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**Quisqualis Indica (Shi Jun Zi)**: Sweet in taste, warm in nature, non-toxic. Lightly roasted and shelled before use.

[Invention/Commentary] All anthelmintic drugs are typically bitter and acrid, whereas Quisqualis Indica is sweet yet effective against parasites without damaging the Spleen and Stomach. For adults and children with intestinal parasites, it is recommended to consume several fruits on an empty stomach early in the morning during the first ten days of each lunar month, or take them as a powder administered with rich broth. The worms will be expelled via stool the following day. Hot tea must be avoided; violating this prohibition causes diarrhea. Parasites generally arise from Spleen-Stomach deficiency and food stagnation. Since Quisqualis Indica is sweet and warm, it not only kills parasites but also tonifies the Spleen and Stomach, thereby consolidating deficient heat and stopping diarrhea. It is considered a superior drug for pediatric parasitic accumulation.

**Momordica Cochinchinensis (Mu Bie Zi / Tu Bie)**: Bitter in taste, warm in nature, slightly toxic; **Gymnema Sylvestre (Fan Mu Bie)**: Bitter in taste, cold in nature, highly toxic. Additionally, the immature, unformed root of *Aconitum carmichaelii* (Fu Zi) is called "Lou Lan Zi"; the "Mu Bie Zi" mentioned in the *Pao Zhi Lun* (Treatise on Processing) is different from this.

[Invention/Commentary] There are two types of Mu Bie Zi. The one with a shell is called Tu Bie (Earth Bitter). After removing the shell and pounding it into a paste, wrap it in cloth and insert it into the nostril to treat trichiasis (entropion with inverted lashes). Alternatively, grind it into powder, mix with saliva, and apply to painful hemorrhoids; it will subside within seven days. For all kinds of carbuncles and swellings, grind with vinegar and apply topically. The other type, without a shell, is called Fan Bie (Foreign Bitter). It treats pain caused by sore throat due to heat pathogens; grind it together with *Thladianthae Radix* (Shan Dou Gen) and *Aucklandiae Radix* (Qing Mu Xiang), extract the juice, and swallow. For ulcers affecting the eyes, take half a Gymnema fruit, mix with *Calamina* (Qing Fen), *Borneolum Syntheticum* (Bing Pian), and *Moschus* (She Xiang) into a powder. Blow the powder into the right ear if the left eye is affected, or into the left ear if the right eye is affected, three times daily, and the ulcer will recede naturally. Gymnema can also poison dogs because dog nature is excessively hot, while Gymnema is excessively cold; the opposition of cold and heat causes this reaction.

**Aristolochia Manshuriensis (Ma Dou Ling)**: Bitter and acrid in taste, slightly cold in nature, non-toxic. Shelled and lightly roasted before use.

[Invention/Commentary] Drugs with light and floating properties, such as *Junci Medulla* (Deng Xin Cao) and *Lasiothallus* (Ma Bo), can enter the Lung to dissipate Qi. Various schools state that its nature is cold and it specializes in resolving phlegm and relieving asthma. However, it contains acridity within bitterness and dispersal within coldness, making it suitable for lung-heat phlegm-wheezing and unclear voice. It is used in Qian Yi’s *Bufei Ejiao San* (Tonify Lung Donkey-Hide Gelatin Decoction) for its ability to clear heat and descend Qi; once the pathogenic factor is eliminated, Lung Qi becomes tranquil. Its nature promotes vomiting and purging. Therefore, the *Bencao Zuanyao* records using it alone in a strong decoction to treat snake and gu-poisoning; inducing vomiting resolves the toxin immediately. It is suitable for infants with measles sinking inward causing wheezing, fullness, and aphonia. However, it is contraindicated for wheezing, coughing, and loss of voice caused by Lung cold and Metal deficiency.