Japanese Thistle Root (Da Ji)

大薊

Japanese thistle (Daji)

Pharmaceutical Name: Herba seu Radix Cirsii japonici

Botanical Name: Cirsium japonicum DC.

Common Name: Japanese thistle

Source of Earliest Record: Mingyi Bielu

Part Used: The aerial parts of the plant are gathered in summer or autumn when the thistle is flowering. The root can be dug in late autumn. Both are dried in the sun and cut into pieces.

Natural Properties & Taste: Sweet, bitter and cool

Meridians: Heart and liver

Therapeutic Effects:
1. To cool blood and stop bleeding.

2. To reduce swelling and resolve stagnation.

Indications:
1. Hemorrhages due to extravasation of blood by heat manifested as cough with blood, epistaxis, uterine bleeding, and hematuria. Japanese thistle (Daji) is used with Small thistle (Xiaoji) and Biota tops (Cebaiye).

2. Boils, carbuncles and swelling. Japanese thistle (Daji) is used both externally and internally.

Dosage: 10-15 g (60 g for fresh herb)