The efficacy and function of bitter

Kuyao is a common Chinese medicine. It can be used for medicinal purposes as well as for food. Moreover, the effects and functions of Kuyao are quite comprehensive. Let’s take a look at it below.

[Other names] Gouyao (Erya), Kuban (Compendium of Materia Medica), Wheel Thistle (Seed Plants of Southern Jiangsu), Narrow-leaved Thistle, Ox-thorn Plow, Small-sample Prickly Rice Grass (Hunan Materia Medica), Small Thistle (Guangxi Chinese Herbal Medicine).

[Source] The whole plant of Chinese thistle of the Asteraceae family. Harvest in autumn.

[Original form] Perennial herb, 1 to 1.5 meters high. The stem is erect, branched, and has spider-like white fine hairs. The leaves are alternate, the base leaves wither and fall off when flowering, the middle leaves are elliptic-lanceolate, 10-20 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, with irregular pinnate-lobed or unlobed edges, with thorns of varying lengths, green and rough on the upper side, and covered with spider-like white hairs on the lower side. The upper leaves gradually become smaller and linear-lanceolate. The inflorescence is terminal and slightly droops after flowering; the involucre is bell-shaped, 1.5-2 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide; the bracts are multi-layered, the outer bracts have thin short thorns at the tip, the inner bracts have membranous tips, and there is a sticky salivary gland on the back, which is purple-red; the flowers are all tubular, the corolla is purple-red, deeply 5-lobed, and the lobes are about 3 times the size of the expanded part of the corolla tube; there are 5 stamens, the anthers are fused, the appendages at the top are inverted cuneate, and there is a tail at the base; the ovary is inferior, and the stigma is 2-lobed. Achenes are oblong, with gray-brown pappus. Flowering period is from September to October.

【Habitat distribution】Grows on hillsides and roadsides. Distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Hunan and other places.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, bitter, cool.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat, cools blood, promotes blood circulation, and detoxifies. It is used to treat summer heat and depression, metrorrhagia in women, vomiting blood due to falls, hemorrhoids, and furuncles.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 0.5 to 1 liang. For external use: mash and apply.

[Additional prescription] ① Treating uterine bleeding in women: 1 liang of narrow-leaved thistle, 3 qian of ailanthus bark, and 3 qian of wild toon fruit. Decoction in water.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

Through the detailed introduction in this article, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of the role and efficacy of Kuyao. The several functions and effects introduced in the article are relatively common. I hope everyone can remember them and they will be helpful in your life.