What it is:
This herb is the ripe seed of Arecacatechu L. (family Palmae) which is principally produced in Hainan, Fujian and Yunnan provinces. It is harvested in summer, peeled, dried in sunlight, sliced after maceration, or crushed directly (that is the best way). It is used un-prepared

Property:
Flavour and channel tropism: pungent and bitter in flavour, warm in property, acting on the stomach and large intestine channels.

Effects:
Having anthelmintic function, removing stagnation,descending the adverse flow of qi to loosen the bowels, and inducing diuresis to alleviate edema.

Used For:
1. Many kinds of parasitosis in the intestinal tract. To treat cestodiasis and fasciolopsiasis. This herb is decocted alone for an oral dose; if it is used together with pumpkin seed, its action against tapeworms can be strengthened. for ascariasis and ancy-lostomiasis, it can be used with china-berry bark and ompha-lia; for enterobiasis, it is used with stemona root.

2. Food retention and stagnation of qi marked by abdominal distension, constipation or diarrhea with tenesmus. It is often prescribed with auck-landia root and rhubarb, as in Pill of Aucklandia and areca seed (Muxiang Binglang Wan) and Peony Decoction (Shaoyao Tang).

3. Edema and pain of beriberi and edema of excess type. For the former, it is often used with chaenomeles fruit, evodia fruit and purple perilla, as in Cock Crowing Powder (Jiming San); for the latter, it is used along with pokeberry root, surface layer of poria and alismatisrhizome, as in Decoction for Diuresis (Shuzao Yinzi).

Dosage and administration:6-15g, decocted in water for an oral dose. If it is used alone in treating cestodiasis and fasciolopsiasis, the dosage can be as much as 60-120g.

Precautions:
This herb is not suitable in cases of deficiency of the spleen with loose stool.