Mo Gu Xiao – Hyptis – Caulis Hyptis Capitatae

Mo Gu Xiao

English Name: knobweed, false ironwort, hyptis

Pharmaceutical Name: Caulis Hyptis Capitatae

Medica Category: Water-Regulating and Damp-Resolving Herbs

Properties: Mo Gu Xiao enters the Liver and Kidney channels; it is bland in nature and cold in temperature.

What is Mo Gu Xiao?:

The Chinese Herb Mo Gu Xiao is the dried stems (caulis) of the false ironwort or knobweed (Hyptis capitata), a species of woody shrub usually found on degraded farmland and along roads and clearings in lowland rain forests. It is native to the sub-tropical regions of the Western hemisphere but now naturalized throughout the world.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Mo Gu Xiao

Mo Gu Xiao promotes diuresis, clears heat, and reduces swelling and inflammation to address edema resulting from nephritis and renal hypertension.

Mo Gu Xiao unblocks stagnation and relieves pain to treat clinical manifestations of bi zheng (painful obstruction syndrome) such as arthritis, neuralgia, and sciatica.

Mo Gu Xiao drains abscesses, promotes healing and the generation of new flesh and is used topically in this regard to treat skin lesions and ulcerations that show heat signs and are possibly oozing. This herb also can be used topically for foot odor.