The efficacy and function of Zishikoucao

Since Chinese medicine has fewer side effects, more and more people now want to use Chinese medicine to regulate their bodies. Here I would like to introduce to you a medicinal herb, Zishikoucao, hoping it will be helpful to you.

[Other names] Deer Hoof Grass (Essentials of Raw Medicinal Herbs), Small Huihui Garlic (Dictionary of Botany), False Celery (Records of Herb Collection in Lingnan), Senecio (Nanjing Folk Medicinal Herbs), Self-moxibustion Grass, Wild Celery, and Diancao (Guangdong Chinese Herbal Medicine).

[Source] It is the whole herb of Ranunculaceae . In late spring and early summer, take the whole herb, wash it and dry it.

[Original form] Perennial herb. There are many fibrous roots, which are white. The stem is erect, 0.3 to 1 meter high, with cylindrical branches and hollow. The stems and petioles are densely covered with extended light yellow rough hairs. The basal leaves are clustered, with long petioles, usually 2-3 lobed, with 1 lobe broadly cuneate, 3-5 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide, and then deeply lobed, and the 2nd lobe oblong-oblanceolate, with irregular teeth or 3 deep lobes at the upper end; the stem leaves are similar to the basal leaves, but the petioles are shorter. The flowers are small, about 6 to 8 mm in diameter, with opposite leaves solitary at the end of the branches; 5 sepals, narrowly ovate, outward-reflected, with long hairs on the outside; 5 petals, yellow, broadly obovate, about 5.5 mm long, 3 mm wide, with small round scales at the base; stamens numerous, short; carpels separate, with 1 ovule. The aggregated achenes are spherical, about 1 cm in diameter, with elongated receptacle and short hairs; the achenes are flat, narrowly obovate, and about 4 mm long. There are faint ridges near the edges on both sides and a short beak at the top. Flowering period is from April to May.

[Habitat distribution] It grows in shady and moist places such as ditches or edges of paddy fields. Distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and various areas to its south.

[Properties] The dried whole herb is about 40 cm long, dark brown, with branched stems, slender and flattened, with longitudinal wrinkles, covered with gray-yellow coarse hairs, and fibrous roots at the base of the stem; the leaves are wrinkled, 2-3 lobed, and the base of the petiole is sheath-shaped; the upper part of the branches carries flowers or fruits, but most of them have fallen off, revealing the 3-4 mm long receptacle. Slight odor, light taste. It is best to use dry ones without any sand or impurities.

[Chemical composition] The whole plant contains protoanemonin, with the content in fresh stems and leaves being about 0.12%, in dry stems and leaves being about 0.34%, and in fresh roots being about 0.3%. The whole plant contains flavonoids, phenols, amino acids and organic acids.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet and mild, poisonous.

【Functions and indications】 Treat eye opacity and jaundice.

[Usage and Dosage] For external use: mash and apply to form foam, plug the nose or mash and apply the juice.

【Note】 ① "Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine" II: "The juice must not be applied to the eyes."

[Additional prescription] ① To treat eye diseases and remove membranes, it can also cure acne: place a copper coin on the pulse gate, pound it with some self-cultivated grass, and apply it to the eye of the coin to pull out the poison. If there are blisters, it does not matter. (Essentials of the Nature of Raw Medicinal Herbs)

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

The above only introduces some of the effects and functions of the herb. In fact, it also has other effects, which I will not introduce here one by one. If you are interested, you can take a look at the effects and matters recorded in medical books.