The efficacy and function of Stellera chamaejasme

Traditional Chinese medicine culture is profound and extensive, and Chinese medicinal materials account for a large proportion of it. Do you know about wolfsbane? What are its effects and functions, and how to eat it? I believe many people are very interested in it. Let me tell you one by one below.

【English name】 Root of Yunnan Euphrbia

[Alias] Chicken Intestine Wolfsbane, Dragon Across the Mountain, Water-Shunning Stone, Big Radish, A Handful of Incense, and Small Dog Making Trouble with Flowers.

[Source] Medicinal material source: The root of the Euphorbiaceae plant Stellera chamaejasme.

[Original form] The perennial herb, 16-30cm tall. The whole plant contains white latex. The main root is enlarged and long conical, about 15cm long and 2.5-4cm in diameter. When fresh, the skin is brown and the cross section is white. It looks like a local melon, so it is commonly known as "the vicious local melon". The stems are tufted and branched at the top. Simple leaves are alternate; sessile or with short petioles; leaf blades are linear, 6-36mm long, 1.5-5mm wide, obtuse or rounded at the apex, gradually narrowed at the base, entire and involute, dark green above, light green or pink-purple below. The cup-shaped cyme is terminal or nearly axillary, with 4-6 umbels arranged in an umbel shape, with 5 ovate-elliptical bracts at the base, each branch divided into 1-4 branchlets, with 4 broad-ovate bracts at the base, opposite each other like a cross. There are many male flowers in the involucre, with one male blue; there is one female flower in the middle, with one pistil, three-chambered ovary and three styles. The capsule is triangular-spherical, dark brown, with very small warty protrusions on the surface; the seeds are obovate-spherical, with obvious caruncle, and the seed coat is brown with white mottled patterns. Flowering period: spring and summer.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown on sunny hillside grasslands or shrubs.

[Properties] Identification of properties: This product is in the shape of a long rod, bent or twisted, 5-15cm long and 0.7-1.5cm in diameter. The surface is off-white or yellow-white. Lightweight, easy to break, white powdery cross section. The smell is faint, but the powder is choking. It tastes slightly bitter and has a lasting irritation.

[Preparation] Wash the roots, put them into ashes to cook, take them out, soak them in rice water for two days, steam them for one hour, slice them and dry them in the sun.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter; pungent; warm; highly toxic

【Meridian】 Spleen; Stomach meridian

【Functions and indications】Diuretic; laxative; promoting qi circulation; dispersing blood stasis; killing parasites; detoxifying. It is mainly used for edema, constipation, food stagnation, stomachache, traumatic injury, fracture, scabies, and sores.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral administration: grind into powder and take with water, 0.3-0.6g; or soak in wine. For external use: take appropriate amount, grind into powder and apply on the affected area; or boil into paste and apply on the affected area.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Compendium of Materia Medica in Southern Yunnan": It can relieve long-term stagnation in the stomach and reduce gas. It is used to treat stomach pain, food stagnation, eliminate edema, break up blood stasis, eliminate parasites, and eliminate phlegm and poison.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Wolfsbane is often used in the treatment of some diseases. It can be made into a compound prescription or used alone as needed. However, wolfsbane should not be consumed blindly to avoid adverse effects on the body.