Achyranthes bidentata Blume (English common name: ox knee, Chinese: 牛膝 niu xi) is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family,

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...

. It occurs in India, Nepal, China, and Japan. It is the source of the

Chinese herbal medicine Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...

huái niú xī. In Nepal its root juice is used for toothache. Its seeds have been used as a substitute for cereal grains in famine years. The plant is used externally in the treatment of leech bites in Mizoram, India and a decoction as a diuretic. During the Chinese Liang Dynasty, Achyranthes bidentata was used for its abortion effectiveness. Chinese folk doctors would take the juices of crushed up Achyranthes bidentata and insert them into the vagina to induce abortion. Achyranthes bidentata is now used for other things such as osteoperosis and arthritis, and known for its anti-inflammatory effects.

Root

References

External links