Mu Zei (Horse Tail)

This product is a more commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. Published in "Jia You Ben Cao".

Aliases: Mu Cao Zei, Cuo Cao.

Source: Dried whole grass for Eguisetum hiemale L., a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant of the family Equisetaceae. Wild hillside understory, riparian wetland.

Origin: Mainly produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi and other places; It is produced in most parts of the country.

Trait identification: This product is long tubular shaped, hollow and knotted, and not branched. The length is 30~100cm, the diameter is 3~8mm, and the internode is 3~6cm long. The surface is gray-green or yellow-green, with many longitudinal ridges, arranged in a straight line, and there are dense fine spines on it, and there is a rough feeling to the touch. There are tubular dark brown scale leaves at the nodes. Easy to pull out from the joint. Brittle, easy to break, hollow section, with gray-white or light green film inside. There is no air, and the taste is sweet and slightly bitter. It is better to have thick and long stems, green color, thick quality, and no disjoints.

Main ingredients: Contains equisetum acid, silica flavonoid glycosides, etc.

Pharmacological action: anti-inflammatory, astringent, diuretic.

Preparation: Cut or chew, raw use.

Taste: Sweet, slightly bitter, flat.

Meridian: into the lungs, gallbladder and liver meridians.

Function: Disperse the wind, removing corneal abnormality.

Indications: Eyes are cloudy, tears up in the wind; also used as an external treatment of prolapse (external application by burning and grinding into powder).

Clinical application:

It is mainly used in ophthalmology, and can clear the eyes and dispel wind through anti-inflammatory means, stop tears, and is most suitable for those with eye diseases and manifestations. It is mainly used for the treatment of eye redness and pannus (acute conjunctivitis) caused by wind and heat, commonly used together with Ju Hua, Bai Ji Li, Jue Ming Zi, etc.; It also treats dizziness and tears (acute dacryocystitis) when used with Fang Feng, Cang Zhu, Xia Ku Cao, etc.

Dosage: 3~9g.

Prescription example: formula “Ji Jie Yan Fang”: Mu Zei 3g, Ju Hua 9g, Bai Ji Li 6g, Jue Ming Zi 1g, decoction in water, treatment of acute conjunctivitis.

Notes:

1. Can be used as Polishing material for carpentry.

2. Bi Guan Cao is the same genus of plants is similar to that of Mu Zei (horsetail); But the stem is branched, only the base of the leaf sheath has a black thin circle, and the sheath has no groove on the back. It is distributed in the central and southwestern parts of the Yangtze River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Same utility as Horsetail.

3. Jie Jie Cao is a plant of the same family. The stems are thin, often branched below the middle, the leaf sheath is loose, and there are no black thin circles at the base. It is soft, fibrous and not easy to break. Sweet. Distributed throughout the country. Usually it is not used as Mu Zei (horsetail) for medicinal purposes.

Case study: A good case to see the changes in tongue after TCM treatment

Patient: Ms. Liu

Symptoms: Lower extremity joint swelling and pain for two years, fatigue, 

Chinese medicine diagnosis: weak spleen. pale tongue, and thick coating

2016/09/22 Dr. Wu’s prescription: Gui zhi 10g, Cang zhu 10g, Huai Niu Qi 10g, Mu gua 10g, Wei Ling Xian 10g, Ji Xue Teng 20g, Niu da li 20g, qian jin ba 10g, Ci diao gen 10g, wu duo nian 10g, dang gui 10g, dang shen 10g, fu ling 10g, bai zhu 10g, gan cao 5g, wu zhua long 20g. Decoction, one dose a day, five consecutive doses.

2016/09/29 Follow-up: Symptoms alleviated, 5 more doses using the original formula

Disclaimer: All above articles are for reference only. If patients are interested, please consult a professional practitioner Traditional Chinese Medicine for a consultation.