Common Name: Niu Xi

General Information

Achyranthes bidentata is a perennial plant growing 70 - 120cm tall[].
The plant is often harvested from the wild, mainly for use as a medicine, but also as a food and source of a toothbrush. It is widely cultivated in China, especially in Henan Province, as a medicinal plant[] and as a food plant[].

Known Hazards

One report suggests that the root is poisonous[].

Botanical References

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Range

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to New Guinea.

Habitat

Forest edges, the sides of streams and shrubberies[]. Moist shady places at elevations of 1,200 - 3,000 metres in Nepal[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.75 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the tropical to subtropical zones, it tolerates temperatures down to at least -5°c[].
Prefers a rich, sandy, slightly acid soil in partial shade[].
When grown in a rich soil the roots can be up to 1.2 metres long[].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked. A good substitute for cereal grains in bread-making, they have often been used for this purpose in famine years[, , ]. The light brown oblong seed is about 1mm long[].

Leaves - cooked[, ]. Used as a vegetable in the same manner as spinach[].

Medicinal

The roots, leaves and stems are widely used in Chinese herbal medicine[]. The roots contain triterpenoid saponins, sitosterol and sigmasterol[]. They are anodyne, antiinflammatory, antirheumatic, bitter, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue and vasodilator[, ]. They act predominantly on the lower half of the body and are used in the treatment of aching back and knees and asthenia of the lower limbs[, , ]. Research suggests that they can cause dilation of the cervix and so this herb should not be used when pregnant[].

The root is prescribed in the treatment of rheumatism, as an emmenagogue to facilitate the birthing process and as a treatment for vaginal discharge[].
The root juice is used in Nepal in the treatment of toothache[]. This juice is also used in the treatment of indigestion and is considered to be a good treatment for asthma[].
The stem of the plant is used as a toothbrush that is said to be good for the teeth and is also a treatment for pyorrhoea[].

The herb is taken internally to treat hypertension, back pains, urine in the blood, menstrual pain, bleeding etc[, ]. It lowers blood cholesterol levrels and so is used in the treatment of atherosclerosis[]. Young leaves are heated and then eaten with salt in order to relieve abdominal pains and to destroy hook worms and other intestinal parasites[].
The leaves are chewed as a treatment for malignant mouth ulcers[].

The plant can be used fresh or dried. The leaves and stems are harvested in the summer and are usually crushed for their juice or used in tinctures[]. The roots are harvested from 1 or 2 year old plants in the autumn or winter and usually dried and ground into a powder or used in decoctions[].

Other Uses

Two insect-moulting hormones are found in the roots[]. Can this have a practical application as an insecticide?[]

The stem of the plant is used as a toothbrush that is said to be good for the teeth and is also a treatment for pyorrhoea[].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a seedtray. Germination should be fairly rapid, prick out the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich soil when they are large enough to handle and plant out when large enough

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