The efficacy and function of Artemisia sibiricum

As people's living standards improve, they pay more attention to health preservation. Many people know that the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia snowwort is good for the body and can treat many diseases. Let’s learn about it today.

[Source] It is the tuberous root of plants such as Aconitum brachypedicum of the Ranunculaceae family. Dig up the tubers in late summer and early autumn, remove the leaves and small roots, wash and dry them, put them in a sack and hit them to make the surface smooth. Store in a dry place to prevent moisture and insects.

[Original form] Perennial herb, 50 to 70 cm tall. The tuber is erect, spindle-shaped and cylindrical, 5 to 8 cm long, with a brown-yellow outer skin. Stem erect, sparsely covered with recurved short hairs. The leaves are alternate, palmately 3-parted, with lobes 2-9-parted, and then further cracked with varying depths. The final lobes are linear-lanceolate or linear, and almost glabrous on both sides. The leaves at the lower part of the stem have long petioles and wither when flowering. The leaves above the middle part are denser and have short petioles. The raceme is terminal, and the inflorescence sleeve is covered with recurved short soft hairs; there are 5 sepals, blue-purple, petal-shaped, the upper sepal is enlarged and cap-shaped, about 2.5 cm high; the petals are a pair, with long claws and short spurs; the stamens are numerous, unequal in length, and the filaments are sparsely short-haired; there are 3-5 ovaries, densely covered with straight and stretched yellow long soft hairs. There are 3 to 5 follicles with many seeds. Flowering period is from August to September. The fruiting period is from September to October.

[Habitat distribution] It mostly grows in alpine grasslands, hillsides and under sparse woods. Distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan. Produced in Yunnan and Sichuan.

[Properties] The dried tubers are oblong, with a diameter of about 0.5 to 1.7 cm and a length of more than 5 to 8 cm. The appearance is dark brown or yellow brown, plump, with fine wrinkles, some of which are more obvious, mostly longitudinal wrinkles, often with broken lateral roots, and occasionally branches. It is hard, brittle and easy to break, with a slightly round cross-section and a pinkish white color. The cork is thin, the cortex is wider, the wood and pith account for about 1/3 of the diameter, and the color near the cambium is darker, showing a black-brown circle. The smell is weak and the taste is spicy and numbing. The best ones are those with dark brown skin, white heart, powdery texture, black circles, plump and smooth.

[Chemical composition] The tuberous roots of Artemisia sclerophylla produced in Zhaotong, Yunnan contain 6 kinds of bioalkaloids: aconitine, hypoaconitine, artemisinin, artemisinin and artemisinin.

[Pharmacological action] The salts of Artemisia natans A, B, C and B show analgesic effect on mice. Some people have used Artemisia natans A to conduct hot plate experiment. Its analgesic index is only 1/11 of that of morphine, and its analgesic effect is far from ideal. Artemisia annua has a digitalis-like effect on frog hearts. The resulting cardiac dysfunction can be prevented by atropine and quinine. When poisoned, symptoms of parasympathetic nervous system excitement appear.

[Toxicity] This product is highly toxic and toxic reactions will appear within 0.5 to 3 hours after administration. Main symptoms: Mild cases include drowsiness, burning sensation in the mouth, and increased secretions; severe cases include numbness, weakness, chills, swelling of the whole body, discomfort in the throat, nausea and vomiting, drooling, dizziness, palpitations, irritability, abdominal pain and the urge to defecate; severe cases include fainting, cold limbs, irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing or convulsions and coma, and the electrocardiogram shows frequent premature contractions. In severe cases, death may occur due to circulatory and respiratory failure. There have been precedents of people dying from poisoning just 2 hours after taking the drug, so it should be used with caution. Rescue method: According to general clinical experience, atropine, procainamide and quinidine are considered to be more effective antagonists, and they can be effective if used in time. In addition, people also use bamboo shoots, bamboo roots, bamboo, coriander, fangfeng, tea, licorice, etc. as detoxifiers. Choose 2 to 3 of them, 0.5 cents each, and decoct them in water; or choose lard, brown sugar, or honey to cook porridge. You can try them as appropriate.

[Preparation] Soak in clean water for 7 days, changing the water twice a day. When the center is soft, slice it, steam it in a steamer for 2 to 3 hours, take it out and dry it in the sun. Then mix it with hot lard and stir-fry it before using as medicine, or wrap it in wet paper, simmer it over charcoal fire, remove the paper, soak it in children's urine for a day and night, take it out, rinse it and dry it.

[Properties and flavors] "Selected Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicines": "bitter, numb, warm, highly toxic."

【Functions and indications】 Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wind-removing and dampness-removing. Treat injuries from falls, fractures, rheumatic bone pain, toothache, sores, swelling and poisonous snake bites.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral administration: grind into powder, 2-4 li; or soak in wine. For external use: grind with wine and apply.

【Note】It is highly toxic and should not be taken internally without processing. During the medication period, avoid eating raw and cold foods, beans, beef and mutton.

[Additional prescription] ① Treat injuries from falls, rheumatic bone pain, toothache: swallow 0.25 grams (as big as rice grain) of Artemisia annua. (Selected Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicines)

[Clinical Application] Analgesia: The root tubers of Artemisia snowwort can be used for neuralgia, rheumatism, traumatic injuries, toothache, postoperative pain, pain in the late stage of tumors, etc. It is usually soaked in white wine and taken orally or applied topically, or the root tubers can be directly ground into powder and taken orally; the total amount for oral administration should not exceed 150 mg per month. Or make this product into an injection solution, for adults, 10-25 mg each time (3-5 mg for children), 1-2 times a day. The injection has been used to treat 72 people, and 59 cases were effective, including 36 cases of trauma and postoperative pain. All of them showed obvious effects 15 to 20 minutes after medication, and the effect can last for 12 to 36 hours.

[Remarks] The following two varieties of the above plant are used as Artemisia serrata in Sichuan and Yunnan.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Scientific Folk Herbs". "Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicine": For those who accidentally take Artemisia annua and suffer drug poisoning, use one liang of raw licorice, four liang of mung beans, add 2000ml of water, boil until 1000ml, and take frequently.

Above, we introduced what Artemisia snowdrops is, and we also learned about the efficacy and functions of the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia snowdrops. We know that the efficacy of Artemisia snowdrops is very powerful. Everyone can eat some Artemisia snowdrops for health preservation.