The efficacy and function of rice straw

Traditional Chinese medicine requires the use of traditional Chinese medicine when treating diseases, and rice straw, as a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, is also frequently used. So, let’s talk about the effects and functions of rice straw.

[Other names] Rice bran (Guangya), rice straw (Cui Shi Zuan Yao Fang), rice stalk (Liu Yuxi's Chuan Xin Fang), rice stalk (Compendium of Materia Medica).

[Source] The stems and leaves of the grass family rice .

[Chemical composition] Rice leaves contain pigments similar to antheraxanthin and dandelion xanthin; they also contain carotenoids such as neoxanthin, antheraxanthin-like, phalaenaxanthin, and lutein. The stems and leaves contain small amounts of reducing sugar and sucrose. It has been reported that rice straw contains polysaccharides with anti-cancer effects.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, neutral.

【Entry into meridians】 "Bencao Zaixin": "enters the spleen and lung meridians."

【Functions and indications】Relieves fullness, relieves gas, and eliminates food stagnation. Treats choking, nausea, food stagnation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, thirst, jaundice, leucorrhea, hemorrhoids, and burns.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 1.5-3 liang; or burn to ashes and drain the juice to clarify. For external use: soak in decoction.

[Additional prescription] ① Treat choking and indigestion: burn the fine tips of red rice to ashes, add a bowl of boiling water, pour the juice through a piece of silk for three times, take out the juice, add one clove, half a white cardamom, and one cup of rice, cook into porridge. (From "Zhai Yuan Fang")

[Clinical application] Glutinous rice straw is used to treat acute infectious hepatitis: Use 3 liang of glutinous rice straw daily, add 1000 ml of water, boil over high heat until 200 ml is reduced, and take in two doses. The medication is generally used for 25 to 30 days, sometimes slightly longer. A total of 43 cases were treated, 35 of which were cured in the short term (symptoms disappeared, liver enlargement shrank to less than 0.5 cm, and liver function returned to normal), with an average hospital stay of 10.2 days. Seven cases made progress (symptoms alleviated, but liver enlargement was still more than 1 cm below the ribs or one of the liver function tests was abnormal), and none was effective. 1 case. After taking the medicine, common symptoms such as loss of appetite, aversion to oil, and total ear weakness disappeared quickly, averaging about 13 days; pain in the liver area disappeared later, averaging 20.1 days; and liver enlargement recovered in an average of 28.3 days. The average recovery time of liver function: jaundice index 10.9 days, alanine aminotransferase 23.1 days, musk decoction about 27 days. Another method is to boil 1.5 liang of glutinous rice straw and take it twice a day, which has been effective in treating more than 30 cases. Generally, 2 days after taking the medicine, the urine volume increases, turning from red to white, the appetite improves, and the subjective symptoms are alleviated; after 7 to 10 days, the jaundice index drops to 7 to 12 units, and the yellowing of the skin and sclera disappears completely.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica".

The above are some basic functions of rice straw and how to eat it, so that you won’t use it wrongly when eating it and can also make better use of the value of rice straw.