Witnessed by: TCM
Kaininso seaweed (Digenea simplex), of the Rhodomelaceae family. Small bushy red alga growing in tufts on coral rock in shallow warm water; native range: warm shallow seas of the Indian and Pacific oceans; the drug gathered chiefly from the reefs of the Ryukyu Islands and southern Japan. Globally recognized as kaininsō (海人草) · makuri in Japanese, hai ren cao (海人草) in Chinese, and kainic acid seaweed, red algal anthelmintic in English. The part used is the whole alga. A tangled tuft of stiff cylindrical branches bristling with fine spines, dark red-brown drying to a dull purple-black, harsh and wiry to the hand; the taste salty and strongly of the sea.
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.
KAININSO SEAWEED
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- kaininso seaweed
- Scientific name
- Digenea simplex (Wulfen) C.Agardh
- Family
- Rhodomelaceae
Form
- Part used
- the whole alga
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- kills and expels intestinal parasites, chiefly the roundworm
Cautions
- Contraindications
- the weak, the very young, and any disease of the kidney or nervous system; not to be given repeatedly or in courses
- Toxicity
- kainic acid is a potent excitatory neurotoxin — overdose brings vomiting, headache, visual disturbance and, at excess, convulsion; the drug fell out of general use for this reason and is not a domestic remedy
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