- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- China, Korea and Japan
- Traditions
- Chinese medical traditions
Asia · Herb · № 642
Asparagus cochinchinensis
Herb · Asia
Chinese asparagus root (tian men dong)
Asparagus cochinchinensis
Traditionally attributed effects: moistening; for recovery after illness or surgery, chronically dry skin and for the production of sex hormones.
Safety notes
According to tradition not for diarrhoea from cold. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Chinese materia medica: Not for cold diarrhoea from spleen and stomach deficiency or for cough from wind-cold.
Preparation
Dried root tuber as a decoction, for example as a base for soup.
Use in traditions
One of the well-known yin-nourishing roots in Chinese medicine.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese food therapy
Attributed effects
Moistens and helps with recovery and dry skin. The white radish clears phlegm from the lungs, cools, calms persistent cough and clears the skin.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, bitter, cold
- Meridians
- lung, kidney
Attributed effects
Tian men dong nourishes the yin of lungs and kidneys in afternoon fever, night sweats, seminal emission and exhaustion, in a dry throat and chronic cough with sticky, sometimes bloody phlegm, and in constipation from a dry bowel.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 6–18 g a day, usually in a decoction. In China the root is said to promote love and compassion; pharmacists set aside the sweetest roots for themselves. A relative of the Ayurvedic shatavari.
Combinations
- With mai men dong for dryness of lung and bowel
- With raw rehmannia and ginseng for 'wasting-and-thirsting disease'
Caution: Not for cold diarrhoea from spleen and stomach deficiency or for cough from wind-cold.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionPowder and kitchen
- Formulas
- Tian wang bu xin dan