The efficacy and function of Aristolochia

Do you know what Aristolochia [Picture] is? It is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. There are many records about it in ancient medical books. Aristolochia [Picture] has many medicinal values ​​and can be used to treat some discomfort symptoms in our body. Let us learn about the effects and functions of Aristolochia [Picture] in detail.

【English name】 FRUCTUS ARISTOLOCHIAE

[Source] This product is the dried mature fruit of Aristolochia contorta Bge. or Aristolochia debilis Sieb . et Zucc., plants of the Aristolochiaceae family . The fruits are harvested in autumn when they turn from green to yellow and dried.

[Properties] This product is oval in shape, 3 to 7 cm long and 2 to 4 cm in diameter. The surface is yellow-green, gray-green or brown, with 12 longitudinal ridges, and many horizontal parallel fine veins dividing the ridges. The apex is flat and blunt, with a slender pedicel at the base. The fruit skin is light and brittle, easily split into 6 petals, and the fruit stalk is also split into 6 pieces. The inner surface of the peel is smooth and shiny, with dense transverse veins. The fruit is divided into 6 chambers, each chamber contains many seeds, which are stacked and arranged neatly. The seeds are flat and thin, obtusely triangular or fan-shaped, 6-10 mm long, 8-12 mm wide, with wings on the edges, and are light brown. It has a peculiar smell and a slightly bitter taste.

[Identification] Take 3g of the powder of this product, add 50ml of ethanol, heat and reflux for 1 hour, filter, evaporate the filtrate to dryness, add 5ml of ethanol to the residue to dissolve it, and use it as the test solution. Take another 3g of Aristolochia reference medicinal material and prepare the reference medicinal material solution in the same way. Take aristolochic acid reference substance and add ethanol to make a solution containing 0.5 mg per 1 ml as the reference substance solution. According to the thin layer chromatography method (Appendix Ⅵ B), 5 μl of each of the three solutions mentioned above were respectively spotted on the same silica gel G thin layer plate to form strips. The upper layer solution of toluene-ethyl acetate-water-formic acid (20:10:1:1) was used as the developing agent. The plate was developed, taken out, dried, and examined under ultraviolet light (365 nm). In the test sample chromatogram, fluorescent stripes of the same color appear at the corresponding positions in the control medicinal material and control sample chromatograms.

[Processing] Aristolochia: remove impurities, sieve out ash and crush.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter, slightly cold.

[return through meridians] Return to the lung and large intestine meridians.

[Functions and indications] Clears the lungs and lowers qi, relieves cough and asthma, clears the intestines and eliminates hemorrhoids. It is used for cough and wheezing due to lung heat, blood in sputum, hemorrhoidal bleeding due to intestinal heat, and swollen and painful hemorrhoids.

【Usage and Dosage】 3～9g.

【Storage】 Store in a dry place.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Pharmacopoeia

【Source】 "Medicine Properties"

Although Aristolochia [Picture] has many magical effects, it cannot be eaten casually. We need to use the medicine according to the user's own situation. I hope everyone will not take it indiscriminately to avoid unnecessary consequences.