hai zao

Name: hai zao
Creator: Bencao Index

海藻·Sargassum

Sargassum

About hai zao

Hai Zao (海藻) is sargassum, a brown seaweed, recorded under that name in the pharmaceutical Latin. It is bitter and salty in flavour and cold in temperature, entering the Kidney, Liver, Lung and Stomach channels. The catalogue files it among the substances that cool and transform Phlegm-Heat.

Names

Pinyin	hai zao
Chinese	海藻
Latin Name	Sargassum
English Name	Sargassum·seaweed; sargassum·seaweed
Japanese	kaiso
Korean	haejo

Classification

Category: Cool & Transform Phlegm Heat
Channels: Lung, Stomach, Kidney, Liver
Flavour: Bitter, Salty
Temperature: Cold
Part used: Seaweed
Family: Sargassacea
Species: Sargassum pallidum|sargassum fusiforme
Tags: Chinese Herbs, Common

Actions and indications

Transforms Phlegm, softens hardness and dissipates nodules

Phlegm nodules of the neck such as goiter, scrofula and tumors
Swellings of the neck and lymph nodes, typically with Kun Bu and other herbs that resolve Phlegm and soften hardness
Abdominal masses and carbuncles
Bulging disorders, above all of the scrotum and testes

Promotes urination and reduces edema

Floating edema, or edema from leg Qi
Orchitis

Combinations

kun bu + zhe bei mu + chen pi + qing pi
Goiter.
xia ku cao + lian qiao + xuan shen
Scrofula.
jiang can + xia ku cao + xuan shen
Scrofula and goiter.
gan cao
Goiter and scrofula.
water chestnut
Silicosis with profuse sputum and Yin Deficiency
kun bu
Scrofula and goiter; for hyperthyroidism, a short course at large doses; for hypothyroidism, a long course at ordinary doses

Dosage

Age	Raw	Granule	Tincture	Concentrate	Frequency
Any 6-16g; Tincture: 2-4ml	6-16 g	—	2-4 ml	—	—

Cautions

contraindication Deficiency Cold or Qi deficiency of the Spleen and Stomach, which a cold, salty seaweed burdens
caution Only for clumping of an Excess pathogen
caution Taken over a long period it causes weight loss
caution Very high in iodine: with any known thyroid condition, use only with great care under supervision

Interactions

Incompatible with

gan cao Listed with Gan Cao (licorice) among the Eighteen Incompatibles, although the pair is sometimes used together

Drug interactions

Thyroid hormone replacement and antithyroid drugs: both are sensitive to iodine, which this seaweed concentrates, so monitor (reasoned from iodine content, not studied)

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