Ze Xie
English Name: alisma, Asian/Oriental water plantain rhizome
Pharmaceutical Name: Rhizoma Alismatis
Medica Category: Water-Regulating and Damp-Resolving Herbs
Properties: Ze Xie enters the Kidney and Urinary Bladder channels; it is sweet and bland in nature and cold in temperature.
What is Ze Xie?:
The Chinese Herb Ze Xie is the dried rhizome of alisma (aka Asian or Oriental Water Plantain—Alisma Orientalis), a small, flowering aquatic plant found throughout the marshlands of Asia. The rhizomes are dug up in the winter, cleaned of their fibrous material, and then sliced and dried for use as medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Ze Xie:
Ze Xie regulates water circulation and resolves dampness accumulation; it is used to address edema and various forms of dysuria to include cloudy urine, painful, burning sensation when urinating, and bladder stones.
Ze Xie clears deficiency fire from the Kidney in cases of Kidney Yin Deficiency (as in the formula Liu Wei Di Huang Wan).
**safety note—this herb has a diuretic effect and should be used with caution/under supervision of a trained TCM practitioner when combined with pharmaceutical medications that have diuretic effects (such as chlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide (Lasix), bumetanide (Bumex), and torsemide (Demadex)) to avoid potentially excessive loss of fluids and/or electrolytes.