Witnessed by: TCM
Kansui (Euphorbia kansui), of the Euphorbiaceae family. Small perennial spurge with milky latex; native range: Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan in north-central China. Globally recognized as gan sui (甘遂) in Chinese. The part used is root tuber. Small white spindle-shaped tuber, bitter, with acrid milky sap.
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.
KANSUI
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- kansui
- Scientific name
- Euphorbia kansui T.N.Liou ex T.P.Wang
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
Form
- Part used
- root tuber
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter · sweet
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Lung · Kidney · Large Intestine
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drives out water and drains downward with force, dispels congested phlegm and fluid, reduces edema and abdominal swelling
Cautions
- Contraindications
- contraindicated in pregnancy, in weak or deficient patients, and after childbirth; incompatible with gan cao among the classic eighteen antagonisms
- Toxicity
- toxic; a harsh drastic cathartic that readily causes severe cramping, vomiting, and dehydration
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