Indigowoad Root (Banlangen)
Vita Green Health Products Ltd.
TCM

Indigowoad Root (Banlangen)

Isatis tinctoria

wholedried

Botanical Source

System Profiles

Nature (Temperature)Neutral
Flavor
CategoryTonify Qi
PinyinIndigowoad Root (Banlangen)

History

First appeared in Shui Wen and the Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica, classified as upper class.

Traditional Usage

Banlangen is made from the roots of the woad plant, which are harvested in northern China during the late autumn or early winter and dried. (Compare to Daqingye, which is made from the leaves of the same plant.) The granules are often drunk as a tea to relieve sore throats and influenza. It is bitter, cold herb that enters the heart and stomach meridians to clear heat, relieve fire toxicity, cool the blood and benefit the throat.

Modern Research

Woad has been found to be a rich source of the cancer preventing substance glucobrassicin, containing 20 times more than broccoli.