The efficacy and function of Chinese herbal medicine Phytolacca

Phytolacca is a relatively common Chinese medicine. The fruit and rhizome of Phytolacca are inedible and have certain toxicity. Attention should be paid to this aspect. It has many functions and effects, and is especially effective in treating edema. It can play a certain role in treating irritability, thirst, or difficulty in urination and defecation. When using Rhizoma Coptidis to treat diseases, you must follow the doctor's advice and never take medicine on your own.

The efficacy and function of Chinese herbal medicine Phytolacca

There are two types of Phytolacca americana. The ones with purple-red stems are poisonous and cannot be eaten, while the green-stemmed Phytolacca americana seedlings are a high-quality wild forest vegetable. The above-ground part of the Chinese pomelo usually sheds its leaves and withers in autumn and winter, and sprouts in the spring of the second year. It is a superior wild vegetable variety. Because Phytolacca is a perennial herb, it can be planted once and harvested for many years, with a spring yield of more than 2t per 667m2. But after the Qingming Festival, the stems and leaves become woody and inedible. In many places, Phytolacca americana is cultivated as a vegetable, which has become a good way to get rich in mountainous rural areas.

Phytolacca americana has a very good water and soil conservation effect, and is particularly suitable for newly reclaimed red soil terraced orchards. Due to the heavy rainfall in southern China in spring and summer, the walls of newly reclaimed orchards often slide and collapse. Since Phytolacca americana is suitable for growing in red soil, it has a well-developed root system, thick and fleshy roots that are deeply and widely distributed, and its branches and leaves grow rapidly and luxuriantly, it has a good effect in consolidating water and soil.

It is reported that the introduced Phytolacca is planted on the terrace walls of orange orchards on red soil hills as a wall-protecting plant. Before the planting of Phytolacca, the terrace walls often slid down and collapsed due to the erosion of rainwater in the rainy season. After the planting of Phytolacca, all the terrace walls were intact without any collapse, which not only saved the work of repair, but also saved soil and water and increased green manure. During the severe drought season, the orange orchard was irrigated many times, but the interplanted mung beans still died due to drought; however, the rhubarb planted on the terrace walls was not watered, but still grew luxuriantly, with dark green branches and leaves, and did not show any signs of wilting even in the hot noon.

Related compatibility:

1. To treat edema due to water retention: raw rhubarb (cut into sesame size), adzuki beans in equal parts, three crucian carps (remove intestines and keep scales). Take the above three ingredients, stuff two of them into the belly of a fish, tie it up with cotton wool, add three liters of water, and slowly cook the beans until they are soft. Remove the fish and only take the two ingredients. Eat on an empty stomach, and wash it down with fish juice. For severe cases, wait two days before doing it again. No more than three doses are allowed. (Shanglu Bean Recipe from Shengji Zonglu)

2. To treat ten kinds of water retention, take water: Rhizoma Smilacis Glabrae roots (take one cup of natural juice), one qian of Gelsemium elegans powder. Use a piece of earth dog, grind it into fine powder, mix it with the above medicines, and take it on an empty stomach, with water at noon. Avoid salt for 100 days and avoid licorice for 3 days. (Shanglu San from Yang's Family Collection)

3. Treat swelling due to water retention, shortness of breath, irritability, thirst, difficulty in urination and defecation, and those who cannot take hot medicines: Alisma orientalis, Rhizoma Phytolaccae, Adzuki Bean (fried), Rhizoma Angelicae Dahuricae (without the stem), Rhizoma Cibotii, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Akebia trifoliata, Radix Gentianae (without the stem), Poria peel, and Areca catechu. Divide the above ingredients into equal parts, chop into small pieces, take 4 qian each time, add 1.5 cups of water and 5 slices of ginger, boil for 70%, remove the residue and drink while warm at any time. (Shuo Zao Yin Zi from Ji Sheng Fang)