Arctium lappa

Specific Indications. - Feeble cutaneous circulation; dry, scaly skin eruptions; aphthous ulcers; recurrent boils and styes; urinary irritation; psoriasis.

Action and Therapy. - Lappa is a potent but neglected alterative and diuretic. It relieves urinary and bronchial irritation, favors the elimination of waste material, and secondarily proves tonic. Lappa is especially valuable in psoriasis, crusta lactea, stubborn eczema, obstinate ulcers, and in catarrhal and aphthous ulcerations. It is one of the best of agents for recurrent boils and styes.

The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D. (1922)

Use in traditional medicine

Folk herbalists consider dried burdock to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent. The seeds of greater burdock are used in traditional Chinese medicine, under the name niupangzi (Chinese: 牛蒡子; pinyin: niúpángzi; some dictionaries list the Chinese as just 牛蒡 niúbàng).