Catclaw Buttercup Root Classic Formulas

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Transforms Phlegm and dissipates nodules - Mao Zhua Cao is best known for softening and dispersing chronic Phlegm-type lumps such as scrofula, swollen lymph nodes, breast lumps, and thyroid nodules, especially in the neck and upper-body pathways of the Liver and Lung channels.
Resolves toxicity and reduces swelling - it is traditionally used for abscesses, boils, and toxic swellings when constrained Phlegm and toxin combine into painful localized masses.
Disperses accumulations and chronic concretions - beyond superficial swellings, it is applied to deeper longstanding masses and tumor-like lesions in folk and regional oncology-oriented practice, usually as part of a larger phlegm-resolving and toxin-clearing strategy.
Supports treatment of scrofula and tuberculosis-type nodular disease - older regional usage emphasizes its role when hard neck lumps, chronic glandular swelling, and lingering toxic-phlegm obstruction are the dominant presentation.

Mao Zhua Cao with Xia Ku Cao (猫爪草配夏枯草) - classic modern pairing for thyroid nodules, scrofula, and hot-phlegm masses, combining warm phlegm-dissolving movement with cold softening of hardness.
Mao Zhua Cao with Jiang Can (猫爪草配僵蚕) - nodular-mass pairing that strengthens Phlegm transformation and collateral penetration for chronic neck lumps and glandular swellings.
High-dose single-herb Mao Zhua Cao decoction with rice wine - regional clinical protocol used historically for scrofula and chronic cervical nodules under close supervision.

Me and Qi describes Mao Zhao Cao / Mao Zhua Cao as warm, sweet, and acrid, entering the Liver and Lung channels and chiefly transforming Phlegm, dissipating nodules, resolving toxicity, and reducing swelling.
The herb does not appear as a major named entry in the oldest materia medica canons; later regional handbooks instead emphasize its practical use for neck scrofula and nodular disease.
IDENTITY NOTE: the pinyin appears as both Mao Zhua Cao and Mao Zhao Cao in modern sources; this record keeps the more literal claw-based reading while preserving the same herb identity.