Hyacinth Bean (Biandou)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Semen Dolichoris |
| Botanical Name: | Dolichos lablab L. |
| Common Name: | Dolichos seed Hyacinth bean Egyptian Kidney bean |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Mingyi Bielu |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The ripe seeds are gathered in autumn and then dried in the sun. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet and slightly warm |
| Meridian: | Spleen and stomach |
| Functions: | To strengthen the spleen and transform dampness |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Deficient spleen not transforming and transporting water manifested as lassitude, poor appetite, loose stool or diarrhea, or leukorrhea due to downward flowing of turbid dampness. *Use with Ginseng (Renshen), White atractylodes (Baizhu) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Shen Ling Baizhu San. 2. Disharmony of the spleen and stomach due to invasion from exogenous pathogenic summer-damp-heat manifested as vomiting and diarrhea. *Use with Elsholtzia (Xiangru) and Magnolia bark (Houpo) in the formula Xiangru San. |
| Dosage: | 10-20 g |
| Cautions: | The raw herb is used for relieving summer-heat, the fried herb for strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea. |