Witnessed by: TCM · Western · Unani
Bistort (Bistorta officinalis), of the Polygonaceae family. Perennial of wet meadow with a thick S-bent rhizome and pink flower-spikes; native range: damp meadows and mountains of temperate Europe and northern Asia. Globally recognized as quan shen (拳参) in Chinese, anjabar (انجبار) in Arabic, and snakeweed, adderwort, Easter-ledges, dragonwort in English. The part used is the twisted rhizome (root). A hard, dark, contorted root, red-brown within; strongly astringent and dry to the tongue with little smell.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
BISTORT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Bistort
- Scientific name
- Bistorta officinalis Delarbre
- Family
- Polygonaceae
Form
- Part used
- the twisted rhizome (root)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · astringent
- Western
- astringent · sour
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
TCM: cool (slightly cold)
Western: cool
Unani: cold (2nd degree) & dry
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses class it a cold, dry, binding astringent
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Liver · Large Intestine
- Western
- intestines · mucous membranes · stomach
- Unani
- intestines · stomach · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat and resolves toxicity, cools the blood, and settles wind to arrest convulsions; dries damp in dysentery
- Western
- one of the strongest astringents, styptic and haemostatic, anti-diarrhoeal and vulnerary
- Unani
- qabiz (astringent), habis-ud-dam (haemostatic) and mujaffif (desiccant)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and dry, cold conditions; prolonged use with meals may hinder mineral uptake by its tannins
- Toxicity
- low; the high tannin content can upset a sensitive stomach
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