Cassia tora

Cassia seed originated from "Shennong's Herbal Classic". It is the perfect seed of the legume plant Cassia Cassiatora L. The main production areas are Anhui Province, Guangxi Province, Sichuan, Zhejiang Province, Guangdong Province and other places. It is grown all over the country, both in the north and south. Harvest in autumn, dry, lay out the seeds, and use raw or stir-fry.

Specific aliases include Cassia, Cassia grass, Cassia grass seeds, Sheep Ming, Sheep horn, Sheep horn bean, Horse hoof, False mung bean, Horse hoof Cassia, Pure leaf Cassia, Huantongzi, Senecio, Celery Cassia, Wild green pea, Pig bone Ming, Crotalaria bean, Night-blooming bean, Sheep tail bean, Crotalaria blue bean, Fine-leaved Crotalaria bean, Cow dung bean, Obtuse-leaf Cassia, Night-closed door seed, Sheep tentacles seed, False sheep horn seed, False peanut kernel seed, Night-blooming jasmine seed, Wild grass seed.

Cassia seed tea is produced under the specific trade name. The best ones are those with round, uniform, brown-green, dry and crystalline grains.

The specific prescription name produces cassia seed tea, grass cassia, raw cassia seed tea, fried cassia seed, etc.

The herbal cassia and cassia seed tea mentioned in the prescription refer to raw cassia seed tea. It is the product after the residue of pyraclostrobin is removed and used as medicine. It focuses on moistening bowels and intestines, clearing liver fire and dispersing wind.

Fried Cassia Seed is also known as Fried Cassia. To make pure cassia seed tea, use slow fire to stir-fry it as medicine. It has the effects of nourishing the kidney, strengthening yang and clearing eyes.

It is particularly noteworthy that in the Chinese medicinal material market, the seeds of the same plant C. occidentalis L. are also mixed with cassia seed tea as medicine in some areas, called round cassia and round grass cassia. Its seeds are not diamond-shaped and square, so they can be identified.

The specific taste of the meridians produces sweet, bitter, and cold. It enters the liver and small intestine meridians.

Specific effects: clearing away heat and removing internal fire, moistening the bowels and moistening the stool. It is mainly used to treat red, swollen and painful eyes, photophobia, depression, constipation, hyperlipidemia and hypertension.

The specific dosage is 10~15 grams.

Identification of Chinese herbal medicines

Cross section of the underground stem: The outer layer of Cassia is a thick cuticle with a thin layer. The outer cortex is a row of palisade cells with unevenly thickened walls. There is a brilliant band at the 1/2 and lower 1/3 of the cells; the following is a row of supporting cells, which are slightly barbell-shaped, with thick walls and large intercellular spaces between adjacent cells; the inner side is 6 to 8 rows of nutrient layer thin-walled cells containing calcium oxalate clusters with a diameter of 3 to 10 μm; the innermost row of seed coat cells are neatly arranged, square, and contain calcium oxalate prisms. The plant cells of the endosperm are unevenly thickened and contain mucilage, aleurone grains, melanin, calcium oxalate clusters and droplets. The somatic cells of young leaves contain clusters of calcium oxalate crystals with a diameter of 3~10μm.

Cross section of underground stem: There are many calcium oxalate clusters in Cassia tora, with a diameter of 10-19 μm. The walls of some supporting cells are very thickened, and the cells in the nutrient layer are in 5-6 rows.

Powder characteristics: Cassia is yellow-brown. The thin fragments of stratum corneum are smooth and completely transparent, and a wavy and tortuous network structure can be seen on the surface. The outer wall of the palisade cells thickens unevenly, and the cells appear polygonal in surface view with thick walls. The supporting body cells are barbell-shaped when viewed from the side, and ring-like or polygonal when viewed from the surface, through which double layers of inscribed circles can be seen on the left and right. The seed coat thin-walled cells contain calcium oxalate prisms. Endosperm vegetative cells are unevenly thickened, equivocal and powdery with clusters of calcium oxalate crystals. The somatic cells of young leaves contain clusters of calcium oxalate crystals with a diameter of 3~10μm.

Powder characteristics: The difference between small Cassia and the above species is that there are fewer thin fragments of cuticle, and polygonal network structure patterns can be seen from the surface. In some supporting body cells, no double-layer inscribed circle can be seen on the surface, but a single circle with a bent thin rope inside can be seen. Calcium oxalate clusters are numerous and large, with diameters ranging from 10 to 19 μm.