Shang Lu - 商陸 - Radix Phytolaccae

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Radix Phytolaccae
Common English:	Phytolacca Poke Root Pokeberry Root

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter (Acrid)	Cold (Neutral) Toxic	Bladder Kidney Large Intestine Spleen (Lung)	3-10g Tincture: 0.1-1.5ml

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Drives out water through the urine and stool	Edema associated with Excess with severe constipation, abdominal distention and urinary difficulty
Reduces sores and carbuncles	Hot type sores (topical)
Removes Phlegm, stops coughs and resolves lumps	Pulmonary disorders
Reduces swelling and disperses nodules	Crushed and applied topically to treat swelling and nodules

CONTRAINDICATIONS

INCOMPATIBILITIES

HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

Sm. Arecae Bing Lang Rz. Alismatis Ze Xie	Sm. Phaseoli Chi Xiao Dou	Rx. Sophorae Flavescentis Ku Shen
Edema associated with Excess and swelling with urinary difficulty.	Edema and abdominal distention, shortness of breath, and urinary difficulty.	Topically as a warm poultice for hot, painful sores.
Rx. Kansui Gan Sui	Sm. Arecae Bing Lang Sm. Phaseoli Chi Xiao Dou Rz. Alismatis Ze Xie Per. Arecae Da Fu Pi
Strongly expel water, eliminate plugged accumulation and unblock the water pathways to to treat edema in the Upper, Middle and Lower Jiaos. Edema in the abdomen or limbs and ascites. (use very cautiously)	Ascites and edema.

This herb is extremely harsh and toxic.
Diarrhea is induced by it.
Overdose produces mild manifestations of fever, tachypnea, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea with abdominal pain, and severe manifestations of headache, delirium, mydriasis and coma. Fresh Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao and fresh Sm. Phaseoli Lu Dou serve as the antidote, and these herbs are frequently prescribed alongside Shang Lu to reduce its toxicity.
Used externally, it resolves toxicity and reduces swelling. For boils and abscesses, it is commonly ground with table salt and applied.
Shang Lu and Sm. Pharbitidis Qian Niu Zi both forcefully unblock and drain outward through the urethra and anus, treating edema accompanied by severe constipation, urinary difficulty and thin mucus. Qian Niu Zi guides out Stagnation, reduces accumulation and kills parasites. It is less toxic than Shang Lu and can be given to adults and children alike for abdominal pain from parasitic accumulation, Food Stagnation and anorexia. Internally, Shang Lu is more toxic; externally, it can be used to resolve toxicity and reduce swelling.
Processed Phytolacca Zhi Shang Lu is less toxic and drains and descends more powerfully.