Pigeon Pea Root (Sophora subprostrata; Shan Dou Gen) Granules 100 grams (3.5 oz): V

Functions: Dispel heat Sooth throat Remove toxins Disperse swelling Control pain Indication: Painful swollen throat, mouth, and gums, lung heat cough; fidgets and thirst; damp-heat jaundice, accumulated heat, constipation; carcinoma. Properties: Bitter in flavour, cold in nature, it acts on the lung and stomach channels. The bitter and the cold properties can clear heat and purge fire. It is good at removing the excessive fire and noxious heat invading the lung and stomach channels so as to relieve sore throat. So, it is indicated for sore throat, ulceration in the mouth, toothache and canker sores in the mouth, toothache and canker sores in the mouth caused by the upward attack of the lung and stomach noxious heat. Effects: Clearing away heat, detoxicating, relieving sore throat. Indications: 1. For sore throat, ulceration in the mouth or fever caused by the upward attack of excessive and noxious heat, it is used in combination with the heat-clearing and detoxicating drugs, such as isatis root and scrophularia root. 2.For the toothache, canker sores in the mouth caused by excessive lung-fire, it is used in combination with the medicines for removing heat and purging fire from the stomach, such as gypsum. Dosage and Administration: 3-6g. The root is analgesic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antispasmodic, diuretic and hypotensive. A decoction of the dried roots is used in the treatment of a variety of ailments including cancer of the respiratory tract and urinary bladder, boils, constipation, coughs and sore throats. The plant contains a number of compounds that demonstrate anticancer activity. http://www.natap.org/2005/HCV/010305_01.htm Referenced footnotes are online at the above address. Matrine and oxymatrine are the two major alkaloid components found in sophora roots. They are obtained primarily from Sophora japonica (kushen), but also from Sophora subprostrata (shandougen), and from the above ground portion of Sophora alopecuroides. The matrines were first isolated and identified in 1958; they are unique tetracyclo-quinolizindine alkaloids (see Figure 1) found only in Sophora species thus far. An intensive investigation into the pharmacology and clinical applications of these alkaloids has gone on for the past decade and remains one of the focal points of Chinese medical research. The main clinical applications are treatment of people with cancer, viral hepatitis, cardiac diseases (such as viral myocarditis), and skin diseases (such as psoriasis and eczema). The crude herb and crude hot-water extracts of sophora have been available in the West for more than 25 years. An alkaloid fraction of sophora roots containing a standardized level of oxymatrine and matrine (20%) was first introduced by the Institute for Traditional Medicine, and made available to practitioners in tablet form under the name Oxymatrine (White Tiger) in 1998. It has been used without reported side effect