Di Fu Zi (地肤子) — Kochia Fruit | TCM Herb Guide

At a Glance

• Herb: Di Fu Zi
• Chinese name: 地肤子 (Dì Fū Zǐ)
• Latin name: Kochiae Fructus
• Nature: Cold
• Taste: Bitter / Sweet
• Meridian: Kidney / Bladder
• Category: Herbs that Drain Dampness (Diuretic Herbs)
• Introduction: Di Fu Zi (地肤子), Fructus Kochiae, is the dried ripe fruit of Kochia scoparia, a bushy annual that turns bright red in autumn. In TCM it clears damp-heat from the lower jiao and skin, promotes urination, and relieves itching — making it useful for both urinary disorders and dermatological conditions driven by damp-heat. Modern research identifies saponins and flavonoids with antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and diuretic properties.

Action

• Clears damp-heat and promotes urination
• Relieves itching (internal and topical)
• Clears damp-heat from the skin
• Treats urinary tract infections and dysuria

Clinical Application

• Damp-heat dysuria: burning, painful urination — combines with Mu Tong, Qu Mai, Hua Shi
• Skin pruritus from damp-heat: eczema, urticaria, scabies, vaginal itching — combines with Bai Xian Pi, She Chuang Zi, Ku Shen
• Vaginal damp-heat discharge with itching — used as external wash or internal decoction
• Damp-heat skin rashes with burning and oozing — combines with Huang Bai, Cang Zhu
• Urinary frequency and urgency from damp-heat — combines with Zhi Mu, Huang Bai

Precautions

• Dosage: 9–15 g in decoction; external wash 30–60 g
• Contraindicated in urinary difficulty from kidney deficiency without heat
• Avoid in cold patterns of the lower jiao
• External use is safe and highly effective for damp-heat skin conditions
• Use with caution in pregnancy

Formula

• Di Fu Zi Tang (地肤子汤): Di Fu Zi, Mu Tong, Qu Mai, Hua Shi — clears damp-heat, promotes urination
• Xiao Feng San (消风散) variant: adds Di Fu Zi for damp-heat skin disorders with itching
• External wash: Di Fu Zi, She Chuang Zi, Bai Xian Pi, Ku Shen decocted — classic formula for vaginal and perianal itching from damp-heat

Combinations

• Kochia Fruit (地肤子) + Lightyellow Sophora Root (苦参) + Cnidium Fruit (蛇床子) → clear damp-heat, kill parasites, stop itching; genital itching and eczema
• Kochia Fruit (地肤子) + Plantain Seed (车前子) + Akebia Stem (木通) → clear heat, promote urination; hot lin and dysuria
• Kochia Fruit (地肤子) + Densefruit Pittany Root Bark (白鲜皮) + Siler Root (防风) → clear damp-heat, expel wind; skin itching and urticaria
• Kochia Fruit (地肤子) + Phellodendron Bark (黄柏) + Atractylodes Rhizome (苍术) → clear lower jiao damp-heat; leukorrhea and genital dampness
• Kochia Fruit (地肤子) + Poria (茯苓) + Alisma Rhizome (泽泻) → promote urination; edema and damp-heat accumulation

Pharmacological Effects

• Diuretic; antipruritic
  • stops itching — mast cell stabilization
• anti-inflammatory; antifungal; antibacterial; antiallergic; immunomodulatory; antihypertensive

Classic Description

• Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (《神农本草经》): ‘Governs Bladder heat, promotes urination, supplements the center, and benefits essence and qi.’
• Ben Cao Gang Mu (《本草纲目》): ‘Kochia Fruit promotes Bladder urination, eliminates wind-heat from the skin, and stops skin itching.’
• Ming Yi Bie Lu (《名医别录》): ‘Eliminates heat qi in the skin, disperses malignant sores, hernia masses, strengthens yin, and makes the person moist and lustrous.’
• Ben Cao Bei Yao (《本草备要》): ‘Promotes urination, eliminates damp-heat, treats strangury conditions; relieves wind-heat skin itching and sores.’