Jue Ming Zi - 決明子 - Semen Cassiae - Cassia Seeds
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Semen Cassiae Semen Cassiae Torae |
| Common English: | Cassia Seeds Fetid Cassia Seeds Sickle Senna Seed |
Category
Herbs that Clear Heat and Drain Fire: Herbs that Clear Heat in the Qi Stage
Liver Calming and Wind Extinguishing Herbs
Properties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Bitter Sweet Salty | Slightly Cold (Cool) | Liver Large Intestine Kidney (Gallbladder) | 9-15g Powder: 3-6g Tincture: 2-4ml |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Clears the Liver (Heat), clears the vision and benefits the eyes (Expels Wind-Heat) | Red, swollen and painful eyes from Liver Heat or Wind-Heat in the Liver channel. Eye problems such as photosensivity, night blindness and insidious loss of vision without visible physical changes to the eye, easy tearing in the Wind |
Calms the Liver and anchors Liver Yang | Liver Yang Rising or Liver Fire with headaches and dizziness Hypertension |
Moistens the Intestines and unblocks the bowels | Chronic constipation with dry or infrequent stools especially if there is Liver Yin Deficiency |
Reduces blood pressure and serum cholesterol | High blood pressure High cholesterol |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
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Major Combinations
| Concha Haliotidis | Rx. Gentianae | Flos Chrysanthemi |
Cools the Liver to treat visual problems associated with Liver Fire or Liver Yin Deficiency with Liver Yang Rising. | Eye problems due to Liver Fire. | Pain, swelling and redness of the eyes due to Wind-Heat. |
| Rx. Ligustici Chuanxiong | Flos Chrysanthemi | Sp. Prunellae |
Temporal headache due to Wind-Heat. | Eye pain and redness due to Liver Fire or Wind-Heat. | Redness, pain and swelling of the eyes, abnormal tearing, photophobia, headache and dizziness due to Liver Fire, especially eye pain worse at night due to Liver Yang Rising. |
| Flos Chrysanthemi | Hb. Dendrobii | Ram. Uncariae cum Uncis |
Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency with visual problems like dry eyes, cataracts, optic atrophy, dryness, diminished vision and photo-sensitivity. | Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency with blurred vision photosensitivity and excessive tearing. | Hypertension, dizziness and headache due to Liver Yang Rising. |
Flos Chrysanthemi | Rx. Angelicae Sinensis | Hb. Lophatheri |
| Hypertension. | Constipation due to remaining Heat in the Intestines. | Constipation with severe bad breath, red eyes, dark, and scanty urine. |
Sp. Prunellae | Rx. Angelicae Sinensis | Rx. Salviae Miltiorrhizae |
Eye problems due to Liver Heat. | Constipation due to dry Intestines. | Atherosclerosis. |
Sm. Sesame Nigrum | Rz. seu Hb. Gynostemmatis | |
Constipation. | High cholesterol. |
Notes
- Certain sources state that this herb benefits the Kidney.
- Compared with Flos Chrysanthemi Ju Hua, Sm. Cassiae Jue Ming Zi is better at clearing Liver Fire and benefiting the Kidneys, whereas Ju Hua is better at pacifying the Liver and clearing Wind-Heat.
- Applied topically to the eyes, it is used for redness, infection and cataract.
- To lower cholesterol, use 30g of this herb as a single herb.
- On its own it can treat night blindness and optic nerve atrophy.
- Taken alone as a tea, it relieves mild constipation.
- The herb can also be used to fill a pillow.
- Some practitioners place this herb in the Anti Malaria category.
- In unprocessed form it is stronger at clearing Liver Fire and Wind-Heat Attacking the Liver channel, making it more effective for eye disorders, but its coldness may cause diarrhea.
- Jue Ming Zi and Sm. Celosiae Qing Xiang Zi both improve vision. Jue Ming Zi is bitter, sweet, salty and cold, which widens its therapeutic range to include nourishing Liver and Kidney Yin, moistening the Intestines and dispersing Wind-Heat. Because it nourishes Liver and Kidney Yin, it can be used for both Excess and deficient eye disorders or headache, and it is the better choice when constipation is present. Qing Xiang Zi is limited to eye disorders from Excess Heat. It is bitter and cold, drains Fire in the Liver channel and disperses Wind-Heat from the Blood level of the Jue Yin channels. It clears superficial visual obstruction and can dilate the pupils, and it may be used alone for this when Wind-Heat in the Liver channel makes the pupils contract.
- Jue Ming Zi and Concha Haliotidis Shi Jue Ming both clear Liver Heat and brighten the eyes, and they are combined for eye disorders and for headaches that involve the eyes. Jue Ming Zi is bitter and cold and better at cooling Liver Fire to brighten the eyes; it also moistens the Intestines. Shi Jue Ming is salty, cold and heavy, and sedates Rising Liver Yang.
- Dry-fried Cassia Chao Jue Ming Zi cools the Liver and expels Wind less effectively, but it is better at tonifying the Liver and Kidney to treat eye problems.
- The herb is highly effective for Excess tearing.