Asparagus Root (Tian Men Dong)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Radix Asparagi |
| Botanical Name: | Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr. |
| Common Name: | Asparagus root |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The tuberous roots are dug in autumn. After the fibrous roots have been removed, the roots are boiled in hot water or steamed, and soaked again in clear water. The roots are then dried in the sun or baked. Finally, they are cut into slices. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet, bitter and very cold |
| Meridian: | Lung, and kidney |
| Functions: | To clear the lung and descend fire To nourish the yin and moisten dryness Clears heat Moistens lungs and nourishes kidneys |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Flaring up of fire caused by deficient yin of the lungs and kidneys manifested as scanty and sticky sputum or cough with bloody sputum. *Use with Ophiopogon root (Mai dong) in the formula Erdong Gao. 2. Consumption of yin and qi by febrile disease manifested as thirst, shortness of breath or diabetes. *Use with Fresh rehmannia root (Sheng di huang) and Ginseng (Ren shen) in the formula Sancai Tang. 3. Constipation due to dryness in the intestines. *Use with Chinese angelica root (Dang gui) and Cistanche (Rou cong rong). |
| Dosage: | 6-15 g |
| Cautions: | The herb is contraindicated in cases with deficiency and cold in the spleen and stomach, poor appetite or diarrhea. |