The efficacy and function of Cissus pubescens

Cissus pubescens is a very common Chinese medicine. Although it is very common, it has many magical effects. Let’s take a look at it below.

【English name】root of Assam Treebine

[Alias] Left climbing vine, gourd leaf, left vine, thick shell vine, red-backed silk, white-backed silk.

[Source] Medicinal material source: The vine stem of the plant Erysiphe pubescens of the grape family.

[Original form] The bitter orange is a climbing subshrub. The whole plant is glabrous or more or less rusty-colored with short soft hairs. The twigs have obvious stripes and are terete; the tendrils are sometimes forked, initially hairy and then gradually become hairless. Simple leaves are alternate; petioles are 2-5cm long, initially covered with rusty long soft hairs; stipules are membranous, nearly round, 3-4mm long; leaf blades are membranous, cordate, 7-12cm long and wide, apex short acute or caudate acuminate, base cordate, margins serrulate, bright green or dark gray-green, more or less shiny, light reddish brown when dry, glabrous on both sides when mature or sometimes more or less covered with short soft hairs on the back. Flowers are bisexual, with cymes consisting of umbels that are shorter than leaves and opposite to them; pedicels are slender, 3-4mm long, and elongated when fruiting; calyx is cup-shaped and glabrous; petals are 4, ovate; stamens are opposite petals; disk is shallowly wavy and 4-lobed; ovary is superior, glabrous or more or less hairy. The berries are small, pear-shaped, 6-8mm long, 4-5mm in diameter, black when dry, and contain one seed. The flowering period is from April to August, and the fruiting period is from August to September.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in dense forests in low and medium mountains or sparse forests beside streams.

[Properties] Identification of properties: The vine stem of this product is oval or oblate, with a diameter of 0.3-1.5cm. The surface is dark brown or gray-brown, with ridge-like stripes and accompanied by numerous reddish-brown dot-like protruding lenticels. The nodes are obvious, and the internodes are 5-10cm long. The cross section is uneven, the cortex is narrow, the xylem is yellowish brown, the rays are radiating, the holes of the ducts are obvious, the xylem is easily separated into longitudinal sheets, and the central pith is reddish brown. It has a slight odor, light taste, and a smooth taste.

[Identification] Physical and chemical identification (1) Take 1g of the powder, add 10ml of petroleum ether, reflux in a 50-60℃ water bath for 30min, and filter. Place the filtrate in evaporating blood, evaporate to dryness, add 0.5 ml of vinegar to dissolve the residue, add 1 drop of sulfuric acid along the edge of the evaporating dish, and the solution will change from red, yellow, blue to green. (Check saponins) (2) Take 1 g of the powder, add 5 ml of water, reflux on a water bath for 15 min, and filter while hot. Take the filtrate and place it in a test tube, add 2-3 drops of a-naphthol test solution, and slowly add 0.5 ml of sulfuric acid along the wall of the tube. There will be a purple-red ring at the junction of the two liquids. (Check polysaccharides)

【Nature and flavor】 Light; slightly astringent; neutral

【Meridian】 Liver; Kidney

【Functions and indications】Relieve cough; relieve asthma; detoxify. Mainly used for cough, asthma, and snake bites

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 3-6g. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash it for application.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": taste is light, slightly astringent and neutral. It has the functions of removing toxins, reducing swelling, dispersing blood stasis and relieving pain. Used for bruises and sprains. Rheumatic joint pain, bone fractures, carbuncles and swellings.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Above, we introduced the hairy-leaved cissus and its characteristics. We can know that the hairy-leaved cissus has very good efficacy and functions, and has played a therapeutic and auxiliary therapeutic role in many diseases. I hope this will be helpful to everyone’s health.