What are the effects and functions of soapberry?

The effects of soapberry can be used to help us solve phenomena such as phlegm and asthma, excessive phlegm, etc., and in the face of some common skin itching problems, soapberry also has a good insecticidal and antipruritic effect, and can also treat constipation or dynamic intestinal obstruction.

1. Coughing and wheezing

The pungent taste of this product can clear the airways, and the salty taste can soften the gelled phlegm. Therefore, for those with cough, shortness of breath, thick phlegm, and difficulty lying flat, you can grind the soapberry into powder, make pills with honey, and take them with jujube soup, which is the soapberry pill in "Jin Jia Yao Lue". In modern times, this product is combined with ephedra and pig bile to make tablets for treating cough, asthma and excessive sputum.

2. Phlegm-excess obstruction syndrome

The taste of soapberry is pungent and penetrating. It can cause sneezing in the nose and vomiting in the throat. It can open up the orifices. Therefore, it can be used for patients with excessive phlegm such as stroke, syncope, epilepsy, and laryngeal congestion. If it is ground into powder together with asarum, it can be blown into the nose to induce sneezing, such as the Tongguan Powder in "New Edition of Easy and Simple Medical Prescriptions". Or it can be mixed with alum to make a powder, taken with warm water, to induce vomiting of phlegm and achieve the effect of clearing phlegm, opening the orifices and refreshing the mind, such as the Xixian Powder prescribed in the Shengji Zonglu.

3. Carbuncle and sore

Boil soapberry and vinegar, grind into paste and apply it, as in the recipe of Ren Zhai Zhi Zhi Fang.

4. Symptoms of skin itching

Soapberry can dispel wind, kill insects and relieve itching, and treat various symptoms of itchy skin, such as treating leprosy and leprosy (Soapberry Pills in "Renzai Zhizhi Fang"). In addition, in modern times, it can also treat constipation and mild dynamic intestinal obstruction.