About This Herb*
Traditional Chinese Medicine background and properties
Herb Description*
Purslane is a common edible plant that doubles as a powerful medicinal herb in Chinese medicine, often called a "natural antibiotic." It is best known for treating dysentery and other intestinal infections, as well as skin sores, eczema, and abnormal bleeding. Cold in nature and safe even in large doses, it is one of the most accessible herbs for clearing heat and toxins from the body.
Herb Category*
Main Actions*
- Clears Heat and Resolves Toxicity
- Cools the Blood and Stops Bleeding
- Stops Dysentery
- Clears Damp-Heat
How These Actions Work*
Clears Heat and resolves toxins: Ma Chi Xian is cold in nature and has a strong ability to clear Heat and eliminate toxic pathogens from the body. This makes it especially useful for conditions involving infections and inflammation, such as skin abscesses, boils, carbuncles, and infected sores. It can be taken internally as a decoction or applied topically as a fresh poultice. Its antibacterial properties have earned it the nickname "natural antibiotic" in Chinese medical practice.
Cools the Blood and stops bleeding: Because it is sour in taste and cold in nature, and enters the Liver channel (which governs Blood), Ma Chi Xian can cool Blood that is overheated and stop abnormal bleeding. This applies to conditions like blood in the stool, hemorrhoidal bleeding, and uterine bleeding (崩漏 bēng lòu). The sour taste provides an astringent quality that helps to contain and stop the flow of Blood.
Stops dysentery: This is the herb's most celebrated action. Ma Chi Xian enters the Large Intestine channel and powerfully clears Heat and toxins from the gut, making it the go-to herb for bacterial dysentery with symptoms like bloody or mucus-laden stools, abdominal pain, and tenesmus (a painful straining urge to pass stool). It can be used alone or combined with other Heat-clearing herbs for this purpose.
Clears Damp-Heat: Ma Chi Xian also addresses Damp-Heat conditions beyond the intestines, including painful or bloody urination (hot lin syndrome), vaginal discharge, and eczema or other weeping skin conditions. Its cold, slippery nature helps drain Damp-Heat downward and out of the body.
Patterns Addressed*
In TCM, symptoms cluster into recognizable patterns of disharmony that reveal what's out of balance in the body. Ma Chi Xian is traditionally associated with these specific patterns.
The following describes this herb's classification within Traditional Chinese Medicine theory and is provided for educational purposes only.
Why Ma Chi Xian addresses this pattern
Ma Chi Xian is cold in nature and sour in taste, entering the Large Intestine channel directly. Its cold nature clears the Heat component of this pattern, while its slippery quality helps expel Damp-Heat from the intestines. The sour taste provides an astringent action that helps control the dysenteric discharge. This makes it the primary single herb for treating Hot dysentery (热毒血痢), where Heat and toxins in the Large Intestine cause bloody, mucus-laden stools with tenesmus and abdominal pain.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Bloody or mucus-laden stools from Damp-Heat in the intestines
Cramping abdominal pain with urgent straining (tenesmus)
Frequent loose stools with burning sensation
Fever accompanying intestinal infection
Why Ma Chi Xian addresses this pattern
Ma Chi Xian's strong Heat-clearing and toxin-resolving properties address the pathomechanism of Toxic Heat, where intense Heat generates pus, swelling, and tissue destruction. Its cold nature directly opposes the Heat, while its capacity to resolve toxins targets the pathogenic factor driving the infection. Applied topically or taken internally, it reduces swelling and promotes healing of carbuncles, boils, and infected sores. It is also used for erysipelas (丹毒 dān dú), where Toxic Heat invades the skin causing red, hot, painful swelling.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Red, swollen, painful skin abscesses or carbuncles
Weeping, inflamed skin lesions with Damp-Heat
Infected sores that are slow to heal
Wasp stings or snakebites with local swelling
Why Ma Chi Xian addresses this pattern
Ma Chi Xian enters the Liver channel, which stores and governs the Blood. Its cold nature cools Blood that has been overheated, while its sour taste astringes and contains the Blood within the vessels, preventing reckless bleeding. This combination of cooling and astringing makes it useful for bleeding disorders driven by Blood Heat, including uterine bleeding (崩漏), hemorrhoidal bleeding, and blood in the stool. The Liver channel entry is particularly relevant for uterine bleeding, as the Liver channel passes through the lower abdomen and uterus.
A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs
Heavy or irregular uterine bleeding from Blood Heat
Bleeding hemorrhoids with bright red blood
Blood in the stool due to Heat in the Large Intestine or Liver
TCM Properties*
Cold
Sour (酸 suān)
Whole plant / Aerial parts (全草 quán cǎo)
This is partial information on the herb's TCM properties. More detailed information is available on the herb's dedicated page
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.