Cyperus

Latin name: Rhizoma Cyperi

Chinese Name: Xiang-Fu ( Cyperus)

Traditional Uses

Actions: Restores the normal functioning of the depressed liver, regulates menses, controls pain

Applications: Convulsions, amenorrhea, ante- and postpartum headache, stagnation, epigastric pain, hematemesis, hematochezia, hematuria, functional bleeding, leukorrhea

Pharmacology

(1) Analgesic effect: The ethanol extract increases rabbits’ pain threshold.

(2) Uterine contraction-inhibiting effect: The extract inhibits contraction of smooth muscle and decreases the tonicity of extirpated uteri, but its effect is weaker than that of tang-kuei.

Reference: Hung-yen Hsu, Ph.D. and Associates: Oriental Materia Medica A Concise Guide 1986, Keats Publishing