Tu Fu Ling
English Name: smilax, glabrous greenbriar, chinaroot
Pharmaceutical Name: Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae
Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Toxin-Eliminating Herbs
Properties: Tu Fu Ling enters the Liver and Stomach channels; it is sweet and bland in nature and cool in temperature.
What is Tu Fu Ling?:
The Chinese Herb Tu Fu Ling is the dried rhizome and root of the glabrous greenbrier (Smilax Glabra Roxb.), a weedy vine with woody rhizomes that spread quickly and sprout new tendrils that will choke out other plants fairly quickly. It is the dried rhizomes and roots of this plant that are used for medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Tu Fu Ling?:
Tu Fu Ling clears toxic-heat and dampness (both internally and externally) and is used to treat various dermatological disorders and painful dysuria from the same root cause.
Tu Fu Ling has been traditionally used (either alone or in combination with other herbs) to treat syphilis that presents with other damp-heat signs.