INDIVIDUAL HERBS

NAME: HAI ZAO - 海藻 - SARGASSUM - SEAWEED

Pharmaceutical Latin: Sargassum
Herba Sargassii
Common English: Sargassum
Seaweed

CATEGORY

Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Coughing: Herbs that Cool and Transform Phlegm-Heat

PROPERTIES

Taste Temperature Entering Meridians Dosage
Bitter
Salty
Cold
Kidney
Liver
Lung
Stomach
6-16g
Tincture: 2-4ml

ACTIONS AND INDICATIONS

Actions Indications/Syndromes

Reduces Phlegm and softens areas of hardness

Phlegm nodules in the neck such as: tumors, scrofula and goiter

Abdominal mass, carbuncle

Bulging disorders, especially those involving the scrotum and testes

Promotes urination and reduces edema

Edema due to leg Qi or floating edema, orchitis

CONTRAINDICATIONS, INCOMPATIBILITIES AND HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

CONTRAINDICATIONS
  • Contraindicated for those with Spleen and Stomach Deficiency Cold.
  • Use only with Excess pathogenic clumping.
  • Long-term consumption makes people thin.
INCOMPATIBILITIES
  • Incompatible with Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao.
HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

MAJOR COMBINATIONS

Thallus Eckloniae
Kun Bu
Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii
Zhe Bei Mu
Per. Citri Reticulatae
Chen Pi

or

Thallus Eckloniae
Kun Bu
Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii
Zhe Bei Mu
Per. Citri Reticulatae Viride
Qing Pi

Sp. Prunellae
Xia Ku Cao
Fr. Forsythiae
Lian Qiao
Rx. Scrophulariae
Xuan Shen

Bombyx Batryticatus
Jiang Can
Spica Prunellae
Xia Ku Cao
Rx. Scrophulariae
Xuan Shen

Goiter.

Scrofula.

Scrofula and goiter.

Rx. Glycyrrhizae
Gan Cao

Water Chestnut

Thallus Eckloniae
Kun Bu

Goiter and scrofula.

Silicosis presenting with Yin Deficiency and copious sputum.

Goiter and scrofula.

For hyperthyroidism, use large doses for a short time.

For hypothyroidism use normal doses for a long period of time.

NOTES

  1. This herb is traditionally used for hernia pain.
  2. Commercially prepared into products for diet control, it can suppress the appetite and reduce weight but not cause insomnia.
  3. Some sources say that this herb clears Heat.
  4. It has an inhibitory effect on some cancer cells.
  5. For scrofula with macrocervix, dry-fry or roast this herb in buckwheat and roasted Bombyx Batryticatus Jiang Can, decoct in rice broth and make into pills for oral ingestion. Take 60 pills each time.
  6. For hypomaxillary scrofula, immerse 300g in wine for several days and take small doses frequently.
  7. Sargassum Hai Zao is often combined with Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu another seaweed, for resolving hard masses.
  8. Both Hai Zao and Meretricis/Cyclinae Ge Qiao are salty and cold, soften areas of hardness, reduce Phlegm and facilitate the movement of fluids to reduce edema. Hai Zao enters the Liver channel and is stronger at softening hardness and dispersing clumps. It is better for goiter, testicular pain and swelling and hepato/splenomegaly. Ge Qiao enters the Lungs and is better at cooling the Lungs and descending Phlegm-Heat and is more appropriate for cough and chest pain due to Phlegm-Fire.
  9. Both Hai Zao and Thallus Eckloniae Kun Bu are similar in properties and actions. Hai Zao is bitter as well as salty and cold. Its flavor is turbid and its cooling action is less than Kun Bu and its therapeutic actions are milder.