Palm root benefits and functions

The traditional Chinese medicine palm root is often used by people in real life because of its functions and effects. So, what are the effects and functions of palm roots? Let us study it together.

【Alias】 Palm tree root

[Source] Medicinal material source: The root of palm tree, a plant of the palm family.

[Original form] Palm, evergreen tree, up to 10m tall. The stem is cylindrical, thick and upright, unbranched, with a diameter of about 20 cm. The remaining brown fibrous old leaf sheaths are wrapped around the stem in layers, and after falling off, they form ring-shaped nodes. The leaves grow in clusters at the top of the stem and spread outward; the petioles are hard, about 1m long, nearly triangular in cross section, with small teeth on the edges, and brown fibrous leaf sheaths at the base. New petioles are upright, while old petioles often droop; the leaves are nearly fan-shaped, 60-100cm in diameter, with many wrinkles, palmately divided to the middle, with 30-50 lobes, each lobe has 2 shallow lobes at the tip, green on the upper side, waxy and leathery on the lower side. The spadix emerges from the leaf axils at the top of the stem, with many large sheath-like bracts at the base, which are light yellow and pubescent. Dioecious; male flowers are small, numerous, light yellow, with 6 perianths in 2 whorls, broadly ovate, 6 stamens, short, separate filaments; female perianth is the same as male flowers, ovary superior, densely covered with white soft hairs, style 3-lobed. The drupe is spherical or nearly kidney-shaped, with a diameter of about 1 cm. When ripe, the outer skin is gray-blue and covered with wax powder. The flowering period is April-May, and the fruiting period is October-December.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: cultivated near villages, streams, fields, hills or mountains.

[Chemical composition] The underground part contains dioscin and methyl proto-ph.

[Pharmacological action] Palm root injection has the effect of inhibiting fertility. Palm root alcohol extract (2g crude drug/ml) is combined with Shimen acupoint injection, 0.5ml per female mouse, twice a day, for a total of 3 times. Results: The mice became pregnant 2-6 months after acupuncture injection, delaying an average of 6 gestational cycles (the normal gestational cycle of mice is about 20 days); the mice developed normally after birth. Except for the mice in the 0.2ml dose group, which survived, intraperitoneal injection of palm root decoction (2g/ml) caused piloerection, convulsions and death due to injection of 0.3ml, 0.5ml and 0.5ml at Shimen acupoint. However, no toxic reaction was observed after injection of 0.5 ml of palm root alcohol extract.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter; astringent; cool

【Functions and indications】 Effective in stopping bleeding; astringing the intestines and stopping diarrhea; removing dampness; reducing swelling; and detoxifying. It is used to treat vomiting blood, blood in stool, metrorrhagia, leucorrhea, dysentery, stranguria, edema, joint pain, scrofula, leukorrhea, and swelling and pain caused by falls.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoction, 15-30g. For external use: take appropriate amount, decoct in water for washing; or mash and apply on the affected area.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

After learning so much about the various aspects of the traditional Chinese medicine palm root, I believe that we can remain calm when facing the troubles of illness and treat the treatment of the disease correctly.