Leaf of Argy Wormwood

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Warms the channels and stops bleeding - Ai Ye is a classic uterine and blood-channel herb for cold-pattern bleeding, prolonged spotting, and excessive menstrual loss.
• Dispels cold and alleviates pain - it is used for dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain from cold in the womb, and cold-damp pain when warmth is needed.
• Calms the fetus - traditional use includes threatened miscarriage when uterine bleeding or restlessness arise from cold and deficiency rather than heat.

Secondary Actions

• Ai Ye is both a decoction herb and the foundational material for moxa, so its internal and external traditions are unusually well developed.
• It must be kept distinct from other Artemisia drugs such as Qing Hao and Yin Chen Hao, which are much cooler and serve very different clinical roles.

Classic Formulas

• Jiao Ai Tang - classic formula for uterine bleeding, abdominal pain, and fetal-restlessness patterns in which Ai Ye anchors the warming and hemostatic strategy.
• Ai Fu Nuan Gong Wan and related womb-warming formulas - traditional use for cold infertility, menstrual pain, and lower-abdomen cold.
• Ai Ye charcoal or moxa preparations - classical part-processing pathways used to emphasize hemostatic or warming-external applications.

Classical References

• Traditional references describe Ai Ye as acrid, bitter, and warm, entering the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney to warm the channels, stop bleeding, dispel cold, and calm the fetus.
• The herb's dual life as internal medicine and moxibustion material explains why it remains one of the most culturally persistent warming gynecologic herbs.
• Dao-di Qichun mugwort is especially prized in moxa traditions, but the monograph here stays focused on the medicinal leaf rather than on branded moxa products.