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 1200 - 3000 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[]. It should succeed outdoors at least in the milder areas of the temperate zone.
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 late spring in a greenhouse. Germination should be fairly rapid, prick out the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich soil when they are large enough to handle. It is probably wise to grow this plant on in the greenhouse for its first winter, planting it out into its permanent position in late spring after the last expected frosts.