Mu Tong - 木通 - (Chuan Mu Tong) - Caulis Akebiae

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Caulis Akebiae Caulis Clematidis Armandii
Common English:	Akebia Caulis Anemone Clematis Stem Aristolochiae Manshuriensis Armand Clematis Stem Clematis

Category

Herbs that Drain Dampness (Diuretics)

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter	Slightly Cold (Cold)	Bladder Heart Small Intestine (Lung)	3-10g Tincture: 1-4ml 3-6g (Secondary source)

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Promotes urination and unblocks painful urinary dysfunction	Damp-Heat Painful Urinary Dysfunction (Lin Syndrome) with dribbling, painful and rough urination Edema and ascites
Drains Heart Heat through the Small Intestine	Small Intestine Shi Heat with irritability accompanied by mouth or tongue sores and scanty urination
Promotes lactation and unblocks Blood vessels	Lactation Insufficiency Amenorrhea and pain and stiffness of the joints (Heat Bi)

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui	Rz. Alismatis Ze Xie	Sm. Plantaginis Che Qian Zi Fr. Gardeniae Zhi Zi Talcum Hua Shi (Rx. et Rz. Rhei) (Da Huang)
Promotes the circulation of Blood. Stops pain.	Pelvic infections.	Painful urinary dysfunction due to Damp-Heat in the Bladder.
Nodus Nelumbinis Ou Jie Pollen Typhae Pu Huang	Hb Lysimachiae Jin Qian Cao Spora Lygodii Hai Jin Sha	Poria Fu Ling Scl. Polypori Zhu Ling
Painful, bloody urinary dysfunction. (Blood Lin)	Stone Lin.	Edema.
Sm. Plantaginis Che Qian Zi	Medulla Junci Deng Xin Cao	Hb. Lophatheri Dan Zhu Ye Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang
Heart Fire Transferring to the Small Intestine channel causing edema and painful urinary dysfunction.	Difficult, scanty and burning urination associated with Heart channel Heat shifting to the Large Intestine or Heat clumping in the Bladder or Damp-Heat lodging in the Lower Jiao.	Mouth ulcers, burning throat pain, irritability, and insomnia due to Heart Fire.
Rx. Astragali Huang Qi Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui	Rx. Stephaniae Tetrandrae Han Fang Ji Rz. Atractylodis Cang Zhu	Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae Niu Xi Flos Carthami Hong Hua
Qi Deficiency causing insufficient lactation.	Wind-Damp Bi joint pain.	Amenorrhea due to Blood Stasis.
Pigs’ Feet Squama Manitis Chuan Shan Jia Or Pigs’ Feet Sm. Vaccariae Wang Bu Liu Xing	Squama Manitis Chuan Shan Jia Sm. Vaccariae Wang Bu Liu Xing	Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang Hb. Phylostachys Zhu Ye Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao Medulla Junci Deng Xin Cao Fr. Gardeniae Zhi Zi
As a stew for insufficient lactation.	Promotes secretion of breast milk.	Heat or Fire in the Heart and Small Intestine.

Notes

1. Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui is a frequent partner for this herb, the pair working to move the Blood and stop pain.
2. Combined with sedative herbs, it can treat restlessness.
3. Fr. Akebiae Ba Yue Zha spreads Liver Qi and dispels clumping. Bitter and neutral, it enters the Stomach and Liver channels. Its indications include Liver/Stomach Disharmony, hypochondriac and hernia pain, scrofula, breast and digestive tract cancer, urinary difficulty and Stone Lin. The dosage is 6-12g.
4. For draining Heat, this herb is stronger than Medulla Tetrapanacis Tong Cao.
5. Mu Tong and Ze Xie both promote flow through the fluid pathways and are often paired. Mu Tong clears Fire from the Heart and Small Intestine channels and unblocks the movement of Qi and Blood, whereas Ze Xie clears ministerial Fire in the Kidney channel.
6. Mu Tong and Succinum Hu Po both drain Fire from the Small Intestine and promote urination, treating rough urination and hematuria from Small Intestine channel Fire; both also clear Fire from the Heart channel, dredge and unblock the blood vessels, and can be used for amenorrhea from Blood Stasis. Mu Tong is chiefly used for mouth ulcers, red eyes and irritability, and it also promotes lactation and treats Damp-Heat painful obstruction. Hu Po clears the Heart and settles fright, and is mainly used for spasms and seizures caused by Heat from constraint, as well as palpitations, insomnia and disturbing dreams. It additionally treats traumatic hematomas, sores and toxic swellings.
7. Mu Tong and Medulla Junci Deng Xin Cao both clear and drain Heart Fire and lead Small Intestine Heat out through the urine, and they are combined to treat Lin syndrome. Mu Tong is bitter and cold, and stronger than Deng Xin Cao. It addresses mouth and tongue ulcers and red, swollen eyes, and it also unblocks the movement of Qi and Blood to treat amenorrhea, insufficient lactation or painful obstruction. Deng Xin Cao is gentler, and its action on the Heart is aimed mainly at night terrors in children caused by Heart Heat. It also drains Lung Heat to relieve sore throat.
8. Dry-fried Caulis Akebia Chao Mu Tong is less cold, so it does not harm the Stomach, yet it still cools Heat and eases urination without draining Yuan Qi.
9. Chuan Mu Tong (Clematidis armandii Caulis) is the non-toxic form.