Mao Zi Dun Tou – Indian Abutilon – Herba Abutilon Indicum

Mao Zi Dun Tou

English Name: Indian abutilon, Indian Mallow

Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Abutilon Indicum

Medica Category: Wind-Heat Releasing Herbs

Properties: Mao Zi Dun Tou enters the Lung, Liver, Gallbladder, and Spleen channels; it is sweet in nature and neutral in temperature.

What is Mao Zi Dun Tou?:

Indian abutilon (or mallow) has been used for centuries in various Eastern medicinal traditions for a wide variety of uses: the bark as a laxative and diuretic, the seeds as a demulcent, and other parts of the plant as an aphrodisiac. The plant itself (Abutilon indicum) is a small shrub in the Malvaceae family found native in tropical and sub-tropical areas of Asia (sometime cultivated as an ornamental as well because of its beautiful flowers. The Chinese Herb Mao Zi Dun Tou is the root of this plant decocted in water.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Mao Zi Dun Tou:

Mao Zi Dun Tou dispels wind heat from the exterior to treat such symptoms as sore throat, cough with yellow sputum and fever.

Mao Zi Dun Tou separates turbidity, opens the orifices, invigorates blood, and reduces swelling and abscesses and is commonly used to treat deafness, tinnitus, and ear pain caused by fire in the Liver and Gallbladder channels.

Mao Zi Dun Tou is used to treat weak digestion/chronic indigestion in children.