Ya Dan Zi - 鸭蛋子 - Fructus Bruceae

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Fructus Bruceae
Common English:	Brucea Fruit Java Brucea Fruit

Category

Herbs that Clear Heat: Herbs that Clear Heat and Resolve Toxicity

Herbs that Kill Parasites (Anthelmintics)

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter	Cold Toxic (Slightly Toxic)	Large Intestine Liver (Gall Bladder)	Powder: 0.5-2g Malaria: 10-15 seeds (remove the husks) Amoebic dysentery: 10-30 seeds Tincture: 0.2-0.8ml (5-20 drops) Children:1g for each year of age

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Cools Heat, Cools the Blood, Expels Dampness, Kills parasites, Resolves toxicity	Chronic, intermittent dysentery Rectal tenesmus with dysentery containing Blood and mucus and dysentery caused by protozoa and amoeba Long-term diarrhea and hemorrhoids
Treats malaria	Malaria
Treats cancer caused by Toxic Heat	Cancers of the colon, breast, esophagus, Stomach, skin, cervix and rectum
Softens hardness	Topically for hard nodules, warts, corns cysts

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Rx. Pulsatillae Bai Tou Weng Cx. Phellodendri Huang Bai Rz. Coptidis Huang Lian	Arillus Longan Long Yan Rou
Dysenteric disorders, particularly amoebic dysentery	Wrap Ya Dan Zi in Long Yan Rou, and ingest for bloody dysentery

Notes

1. It irritates the gastric mucosa and is toxic to the Liver and Kidneys, so patients need careful monitoring.
2. During dysentery attacks, take it on an empty stomach, and take Spleen tonics while the condition is in remission.
3. Warts can be treated with it topically.
4. For external use, crush it, mix it with grain-based liquor and form a paste.
5. Being very bitter, it is unsuitable for decoction and is generally taken as capsules or tablets.
6. Signs of overdose include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, lethargy, dizziness and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Severe cases may involve dyspnea, anuria, fever, convulsions, numbness or paralysis of the limbs, Kidney and Liver damage and loss of consciousness. Adverse reactions usually appear within twenty to sixty minutes. In adults, ingesting fifty seeds can result in overdose.
7. It is extremely bitter and cold. It is frequently combined with Arillus Longan Long Yan Rou, which tonifies the Heart, calms the Shen, nourishes the Blood and protects the Spleen, so that pathogens are eliminated while the Spleen is supported. For hemorrhoids, Fr. Bruceae Ya Dan Zi can be wrapped in Long Yan Rou.
8. Ya Dan Zi and Rx. Pulsatillae Bai Tou Weng both resolve Toxicity and cool the Blood and are used for Damp-Heat or Toxic-Heat dysentery. Ya Dan Zi is superior at resolving toxicity, expelling Dampness and killing parasites, whereas Bai Tou Weng is the better choice for Damp-Heat dysentery owing to its strong Heat-clearing, Blood-cooling and Dampness-expelling properties. Yan Dan Zi is most suitable for periodic dysentery and also treats malaria.
9. Defatted Brucea Fruit Ya Dan Zi Shuang is far less toxic and can be taken without side effects. Its medicinal properties are reduced accordingly, and it is used mainly for elderly and weaker patients and for children. Applied topically, it has almost no effect. Throughout Asia this herb is prized for treating stubborn intestinal parasites.