✵The article records the herb Burdock Fruit—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—a single plant species, Arctium lappa L., and provides a detailed introduction to the plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment; as well as the herb’s macroscopic characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Fructus Arctii (Burdock Fruit)
Pinyin Name: Niú Bànɡ Zǐ
English Name: Burdock Fruit; Great Burdock Achene
Latin Name:Fructus Arctii Properties and Flavor: Cold, pungent, bitter
Brief Introduction:Fructus Arctii is the dried, ripe fruit of Arctium lappa L. (great burdock). It is used (1) to disperse wind-heat in the treatment of wind-heat syndromes; (2) to promote eruption in measles; and (3) to clear toxins and reduce swelling in boils, sores, mumps, and erysipelas. The herb is commonly known as Fructus Arctii, Burdock Fruit, or Niú Bàng Zǐ.
Botanical Source:Fructus Arctii (Burdock Fruit) is the dried, ripe fruit of Arctium lappa L., a biennial herb belonging to the genus Arctium, family Asteraceae (Compositae, daisy family), order Asterales. This widely used species is described below:
Arctium lappa L.
Botanical Description:Arctium lappa L. is a biennial herb growing up to 1–2 meters tall. The root is thick, succulent, and conical. The stem is erect and branched in the upper part, with purple-brown, vertically striped margins. Basal leaves are large, clustered, and petiolate; stem leaves are alternate. Leaf blades are ovate-oblong or broadly ovate, 20–50 cm long and 15–40 cm wide; the apex is obtuse and spiny; the base is usually cordate; the margin is entire or irregularly undulate with minute serrations. The upper surface is green or dark green, sparsely hairy; the lower surface is covered with grayish-white pubescence.
The capitula (flower heads) are clustered at the branch tips or arranged in corymbs, 2–4 cm in diameter. The peduncles are 3–7 cm long, shallowly grooved, and densely pubescent. The involucre is spheric, composed of numerous imbricate bracts that are lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, with hooked and curved apices. Flowers are small, reddish-violet, tubular, hermaphroditic; the corolla apex is 5-lobed; there are 5 synantherous stamens alternating with the corolla lobes; anthers are yellow. The ovary is inferior, unilocular, with a disc-shaped apex bearing a short setiform pappus. The style is slender and elongated; the stigma is bifid.
Achenes are oblong or oblong-obovate, taupe (grayish-brown), with prominent longitudinal ridges and a spiny pappus that is light yellowish-brown. Flowering occurs from June to August; fruiting, from August to October.
Arctium lappa L. is commonly cultivated. In the wild, it grows along roadsides, ditches, barren lands, sunny grassy slopes, forest margins, and near villages and towns.
Growth Characteristics: The plant prefers a warm, humid climate; it is cold- and drought-tolerant but intolerant of waterlogging. It thrives best in deep, loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam soils. The optimal temperature for seed germination is 20–25 °C (68–77 °F), with a germination rate of 70–90%.
Characteristics of the Herb: The achenes are long obovate, truncate at both ends, slightly flattened and gently curved, measuring 5–7 mm in length and 2–3 mm in diameter. The surface is grayish-brown or light grayish-brown, marked with numerous black spots and distinct longitudinal ridges. The apex is broader and bears a circular ridge; at its center lies a dot-like remnant of the style. The base is slightly narrowed and bears a rounded fruit-stalk scar. The texture is hard; when fractured, two yellowish-white, oily cotyledons are visible. The herb is odorless; the seed has a distinctive aroma and tastes bitter and slightly pungent, with a mild tingling sensation upon prolonged contact.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, diuretic, antitumor, hypoglycemic, and other effects; (2) inhibitory activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and various pathogenic dermatophytes; (3) arctiin can paralyze the heart, uterus, intestines, skeletal muscle, and motor nerves in vitro.
Medicinal Efficacy: Disperses wind-heat; promotes lung Qi circulation and eruption; reduces swelling and clears toxins; soothes the throat and resolves stagnation. Indicated for wind-heat cough, sore throat, failure of macules to erupt, urticarial pruritus, carbuncles, swollen ulcers, and toxic sores.
Administration of Fructus Arctii (Niú Bànɡ Zǐ):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Fructus Arctii (Niú Bànɡ Zǐ)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 6–12 grams; (2) 1.5–3 qián (4.5–9 grams), as a water decoction; or prepared as a powder. Externally: mouthwash prepared from a water decoction; (3) water decoction, 5–10 grams; or finely ground herb powder formulated into pills or powders.Externally: mouthwash prepared from a water decoction.
✵The article records the herb Burdock Fruit—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—a single plant species, Arctium lappa L., and provides a detailed introduction to the plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment; as well as the herb’s macroscopic characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Niú Bànɡ Zǐ
Botanical Description: Arctium lappa L. is a biennial herb growing up to 1–2 meters tall. The root is thick, succulent, and conical. The stem is erect and branched in the upper part, with purple-brown, vertically striped margins. Basal leaves are large, clustered, and petiolate; stem leaves are alternate. Leaf blades are ovate-oblong or broadly ovate, 20–50 cm long and 15–40 cm wide; the apex is obtuse and spiny; the base is usually cordate; the margin is entire or irregularly undulate with minute serrations. The upper surface is green or dark green, sparsely hairy; the lower surface is covered with grayish-white pubescence.
Arctium lappa L. is commonly cultivated. In the wild, it grows along roadsides, ditches, barren lands, sunny grassy slopes, forest margins, and near villages and towns.
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