Clears Heat and cools Blood — febrile illness, hemoptysis, hematuria, and epistaxis from Blood Heat
Resolves toxicity and reduces swelling — carbuncles, venomous snake bite, and infected sores
Clears Lung Heat and stops cough — Lung-heat cough and hemoptysis
Promotes urination — dysuria and urinary tract infection from Damp-Heat
Secondary Actions
External use for burns and skin conditions — fresh herb pounded as poultice for burns, scalds, and eczematous skin in south China folk medicine
Antidiabetic folk use — used in southeast Asian traditional medicine for blood glucose management; validated in preliminary pharmacological studies
Classical References
Guang Zhou Min Jian Cao Yao (广州民间草药): documents Kong Xin Lian Zi Cao (空心莲子草, 'hollow-heart lotus-seed herb', named for the hollow stems floating on water) as a Heat-clearing and Blood-cooling herb used in Guangdong and south China folk medicine for febrile bleeding, snake bite, and burns; the plant is semi-aquatic and widely distributed in rice paddies and waterways of tropical and subtropical China
SPECIES NOTE: Herb #90 (Kong Xin Lian Zi Cao) is Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. — Alligator Weed, an invasive aquatic herb from South America naturalised throughout tropical Asia; Herb #91 (Lian Zi Cao) in this database shares the same Latin Herba Alternantherae and may represent Alternanthera sessilis L. — a related but distinct species; both are used interchangeably under the Herba Alternantherae umbrella in regional folk medicine
Modern Research
Active Compounds
Quercetin and kaempferol glycosides (flavonoids; anti-inflammatory, antioxidant)
Betacyanins and betaxanthins (betalain pigments; antioxidant, antidiabetic)
Anti-inflammatory: flavonoid and triterpenoid fractions from Alternanthera philoxeroides inhibit COX-2 and NF-κB in LPS-stimulated macrophage models; significant reduction of paw edema in carrageenan assays — provides mechanistic basis for the Heat-clearing and toxin-resolving folk applications
Antidiabetic: aqueous extract of A. philoxeroides shows significant glucose-lowering activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rodent models via α-glucosidase inhibition and insulin sensitisation; betacyanin content may contribute additional antioxidant protection of pancreatic β-cells — consistent with the southeast Asian folk diabetes application
Wound healing and antifungal: topical preparations of A. philoxeroides accelerate wound contraction and re-epithelialisation in excision wound models; aqueous and ethanol extracts inhibit Candida albicans and dermatophytes — supports the folk topical use for burns, skin sores, and skin infections
Safety & Interactions
Contraindications
Spleen-Stomach Deficiency Cold — cool nature impairs digestive Yang with prolonged use
Cold-pattern bleeding without Blood Heat — cooling action inappropriate for cold-deficiency haemorrhage
Cautions
Standard dose: 15–30 g dried herb in decoction; 30–60 g fresh herb; topical: fresh herb pounded as poultice
Limited formal clinical safety and pharmacokinetic data; considered safe at traditional doses based on extensive folk use across south China and southeast Asia