The efficacy and function of millipedes

Many people are not very clear about millipedes, so when choosing millipedes, you need to understand them so that you can feel at ease when eating them, which is beneficial for disease treatment.

[Other names] Jiao (Zhuangzi), centipede (Benjing), horse maggot, horse maggot, horse maggot (Dialects), horse maggot (Shuowen), Qinqu (Huainanzi, Gao You's note), flying maggot (Li Dangzhi's Yaolu), horse axis (Wu Pu's Materia Medica), maggot (Erya, Guo Pu's note), thousand-legged (Leigong Paozhi Lun), knife-ring worm (Tang Materia Medica), centipede (Shenghui Fang), cricket (Compendium of Materia Medica), millipede (Classification of Herbal Properties), comb worm, pot ear (Guizhou Folk Prescriptions and Medicines Collection), big straw shoe worm (Sichuan Chinese Medicine Records), centipede (Quanzhou Materia Medica).

[Source] It is the whole insect of Giant Millipede or other millipede animals of the family Cynomorium.

[Original morphology] The body is oblong and the surface is smooth. It is about 12 cm long and 7 mm wide. The whole body is composed of many segments. From the cervical plate to the anal segment, there are about 64 segments. There are many simple eyes on both sides of the head, grouped together into two clusters, shaped like compound eyes. There is a pair of antennae, which are hairy and about 5 mm long. The mouthparts include a pair of maxillae and a pair of small jaws, and the small jaws are fused to form the maxillolips. The back of the body is dark brown, the rear edge is light brown, and the front edge is partially covered with light yellow. The neck plate is semicircular and dark brown. The 2nd to 4th segments are the thorax, each with a pair of ambulatory limbs; the segment below the 5th segment is the abdomen, and except for the last segment, each segment has two pairs of ambulatory limbs. The walking limbs on the seventh segment of male insects are transformed into gonopods. There are scent gland holes on both sides of each segment after the 6th dorsal plate. The larvae have few segments and only three pairs of legs. With each molting, the number of segments and legs increases.

[Habitat distribution] It mostly lives in shady and humid areas, feeds on grass roots and rotten plants. It will curl up and emit a foul odor when touched. It is distributed in most parts of the country.

[Processing] Leigong Paozhi Lun: "When using (millipedes), after harvesting them, fry the head with bran until the bran head is burnt black, take out the millipedes, scrape off the head with a bamboo knife, and grind it into powder for use."

【Nature and flavor】 ①《Ben Jing》: "Tastes spicy, warm."

【Functions and indications】 Breaking up accumulations and detoxifying. Treating masses, fullness, carbuncle and ulcer.

[Usage and Dosage] For external use: boil into paste, grind into powder or mash for application.

【Note】Toxic, use with caution.

[Additional prescription] ① To treat nasal polyps: roast millet with vinegar and grind into powder, dip cotton in it and plug it into nostrils. (Quanzhou Materia Medica)

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From Shennong's Herbal Classic

The above introduces some basic knowledge about millipedes. I believe many people will have a better understanding of millipedes after reading it. There are many other medicinal herbs that we often come into contact with in our daily lives. If you have time, you might as well learn more about them.