He Ye - 荷葉 - Folium Nelumbinis - Lotus Leaf

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Folium Nelumbinis
Common English:	Lotus Leaf

Category

Herbs that Clear Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs that Clear Heat and Relieve Toxicity; Herbs that Clear Heat and Relieve Summerheat

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter Slightly Sweet (Astringent)	Neutral	Heart Liver Spleen (Stomach)	3-15g Fresh: up to 30g Tincture: 1-3ml 3-9g (Secondary source)

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Relieves Summerheat	Summerheat and Dampness with fever, irritability, excessive sweating, scanty urine and especially diarrhea
Raises and clears Spleen Yang	Spleen Yang Deficiency diarrhea especially in the aftermath of Summerheat
Removes Stagnation and stops bleeding	Bleeding in the Lower Jiao due to Heat or Stagnation Hematemesis (adjunctive)

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Flos Lablab Bian Dou Hua Flos Lonicerae Jin Yin Hua	Hb. Cirsii Xiao Ji Rx. Rubiae Qian Cao Gen Rz. Imperatae Bai Mao Gen
Summerheat.	All charred for sudden onset of bleeding.

Notes

1. Lotus Stem, Caul. Nelumbinis Lian Geng, resembles the leaf but also opens and moves Qi in the chest. It is used for Summerheat-Dampness with a stifling feeling in the chest and diarrhea, and for Summerheat with vaginal discharge or painful urinary dysfunction. It is able to unblock the Qi, relax the sinews, raise Yang fluids, relieve thirst, cool Heat, relieve night sweats, move water, and cure irregular uterine bleeding and painful urinary dysfunction.
2. According to one source, He Ye reduces Food Stagnation and astringes Jing.
3. A different source states that He Ye disperses Blood and raises Yang.
4. Fresh Lotus Leaf Xian He Ye or Raw Lotus Leaf Sheng He Ye cools Summerheat more strongly and stops bleeding caused by Heat in the Blood. It is specific for epistaxis and hematemesis.
5. Charred Lotus Leaf He Ye Tan has a stronger hemostatic action and is combined with other herbs for irregular menstrual bleeding or for pus and Blood in dysenteric disorders. Externally, it is applied to sores that weep yellowish fluid and to moist eczema.
6. Calyx Nelumbinis He Ye Di raises Yang Qi, strengthens the transporting and transforming functions of the Spleen, dispels Dampness and harmonizes the Stomach.