What are the effects and functions of the ghost needle?

In various regions, there are always a lot of weeds growing on the wild land, but what we cannot ignore is that among these weeds, there are also relatively precious Chinese medicinal materials. It’s just that people don’t know much about this aspect, so they don’t recognize them. For example, the devil needle is very likely to be seen in the wild. Since it is a traditional Chinese medicine, what are the effects and functions of Guigezhen?

Main Value

This product is the whole herb of Bidens pilosa L., a plant of the Asteraceae family.

Nature and flavor: bitter, neutral

effect

It can clear away heat and detoxify, promote blood circulation and dissipate blood stasis, and has miraculous effects in treating essential hypertension, lowering cholesterol and preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases!

collection

The above-ground parts are harvested in summer and autumn and sun-dried.

Medicinal Materials

The whole plant is dried, the stem is slightly square, and the young stem has short soft hairs. The leaves are papery and brittle, often shrinking, breaking, and falling off. There is often a flat disc-shaped receptacle at the top of the stem, borne by more than 10 needle-shaped, four-sided fruits, sometimes with a capitulate inflorescence. Slight odor, light taste.

Chemical composition

The whole plant contains alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids. The stems and leaves contain volatile oils, tannins, bitter substances, bile alkaloids, etc. The fruit contains 27.3% oil.

Morphological characteristics

The central tubular flower is yellow, bisexual, fully developed, about 4.5 mm long, with 5 lobes; 5 stamens, polyanthemum; 1 pistil, 2-lobed stigma. Achenes are long linear, 12-18 mm long, about 1 mm wide, with 3-4 ribs and short hairs; the apical pappus is awn-shaped, 3-4 pieces, 2-5 mm long. Flowering period is from August to September. Fruiting period is from September to November. The seeds are long and narrow achenes with awn-like pappus on top, which can easily attach to humans and animals.

The whole plant is 40 to 85 cm tall, with an erect stem, slightly lavender at the bottom, quadrangular, glabrous, or slightly hairy on the branches at the top. The middle and lower leaves are opposite, 11 to 19 cm long, deeply pinnate-lobed twice, with lobes lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, pointed or acuminate at the apex, with irregular fine or blunt teeth on the margin, slightly short-haired on both sides, and with long petioles; the upper leaves are alternate, smaller, and pinnate-lobed.