Sargassum pallidum (Turn.) C. Ag.; Sargassum fusiforme (Harv.) Setch. (Sargassum)
Nature and flavour. Salty and cold; Liver, Stomach and Kidney systems.
Traditionally classed as dispersing phlegm while softening hardness and dissipating masses, and as promoting urination to reduce swelling. Recorded for scrofula, for goitre and thyroid enlargement, for painful swollen testicle, and for oedema attributed to retained fluid. It is one half of the classical goitre pair — kelp and sargassum — and the pairing reflects a pre-modern observation that these seaweeds do something to neck swellings, made at a time when iodine was unknown. Classical sources also record an incompatibility with liquorice root; that is a recorded incompatibility in the traditional literature, not a demonstrated interaction.
性味归经。咸，寒；归肝、胃、肾经。
传统归类为消痰软坚散结、利水消肿。古籍用于瘰疬、瘿瘤（甲状腺肿大）、睾丸肿痛，以及痰饮水肿。它是「昆布、海藻」这一治瘿药对中的一味，该配对反映的是前现代对海药与颈部肿大关系的观察，其时尚未知碘。古籍并记载与甘草相反；此为传统文献记载的配伍禁忌，并非已被证实的相互作用。
要知道的关键是碘。海藻是碘的浓缩来源，对某人无足轻重的量亦可能干扰另一人的甲状腺功能 —— 在已有甲状腺疾病、正在服用甲状腺药物、甲状腺术前及孕期尤须留意。甲状腺肿大应先明确诊断并做甲状腺功能检查，而不是自行选用海藻；碘会改变检查结果，也可能改变病情本身。海藻亦会富集海水中的砷等元素。此名下流通的一个品种羊栖菜（hijiki）曾因无机砷含量被发布不建议食用的提示 —— 该提示针对食品，对本品同样适用。性寒，脾胃虚寒者传统上忌用。孕期与哺乳期安全性未确立。
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