Properties: Cold, acrid, toxic

Meridans Entered:
Primary: Heart, Lung

1. Clears Heat, resolves Toxicity, disperses clumping, reduces swelling and alleviates pain
   Swelling toxin of welling abscess and boil (Crush fresh whole herb, squeeze out the juice and apply it to the affected area)
   Chronic lower limb ulcers (Boil it into a paste and apply it to the affected area)
   Scrofula (Take an appropriate amount of dried whole herb, boil it into a paste with oil and apply it)
   Snake bites (Crush fresh whole herb, squeeze out the juice and apply it to the affected area)
2. Stops Malaria (Nue)
   Malaria (Take an appropriate amount of fresh whole herb, crush it, and apply it to the Dazhui Du-14 acupoint 6 hours before the onset of the disease)

Suggested Daily Dosage: Crushed and applied externally.

Cautions: Do not ingest. Ingestion may cause burning sensation in the mouth , followed by swelling , difficulty chewing , severe diarrhea , slow pulse, difficulty breathing , dilated pupils , and in severe cases, death.

• Ranunculin
  Unstable glycoside that turns into protoanemonin when crushed or chewed, becoming a powerful irritant that can cause cause severe blistering of the mouth and throat, intense abdominal pain, and digestive distress. Drying can reduce this for livestock in hay, but there is no verified or safe method to prepare buttercups for human ingestion. R. sceleratus has ~2.5% Protoanemonin (dry weight basis).

Notes:

Surprisingly the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing places this in the upper medicinals and says:

"It treats wind, Cold and Damp related Bi obstructions and evil Qi in the Heart and abdomen; it disinhibits the joints; and stops vexation and fullness. Consumed over a long time, it lightens the body, brightens the eyes, and staves off ageing."

This may suggest it was either a different plant, or processed in a way to remove its toxicity with a method now lost to history.