Dragon's blood (xue jie)

Daemonorops draco (ook Dracaena cochinchinensis)

Traditionally attributed effects: stops bleeding, resolves blood stagnation and promotes wound healing.

Safety notes

Not without blood stagnation; not during pregnancy. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.

Preparation

Resin. Usually as a decoction, together with other herbs.

Use in traditions

Described in the classical Chinese materia medica, in the group 'herbs that move the blood'. The dark red resin was used in Chinese medicine (xue jie) for bruises, bleeding and wounds. Around the Mediterranean, too, resin from related trees (including the dragon tree of Socotra) was used as a medicine, dye and varnish for violins.

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 materia medica

Nature and taste: sweet, salty, neutral
Meridians: heart, liver

Attributed effects

For bleeding from injuries, slow-healing sores (externally with frankincense and myrrh) and pain from blood stagnation.

Preparation and amount

Traditional dosage: 1–1.5 g a day, as a powder or pill. The red resin is boiled down, dried and pounded into powder.

Combinations

With cattail pollen for bleeding wounds

Ways to prepare herbs: Decoction Powder and kitchen
Formulas: Qi li san

Sources

All herbs from Asia →