Qing Hao - 青蒿 - Herba Artemisiae Annuae

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Herba Artemisiae Annuae Herba Artemisiae Apiaciae
Common English:	Celery Wormwood Sweet Wormwood

Category

Herbs that Clear Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs that Clear Heat from Deficiency

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter (Acrid)	Cold	Kidney Liver Gallbladder (Bladder) (Stomach) (San Jiao)	3-12g For stronger Heat clearing: up to 24g For malaria: 20-40g Tincture: 1-4ml 6-12g (Secondary source)

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Clears Summerheat or Damp-Heat	Summerheat with low fever, headache, dizziness and a stifling sensation in the chest
Clears Deficiency fevers	Blood Deficiency or Yin Deficiency fevers Sequelae of a febrile disease Especially good when steaming bone patterns are marked by anhidrosis
Cools the Blood and stops bleeding	Purpuric rashes or epistaxis due to Blood Heat
Stops malarial disorders and relieves Heat	Malarial disorders with alternating chills and fever
Clears Liver Heat and brightens the eyes	Liver Yang Rising with red eyes, dizziness and photophobia

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Sm. Lablab Album Bai Bian Dou Talcum Hua Shi	Cx. Lycii Di Gu Pi Rx. Cynanchi Bai Wei	Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu
Fever without sweat, dizziness, and a stifling sensation in the chest associated with Summerheat.	Blood Deficiency fevers, afternoon fevers and night sweats.	Chronic low-grade fever with a sensation of Heat in the bones and a body that feels warm to the touch.
Carapax Trionycis Bie Jia Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang	Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum Zhi Ban Xia	Carapax Trionycis Bie Jia
Fever due to Heat in the Yin regions of the body. Purpuric rashes due to Heat in the Blood.	Malarial disorders due to Damp-Heat or Damp Summerheat with nausea, a stifling sensation in the chest and intense fevers .	The final stages of a Warm febrile disease when the Yin Fluids have already been damaged and the pathogen still lurks deep within the Yin level with night fever with chills in the morning, the fever recedes without sweating, emaciation, rapid pulse and a red tongue with little coating.
Minor Bupleurum Decoction Xiao Chai Hu Tang	Carapax Trionycis Bie Jia Rz. Anemarrhenae Zhi Mu Rx. Gentianae Macrophyllae Qin Jiao	Carapax Trionycis Bie Jia Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang Cx. Moutan Mu Dan Pi
Malaria with alternating chills and fever.	Yin Deficient Heat.	Heat in the Ying Level with constant feverish sensations.
Fol. Nelumbinis He Ye	Hb. Plantaginis Che Qian Cao	Flos Chrysanthemi Ju Hua Concha Haliotidis Shi Jue Ming Sm. Cassiae Jue Ming Zi Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin
Summerheat or Damp-Heat.	Summerheat or Damp-Heat in infants.	Eye disorders.
Hb. Artemisiae Scopariae Yin Chen Hao Cx. Phellodendri Huang Bai Sm. Plantaginis Che Qian Zi Fr. Gardeniae Zhi Zi
Jaundice.

Notes

1. In some sources it is classified among the herbs that clear Summerheat.
2. Mosquitoes can be kept away by burning this herb.
3. It vents Heat outward from the Yin level to the Yang and is an ideal choice for clearing Heat from the Liver and Gallbladder.
4. Since it does not exhaust Qi or Blood, it is especially suitable for Heat disorders in patients with Blood Deficiency.
5. Its clean aroma penetrates the forehead, brightening the eyes and dispersing Wind-Heat.
6. Malaria may be treated with large doses of the fresh herb used alone.
7. According to one source, it relieves fever and overstraining.
8. It has been shown in studies to inhibit cancer cell growth.
9. Applied to an incised wound, it can stop bleeding, encourage new muscle growth and ease pain.
10. Do not boil it for longer than 5-15 minutes.
11. Qing Hao and Rx. Bupleuri Chai Hu both enter the Liver and Gallbladder channels and treat malarial disorders with alternating chills and fever. Qing Hao has a light, clearing, cooling fragrance that is excellent for clearing Summerheat without harming the Yin , and it is used for fever when Yin has been injured by warm and Summerheat pathogens, or for steaming bones from Yin Deficiency or consumptive Heat. Chai Hu raises and disperses, making it excellent for spreading Liver Qi Stagnation and lifting clear Yang. Overusing Chai Hu tends to injure the Yin.
12. Qing Hao and Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu both cool the Blood and reduce steaming bones. Qing Hao is acrid and fragrant, vents warm pathogens outward from the Yin level to the Yang level, and is most suitable for Heat that appears at night and subsides by morning due to Ying Level injury from a warm pathogen. It additionally resolves Summerheat and treats the alternating chills and fever of malarial disorders. Yin Chai Hu does not clear Heat by venting, but it does treat Heat from childhood nutritional impairment.
13. Qing Hao, Rx. Cynanchi Atrati Bai Wei and Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu all clear pathogenic Heat. Qing Hao neither cools the Lungs nor promotes urination. Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu neither vents Heat nor vents Blood Heat outward; it only cools Blood Heat internally.
14. Qing Hao and Hb. Artemisiae Scopariae Yin Chen are both aromatic and resolve Damp-Heat, and they are frequently combined for Damp-Heat jaundice, Warm-Damp disorders and Summerheat-warmth. Yin Chen enters the Spleen and Stomach and is specific for jaundice. Qing Hao enters mainly the Liver/Gallbladder and is more capable of resolving steaming bones from consumption. It is especially good at draining pathogenic Fire in Summerheat-warmth and at treating malarial disorders.
15. Dry-fried Sweet Wormwood Chao Qing Hao has a stronger effect on steaming bones and consumptive Heat.
16. Turtle Blood Sweet Wormwood Bie Xue Qing Hao is more effective at cooling Heat and nourishing the Yin. It is often given for Yin Deficiency night sweats, consumptive Heat and steaming bones.