Zhu Zi Cao
English Name: thymifolia
Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Euphorbiae Thymifoliae
Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Toxin-Eliminating Herbs
Properties: Zhu Zi Cao enters the Liver and Lung channels; it is sweet in nature and cool in temperature.
What is Zhu Zi Cao?:
The Chinese Herb Zhu Zi Cao the dried aerial parts of a small-branched, annual herb that grows close to the ground (Euphorbia thymifolia) in tropical and sub-tropical climes across the world. This plant is widely used in folk/herbal medicinal traditions across Africa (one common name there being given as “laghududhika”) as well as in parts of India and the rest of Southeast Asia for a wide variety of applications. In the modern incarnation of TCM, it has a much narrower therapeutic focus, which is discussed below.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Zhu Zi Cao:
Zhu Zi Cao clears heat and eliminates toxins. It is used to treat toxic heat in that manifests clinically in the Lung channel as bronchitis, pneumonia and sore throat w/fever. Zhu Zi Cao also clears heat-toxins from the Liver channel and can be used in combination to treat hepatitis.
Zhu Zi Cao cools the blood and can be used to stop bleeding when excess heat is forcing the blood out of the channels (e.g. manifesting as nosebleeds (epistaxsis) and vomiting up blood (hematemesis)).