills Worms:
-Tapeworm, Hookworm, Pinworm and Roundworm. (TCM, West)
   
6. Externally:
-gargle for Mouth and Throat Inflammations, and Rotten Gums
-Eye wash (infusion) for red and sores eyes.
-paste with Myrrh, it is applied to the chest for Pleurisy.
–swellings of the Breasts
-applied fresh to the wrists (pulses) for Tertian Agues.
-as a wash to hot, moist and itchy skin lesions, weeping Eczema, Tinea, damp Pruritus etc; also Eruptive diseases
-“Its plaster is useful for treating cases of Phlegmon, Erysipelas, Herpes and Ulcerous Swellings”. (Avicenna)
-old Ulcers, Abscesses.
-Vulval itching (as a strong wash)
-Wounds and Injuries, especially about the genitals (Bock, Kreutterbuch, 1565)
-Fistulas (Matthiolus, New Kreuterbuch, 1626)
-in douches for Uterine Cancer


Dose:


Decoction: 9–15 grams
Powder: 1–4 grams

Main Combinations:


1. Difficult and painful urination, Knotgrass with Plantain seed
2. Kidney and bladder diseases, and stomach ulcers, Knotgrass with Uva Ursi, Nettle (Müller)
3. Incontinence, Knotgrass with Hemp seed, Agrimony, Shepherds Purse, Plantain (as in Decoction of Hemp Seed)
4. Stones, Knotgrass with Shepherd’s Purse, Agrimony, Camomile, Horsetail (as in Decoction for Stones)
5. Gastric bleeding and Urinary Stones, Knotgrass with Yarrow, Calendula, St. Johns wort (Fischer)
6. Duodenal Ulcer, Knotgrass with Centaury, Lanceleaf Plantain, Peppermint, Sanicle, Potentilla anserina (Görgens)
7. Arthritis, Knotgrass with Mistletoe and Birch
8. Cough with Mucus, Knotgrass with Coltsfoot (Hammerschmidt)
9. Asthma, Knotgrass with Horehound, Blessed Thistle
10. Hemoptysis:
i. Knotgrass with Shepherd’s Purse, Mistletoe, Tormentil
ii. Knotgrass with Willow leaf, Periwinkle, Daisy (Meyer)
11. Tuberculosis:
i. Knotgrass with Horsetail and Hemp Nettle
ii. Knotgrass with Primula root, Horsetail
12. Back Pain, Knotgrass, Comfrey, Shepherd’s Purse (equal parts), decoct in broth. (Natura exenterata, Philiatros, 1655)
13. To restore nature, Knotgrass, Daisy (1 handful each), Dates (12). Beat well together. Add half gallon muscadel, a small bowl of Ox Marrow and 6 Egg Yolks. Mix well and boil gently to half. Then add Mace, Nutmegs, Cinnamon, and Sugar, taking warm every morning and evening. (Natura exenterata, Philiatros, 1655)
14. Douche for Leukorrhea, Knotgrass with Nettle, Oak bark and Camomile (Dinand)
15. Cancers of the Uterus has been treated with injections of juices of Plantain, Knotgrass, Lettuce and Purslane mixed together

Major Formulas:


Confection for all Diseases of the Eyes
Decoction for Stones
Decoction of Hemp Seed
Syrup of Comfrey Compound
Ba Zhen San

Cautions:


Not used in difficult urination from marked weakness.

Main Preparations used:


Distilled Water of the Herb