The efficacy and function of green maple

Many people choose green maple because of its high-value pharmacological effects, but you should be careful not to eat it casually, otherwise it will have some bad effects on the body. We need to understand it before eating it. Are you ready?

【English name】David Maple

[Alias] Guangchenzi, Feiguzi, Chicken Feet Hand, Five Dragon Skin.

[Source] Medicinal material source: the roots and bark of the Acer truncatum plant of the Aceraceae family.

[Original form] Acer truncatum is a deciduous tree, 10-15m tall. The bark is dark brown or grayish brown. Often cracked longitudinally into snakeskin-like shape; twigs are thin, cylindrical, and glabrous; current year branches are green, glabrous, and have sparse lenticels; old branches are gray-brown. Leaves opposite; petiole thin, 2-8cm long; leaf blade papery, ovate or oblong-ovate, 6-11cm long, 4-9cm wide, apex gradually pointed or acute, often with a pointed tail, base nearly cordate or rounded, margin with irregular blunt teeth, dark green above, glabrous, light green below, with brown short soft hairs along the veins when young, gradually glabrous later, pinnate veins; midrib concave above, 11-12 pairs of lateral veins. The flowers are yellow-green, polygamous, with male and bisexual flowers on the same plant, forming drooping racemes, borne on the terminal leafy branches; there are 9-12 male flowers, with short flower bodies and pedicels; there are 15-30 bisexual flowers, with an inflorescence 7-12cm long and a pedicel 1-1.5cm long; there are 5 sepals, which are elliptical; there are 5 petals, which are obovate and equal in length to the sepals; there are 8 stamens, which are glabrous; the disk is glabrous, on the inner side of the pistil; the ovary has reddish-brown short soft hairs, and the style is glabrous. The samaras are light green when young and yellowish brown when old. The nutlets are oval, about 1 cm long, with obvious veins. The wings and nutlets are 2.5-3 cm long in total. The wing width is in the middle, about 1.2 cm wide, and cracked into an obtuse angle or nearly horizontally. The flowering period is April-May, and the fruiting period is August-September.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in sparse forests at an altitude of 500-1800m or in moist sparse forests at the foot of the mountain.

【Chemical composition】 The root contains myricetin, leucodelphinidin and gallic acid.

【Nature and flavor】 sweet; bitter; neutral

【Meridian】 Spleen; Stomach meridian

【Functions and indications】 Expel wind and dampness; disperse blood stasis and relieve pain; help digestion and strengthen the spleen. It is used for rheumatic pain, numbness of limbs, joint discomfort, pain caused by trauma, diarrhea, dysentery, and indigestion in children.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 6-15g; grind into powder, 3-6g; or soak in wine. For external use: grind into powder and apply on skin.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": People in Guangxi use the flower decoction to wash and treat conjunctivitis, and take it internally to treat indigestion in children.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

The above content is an introduction to the Chinese medicinal herb Acer truncatum. I hope it can be of some help to everyone. There are many medicinal herbs similar to the green maple in our daily life. We need to follow the doctor's instructions when taking Chinese medicines such as green maple and not take them blindly.