Anti-Cancer Herbs ⁽¹⁷¹⁾

Mention Yimucao (Motherwort, Leonurus), and few adults do not know it. It is a very common gynecological herb; patent medicines made from it, such as Yimucao granules, are routinely used in obstetrics and gynecology. Yimucao excels at activating blood and regulating menses, and dispelling stasis…

Dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum) is a member of the daisy family (Asteraceae) found almost everywhere, and nearly everyone who loves nature knows it. Dandelion is also one of the most common and cheapest Chinese medicinal herbs, yet its anticancer effect should not be underestimated. The whole…

Xuejie was originally called Qilinjie ("qilin's blood") and was first recorded in the mineral and drug section of Lei Gong Paozhi Lun (Master Lei's Treatise on Processing). The Newly Revised Materia Medica (Xinxiu Bencao) listed zike resin together with qilinjie in a single entry, also…

Ruxiang (frankincense) and moyo (myrrh) are resins of two trees of the Burseraceae family—the frankincense tree and the myrrh tree—native to Somalia and Ethiopia in Africa as well as to India. As early as more than 2,000 years ago they were carried along the Silk…

Sanleng, also called Jing Sanleng, is the tuber of Sparganium stoloniferum (family Sparganiaceae). It is odorless with a mild taste; when chewed it leaves a slight numbing, tingling sensation. The best pieces are heavy, firm, and yellowish-white. It is used raw after slicing, or processed…

As long as a formula treats cancerous tumors, it almost inevitably contains Ezhu (Curcuma rhizome). The zedoary oil extracted from Ezhu is also often used by Western interventional departments in the interventional treatment of liver cancer. Ezhu not only has a direct tumor-killing action but…

Maqianzi is the dried ripe seed of Strychnos nux-vomica (Loganiaceae); it is also called Maqianzi, Maqian, Fanmubie and Niugen. Maqianzi was first recorded as a medicinal in Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica). However, Li Shizhen's understanding of Maqianzi's toxicity was wrong; Li…

Qingpi, Zhishi and Chenpi are the peel or fruit of unripe or ripe citrus or orange. The unripe citrus is green; its peel is collected for medicine and hence called Qingpi (green peel). The peel of the ripe citrus is yellow; the aged kind has…

Recently, several of my patients told me one after another that Beijing Tongrentang's Xihuang Wan (Xihuang Pills) had risen sharply in price. What used to cost three or four hundred yuan a box, obtainable at medical-insurance designated hospitals, had suddenly jumped to 1,180 yuan. When…

When cancer patients undergo chemotherapy, the side effects of nausea and vomiting often occur. There are three Chinese patent medicines with fairly good efficacy against this side effect, offered here for readers' reference. The first is Erchen Wan (Two-Aged Pill). Erchen Wan comes from the…