Selfheal Fruit Spike

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Clears Liver fire and brightens the eyes - Xia Ku Cao is a key herb for red, swollen, painful eyes, headache, and dizziness from ascending Liver fire.
• Dissipates nodules and reduces swelling - it is classically used for scrofula, goiter, thyroid nodules, breast lumps, and other hard masses linked to phlegm-fire.
• Drains constrained heat and resolves toxicity - traditional use extends to sore throat, hot swellings, and breast carbuncle patterns.

Secondary Actions

• Xia Ku Cao is widely consumed as a cooling summer tea in southern China, but medicinal doses for nodules and Liver fire are not the same as casual beverage use.
• Among cooling eye herbs, it is especially valued when upward fire and palpable nodulation appear together.

Classic Formulas

• Eye-clearing pairings with Ju Hua and Jue Ming Zi - traditional formula lineages use Xia Ku Cao when red eyes and headache reflect rising Liver fire.
• Nodule-dissolving lineages pair Xia Ku Cao with Hai Zao and Kun Bu for scrofula, goiter, and phlegm-fire masses.
• Single-herb and simple tea preparations are also traditional for summer heat with red eyes and irritability.

Classical References

• TCM healing-herb and TCM Wiki materia medica sources describe Xia Ku Cao as bitter, pungent, and cold, entering the Liver and Gallbladder to clear fire and dissipate swelling.
• Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing is cited as the earliest major classical source for Xia Ku Cao and emphasizes its use for scrofula, sores, and constrained heat.