ya dan zi

鸦胆子·Fructus Bruceae

Brucea Fruit

Toxic

Toxicity graded by American Dragon.

About ya dan zi

Ya Dan Zi (鸦胆子) is the fruit of brucea, recorded as Fructus Bruceae. It is bitter in flavour and cold in temperature, entering the Liver and Large Intestine channels. The catalogue files it among the herbs that clear Heat and relieve toxicity.

Names

Pinyin	ya dan zi
Chinese	鸦胆子
Latin Name	Fructus Bruceae
English Name	Brucea Fruit·brucea fruit; java brucea fruit·java brucea fruit
Japanese	atanshi
Korean	adamja

Classification

Category: Clear Heat, Relieve Toxicity
Channels: Large Intestine, Liver
Flavour: Bitter
Temperature: Cold
Part used: Fruit
Family: Simarubaceae
Species: Brucea Javanica
Tags: Chinese Herbs, Common

Actions and indications

Clears Heat, resolves toxicity, dries Damp, cools the Blood and kills parasites

Chronic dysentery that comes and goes
Dysentery with blood and mucus and rectal tenesmus
Dysentery from amoebae or other protozoa
Long-standing diarrhea, with stools alternating hard and loose, and hemorrhoids

Treats malaria and Shao Yang disorders

Malaria
Alternating chills and fever

Treats cancer from Heat toxin

Cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, esophagus, stomach, skin and cervix

Softens hardness (topical)

Hard nodules, warts, corns and cysts, applied topically
Trichomonas vaginitis, applied externally

Combinations

bai tou weng + huang bai + huang lian
Amoebic dysentery and other dysenteric disorders
long yan rou
Bloody dysentery, the seeds taken wrapped in the fruit flesh

Dosage

Age	Raw	Granule	Tincture	Concentrate	Frequency
Any Powder: 0.5-2g; Malaria: 10-15 seeds (remove the husks); Amoebic dysentery: 10-30 seeds; Tincture: 0.2-0.8ml (5-20 drops); Children:1g for each year of age	0.5-2 g	—	0.2-0.8 ml	—	—

Cautions

caution Not for long-term use or large doses, which may injure the stomach, intestines, liver or kidneys
contraindication Spleen and Stomach deficiency
contraindication Nausea and vomiting
contraindication Existing gastrointestinal bleeding
contraindication Existing liver disease
contraindication Existing kidney disease
pregnancy Contraindicated in pregnancy
lactation Contraindicated while breastfeeding
paediatric Contraindicated in young children
caution Toxic and not for unsupervised use
caution Irritates the mouth, throat and digestive lining on contact, which is why the seed is traditionally enclosed before swallowing
caution Caustic to healthy skin as well as to warts and corns; topical use is recorded as a traditional practice, not a recommendation

Interactions

Drug interactions

Medicines that burden the liver or kidneys, and cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy: weigh carefully, given the herb's organ cautions and its cytotoxic quassinoids (not a documented interaction)