VARIANT NAMES: Hanqin, Helanyaerqin, Xiangqin, Puqin.
ORIGIN: The whole grass of Apium graveolens [Umbelliferae].
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION: Containing apiin, bergapten, essential oil, organic acid, carotene, vitamin C, sugar, etc.
NATURE, FLAVOR AND CHANNEL TROPISM: Sweet and bitter in flavor and cool in nature, acting on the channels of the stomach and liver.
EFFICIENCIES AND INDICATIONS: Calming the liver and clearing away heat, expelling wind and removing dampness by diuresis. It is used to treat Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), vertigo, headache, flushed face, conjunctival congestion, dysentery with bloody stool, Carbuncle and Edema.
DIRECTIONS: To be eaten sauteed, or decocted for oral administration; or to be pounded to get its juice or mashed for external application.