---
title: "Ku Shen"
url: "https://books.drcassone.com/21/traditional-medicines-of-east-asia/524/ku-shen"
---

 ![ku shen, sophorae flavescentis radix.jpg](/u/ku-shen-sophorae-flavescentis-radix-oJ0xRW.jpg) 

# Ku Shen

### Sophorae Flavescentis Radix

_bitter, cold_

#### PRIMARY FUNCTION:

_**Clear Heat and Dry Dampness**_

CLASSICAL MANIFESTATIONS:
- Jaundice
- Dysentery
- Vaginal discharge
- Sores
- Skin lesions
- Itching
- Bleeding
- Genital itch
- Painful urinary dribbling
- Edema
- Parasites

Ku Shen is bitter to drain and detoxify damp pathologies and it is
cold to treat heat patterns. It enters the bladder, small intestine,
large intestine, stomach, heart, and liver systems.

**Channels:** heart, bladder, liver, large intestine, small
intestine, stomach

COMMON APPLICATIONS AND CLINICAL
POSSIBILITIES:
- Parasitic infection
- Jaundice
- Blood in stool
- Hemorrhoids
- Eczema
- Skin sores
- Itching
- Bladder infections
- Vaginitis
- Vaginal discharge
- Leukorrhea
- Sleep disturbance
- Antimicrobial
- Hepatitis

**Formulas:**
- Dang Gui Nian Tong Tang
- Xiao Feng San

**Contraindications:** do not prescribe Ku Shen to patients that
present with cold from deficiency patterns and do not combine
Ku Shen with Li Lu

**Zoo Image:** a cat in a sailboat is scratching, parasites are jumping off the boat
which is floating in urine, and the lower part of the sail is red and dripping

[Cassone Wellness](https://cassonewellness.com/)