Hai Zao - 海藻 - Sargassum - Seaweed

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Herba Sargassii Sargassum
Common English:	Sargassum Seaweed

Category

Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Coughing: Herbs that Cool and Transform Phlegm-Heat

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter Salty	Cold	Kidney Liver Lung Stomach	6-16g Tincture: 2-4ml

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Reduces Phlegm and softens areas of hardness	Phlegm nodules in the neck such as: tumors, scrofula and goiter Abdominal mass, carbuncle Bulging disorders, especially those involving the scrotum and testes
Promotes urination and reduces edema	Edema due to leg Qi or floating edema, orchitis

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii Zhe Bei Mu Per. Citri Reticulatae Chen Pi Or Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii Zhe Bei Mu Per. Citri Reticulatae Viride Qing Pi	Sp. Prunellae Xia Ku Cao Fr. Forsythiae Lian Qiao Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen	Bombyx Batryticatus Jiang Can Spica Prunellae Xia Ku Cao Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen
Goiter.	Scrofula.	Scrofula and goiter.
Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao	Water Chestnut	Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu
Goiter and scrofula.	Silicosis presenting with Yin Deficiency and copious sputum.	Goiter and scrofula. For hyperthyroidism, use large doses for a short time. For hypothyroidism use normal doses for a long period of time.

Notes

1. Traditionally, this herb is used for hernia pain.
2. In commercial diet-control products, it suppresses appetite and promotes weight loss without causing insomnia.
3. According to some sources, this herb clears Heat.
4. It inhibits certain cancer cells.
5. For scrofula with macrocervix, dry-fry or roast this herb with buckwheat and roasted Bombyx Batryticatus Jiang Can, then decoct in rice broth and form into pills to be taken orally, 60 pills per dose.
6. For hypomaxillary scrofula, steep 300g in wine for several days and take frequently in small amounts.
7. Sargassum Hai Zao is frequently paired with another seaweed, Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu, to resolve hard masses.
8. Hai Zao and Meretricis/Cyclinae Ge Qiao are both salty and cold; both soften hardness, reduce Phlegm and promote the movement of fluids to relieve edema. Hai Zao enters the Liver channel and is more powerful at softening hardness and dispersing clumps, making it better for goiter, painful swollen testicles and hepato/splenomegaly. Ge Qiao enters the Lungs, is superior at cooling the Lungs and descending Phlegm-Heat, and is better suited to cough and chest pain from Phlegm-Fire.
9. Hai Zao and Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu share similar properties and actions. Hai Zao is bitter in addition to salty and cold. Its flavor is turbid, its cooling action is weaker than that of Kun Bu, and its therapeutic effects are gentler.