The efficacy and function of fresh Rehmannia root

Recently, major TV channels have launched various health programs, and food programs have also introduced special health-preserving dietary therapy methods. All aspects show that the concept of health preservation is gradually deepening in people's understanding. Next, we will introduce a health-preserving medicinal material, fresh Rehmannia glutinosa.

[Other names] Raw Rehmannia root (Bencao Jing Jizhu), Fresh Rehmannia root (Bencao Bian Du).

[Source] It is the fresh rhizome of Rehmannia glutinosa, a plant of the Scrophulariaceae family . Collected from September to November, also in spring. When digging, do not damage the skin to avoid rot. After being collected, they are placed on the ground and covered with dry soil and can be taken out as needed, but they are generally no longer suitable for use after being stored for three months.

【Original morphology】 The plant morphology is detailed in the entry for "干地黄".

[Habitat distribution] Produced in Henan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Shanxi and other places.

[Properties] The fresh rhizome is spindle-shaped or cylindrical and curved, about 6 to 18 cm long and 0.5 to 1 cm thick. The surface is yellow-red, with wrinkles, long and horizontal pores, and irregular scars. It is brittle and easy to break, with a fleshy, light yellow cross section that looks like a chrysanthemum heart.

[Preparation] Wash off the dirt with water, remove impurities and cut into sections.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, bitter, cold.

[entry into meridians] Enters the heart, liver, and kidney meridians.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat, cools blood, and promotes the production of body fluids. It is used to treat yin damage caused by febrile diseases, high fever and thirst, red tongue, coma, rashes, hematemesis, epistaxis, consumptive disease with bone steaming, hemoptysis, thirst, constipation, and metrorrhagia.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 0.4-1 liang; mash into juice or boil into paste. For external use: mash and apply.

【Note】 People with dampness in the spleen and stomach or yang deficiency should not take this product.

[Additional prescription] ① For the treatment of typhoid fever and febrile diseases in which patients should sweat but cannot sweat, as well as those with internal blood retention due to nosebleeds and persistent vomiting of blood, residual blood stasis, yellow face, black stool, and blood stasis elimination: 1 liang of rhinoceros horn, 8 liang of raw rehmannia root, 3 liang of peony root, and 2 liang of peony bark. Cut the above four ingredients into small pieces, add nine liters of water, boil and take three liters, divided into three doses. (Rhinoceros Horn and Rehmannia Decoction from Qianjin Fang)

【Discussions by various scholars】 ① "Tangye Bencao": "Shengdihuang, Qian Zhongyang's medicine for purging small intestinal fire, is used together with Mutong to guide redness. It can also treat blood heat in various meridians, and can also treat hematuria and bloody stools."

[Clinical Application] Treatment of suppurative otitis media: Wash and dry the fresh Rehmannia glutinosa, peel off the hair roots and pits on the skin, then wash it thoroughly with salt water, dry it and cut it into thin slices. Put it into a sterilized mortar and pound it into a paste. Wrap it tightly with 4 layers of sterilized gauze, squeeze out the juice and filter it. Take about 50 ml of juice for every pound of fresh Rehmannia. Add 1 gram of borneol powder to every 100 ml of medicine juice to make a 1% suspension. When using, first clean the ear canal with hydrogen peroxide, wipe it dry with sterilized cotton, then drop 2 to 3 drops of the medicine, and then plug a small cotton ball into the external auditory canal. Once a day or every other day. 20 cases of chronic suppurative otitis media were treated, and the symptoms disappeared in 12 cases, improved in 7 cases, and ineffective in 1 case; 3 cases of acute attack of chronic otitis media and 6 cases of acute suppurative otitis media complicated with external otitis were treated (8 cases were treated with antibacterial drugs), and the symptoms disappeared in 5 cases and improved in 4 cases. Some patients are cured after 3 to 5 treatments without any adverse reactions.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Illustrated Records of Plant Names and Realities"

The medicinal value of fresh Rehmannia introduced in the article is of great help to our lives. In fact, many physical illnesses can be treated with some Chinese medicinal materials such as fresh Rehmannia glutinosa. The profound Chinese medicine culture should continue to be passed on.