INDIVIDUAL HERBS

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Radix Sophorae Tonkinensis
Common English:	Bushy Sophora Pigeon-Pea Root

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter (Slightly Toxic)	Cold	Lung Large Intestine (Heart)	3-10g Tincture: 2-4ml

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Clears Heat, relieves Fire toxicity and improves the throat	Swollen, painful throat (alone internally or as a gargle)
Clears Heat, resolves Fire toxicity and disperses swellings	Abscesses, carbuncles and other toxic sores Cancers, especially of the throat and lungs Externally for Heat swellings, ulcers of the head, scabies, and injuries from snake, dog and spider bites
Relieves jaundice	Damp-Heat jaundice

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Contraindicated for those with diarrhea, loose stools or anorexia due to Spleen Deficiency Cold.

INCOMPATIBILITIES

HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

Rx. Isatidis Ban Lan Gen	Fr. Arctii Niu Bang Zi Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng	Rz. Belamcandae She Gan
Severe pain and swelling of the throat, teeth, and gums. Mouth and tongue ulcers	Pain and swelling of the throat	Phlegm-Heat in the throat with a swollen, sore throat and Phlegm that is difficult to expectorate
Flos Lonicerae Jin Yin Hua Fr. Forsythiae Lian Qiao Rz. Coptidis Huang Lian	Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen Rz. Belamcandae She Gan Rx. Isatidis Ban Lan Gen	Rx. Scutellariae Barbatae Ban Zhi Lian Hb. Hedyotis Diffusae Bai Hua She She Cao
Abscesses and toxic sores	Severe sore throat	Throat or Lung cancer

It is used more for upper body skin ailments because it is less drying than Sophorae Flavescentis Ku Shen.
It is very bitter and cold and clears toxic swelling of the gums and throat.
Holding it in the mouth and swallowing the juice is remarkable for healing the throat.
It can be used alone as a decoction or gargle for a mild sore throat.
This herb was included in ancient formulas for Damp-Heat jaundice.
Both Shan Dou Gen and Rx. Isatidis Bei Ban Lan Gen cool Heat, resolve toxicity, and soothe the throat and are often used together. Shan Dou Gen enters the Lungs and Large Intestine to cool Heat both above and below. It excels at dispersing clumps, drying Dampness and killing parasites.Bei Ban Lan Gen enters the Heart, Lungs, and Stomach and excels at resolving toxicity, cooling the Blood and expelling Wind-Heat to clear rashes associated with warm pathogen diseases.
Rz. Menispermi Bei Dou Gen is is sometimes used as a substitute for Shan Dou Gen. It is bitter, Cold, clears Heat and toxins and is used to treat throat soreness and pain. The dosage is 3 to 10g.