Mugwort leaf (Aiye)

Pharmaceutical Name: Folium Artemisiae Argyi

Botanical Name: Artemisia argyi Levl. et Vant.

Common Name: Mugwort leaf

Source of Earliest Record: Mingyi Bielu

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The leaves are gathered in spring or summer, when the mugwort is flowering. They are dried in a shady place.

Properties & Taste: Bitter, pungent and warm

Meridians: Liver, spleen and kidney

Functions: 1. To warm the channels and stop bleeding; 2. To dispel cold and stop pain

Indications & Combinations:
1. Hemorrhages due to deficiency and cold, especially uterine bleeding. Mugwort leaf (Aiye) is used with Donkey hide gelatin (Ejiao) in the formula Jiao Ai Tang.

2. Deficiency and cold in the lower jiao manifested as abdominal cold pain, irregular menstruation, amenorrhea and leukorrhagia. Mugwort leaf (Aiye) is used with Chinese angelica root (Danggui), Cyperus tuber (Xiangfu), Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuanxiong) and Lindera root (Wuyao).

Dosage: 3-10 g

Note: This herb is used for moxibustion and can be made into moxa sticks or used as moxa cones. It warms meridians and promotes the circulation of qi and blood.