Verbena officinalis for Ovarian Cancer Ascites or Hepatic Ascites

Verbena (Mabiancao, Verbena officinalis) is a Chinese medicinal herb that can be used to treat jaundice and ascites. I often add it to formulas for ascites, at a daily dose of 30-60 g.

In Zhouhou Beiji Fang (Empostic Formulas for Emergencies) it is recorded: "For sudden severe ascites, take ten catties each of Salvia plebeia and Verbena. With one shi of water, boil down to five dou, strain the dregs and further decoct, mix with powder and form pills the size of soybeans; take two pills, increasing to four or five. Avoid fatty meat; do not eat raw or cold foods." In Weisheng Yijian Fang (Easily Applied Formulas for Health) it is recorded: "For drum distention - dry, dark, emaciated body, much thirst, vexation and oppression - take Verbena, finely chopped, sun-dried, and kept away from fire. Boil it in wine or water until the flavor is extracted, strain, and take warm at any time." Depei Bencao also records: "(Verbena) combined with Salvia plebeia treats abdominal swelling." The Depei Bencao account may have been copied from Zhouhou Beiji Fang.

The most valuable account here is that in Weisheng Yijian Fang, which uses single-ingredient Verbena to treat "drum distention," i.e., what we today call ascites. Moreover, Weisheng Yijian Fang describes drum distention in some detail: "dry, dark, emaciated body, much thirst, vexation and oppression" - exactly the common symptoms of late-stage ascites patients, especially those with ascites due to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, or secondary hepatic tumors.

But the decoction method in Weisheng Yijian Fang is unscientific by modern standards; boiling the herbs in wine or water does more harm than good for ascites patients. One may decoct it alone in water, or in water and vinegar, but not in wine; neither Baijiu nor Huangjiu is appropriate.

The administration method in Weisheng Yijian Fang is very practical: "take warm at any time" means no fixed hour or number of doses, drinking it whenever convenient. Ascites patients often cannot drink much liquid at once, so this flexible dosing is very practical.

I have used Verbena to treat ascites caused by ovarian cancer; some cases responded, and responded quickly. But after maintaining the effect for a while, it stopped working. Because treating ascites alone addresses only the symptoms, not the root cause, in cancer patients. So Verbena can only modestly prolong survival and improve symptoms; it cannot cure ovarian cancer. To achieve better results, it must be combined with other drugs.

In Sheng Hui Fang (Formulas from Sagely Beneficence) it is recorded: "For women with delayed, obstructed menses forming abdominal concretions (zheng), distended abdomen and ribs as if near death, take five catties of Verbena root and seedling, finely chopped, boil in five dou of water down to one dou, strain the dregs, and separately simmer in a clean vessel into a paste. Before meals, take half a spoonful stirred into warm wine."

The "abdominal concretions, distended abdomen and ribs as if near death" recorded here resembles ascites caused by gynecological tumors, especially ovarian cancer, very closely. The dose in Sheng Hui Fang is large - five catties of Verbena root and seedling (roughly three modern catties), first decocted in five dou (nowadays 2500 ml) of water down to one dou (nowadays 500 ml), then simmered in a clean vessel into an electuary like Chuanbei pipa paste, taking half a tablespoon each time. This dosing, too, reflects that ascites patients cannot drink much decoction. But the method of taking it with wine is unscientific and should no longer be followed; one may take it stirred into warm water or vinegar. All cancer or liver-cirrhosis patients should avoid decocting or taking herbs with wine.

Different texts from different periods all record that Verbena treats ascites and abdominal distention, showing that it indeed has this effect in practice. Only the mechanism by which it treats ascites has not been much studied; I hope that one day a research institution will study its anti-ascites mechanism using modern scientific methods.