The efficacy and effects of coffee

Diseases require improvement through medicine. Different diseases require different medicine choices. If you want to treat your disease well, you need to use the right medicine. Chinese medicine coffee is also very helpful in treating certain diseases. Let’s take a look at this medicinal herb.

【Other Name】 Coffee Beans

[Source] Medicinal material source: The seeds of small-fruit coffee, medium-fruit coffee and large-fruit coffee of the Rubiaceae family.

[Original form] 1. Small-fruited coffee, shrub or small tree, 4-7m high. Old branches are grayish white with swollen nodes; branches are opposite, rarely in whorls of 3. Leaves opposite; petiole 8-15mm long; stipules broadly triangular, with a long, awl-shaped tip on the upper part of young branches and a pointed tip on old branches, 3-6mm long; leaf blade thinly leathery, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 6-14cm long, 3.5-5cm wide, with long acuminate tip, cuneate or slightly pointed base, wavy or shallowly wavy margin, glabrous on both sides. Several cymes are clustered in leaf axils; peduncle is absent or very short; bracts are connate at base; pedicel is 0.5-1.5mm long; calyx tube is tubular, 2.5-3mm long, truncated or with 5 small teeth at apex; corolla is white, length varies with variety, usually 10-18mm, apex is 5-lobed, rarely 4 or 6-lobed, lobes are longer than corolla tube; anther is 6-8mm long, exposed; style is 12-14mm long, stigma is 2-lobed. The berries are oval, 12-16mm long. Seeds have a raised back. 8-10mm long. The flowering period is March-April, and the fruit ripening period is September-November.

【Habitat distribution】Ecological environment: 1. Native to tropical Africa.

【Properties】Properties identification: 1. The seed coat of small-fruited coffee seeds has been removed. They are oval or ovate, 8-10 mm long, 5-7 mm in diameter, 3-4 mm thick in the middle, with a raised back and a flat ventral surface, with slightly curved longitudinal grooves and traces of a paper-like seed coat. The raw variety is yellow or dark green; the roasted variety is dark brown, has a unique aroma and a slightly bitter taste. astringent.

[Chemical composition] 1. Small-fruit coffee berries contain bioalkaloids, the most important of which is caffeine, followed by theobromine and theophylline. The plant contains oil, the sterol components of which include β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, cholesterol and trace amounts of 5-avenasterol, 7-avenasterol and 7-stigmasterol; it also contains lipids, the fatty acids of which include myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and arachidic acid. rhizome. The leaves and seedlings contain caffeine, theobromine, theophylline, 1,7-dimethylxanthine, scopolamine, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. The leaves also contain ursolic acid.

[Pharmacological action] 1. Effect on the central nervous system: Caffeine, the main active ingredient of coffee, and its structural analogue theanolide have strong central nervous system excitatory effects. But the effects of the alkaloids are stronger than those of caffeine and last longer. People who take caffeine or drink caffeinated beverages often experience less sleepiness, less fatigue, and sharper thinking. As the dosage increases, the central nervous system excitatory effect becomes more obvious, causing tension, anxiety, uneasiness, insomnia, tremors, etc. Larger doses may produce local or systemic convulsions. The effect of theacrine in this regard is significantly stronger than that of caffeine. Methylxanthine compounds such as caffeine and theophylline can increase the sensitivity of the respiratory center to CO2. It also has an excitatory effect on the respiratory center, which is more obvious in pathological conditions such as Cheyne-Stoke respiration and apnea of ​​premature infants and when opioids are used to inhibit breathing. These compounds can also cause nausea and vomiting, which is partly related to their central nervous system effects. Taking 85-250 mg of caffeine can enhance the ability to perform long-term mental work and shorten reaction time, but the ability to perform work involving fine muscle coordination and accurate timing or arithmetic is reduced. Patients with phobias are particularly sensitive to methylxanthines; in one study, most of these patients showed anxiety, fear, and other typical symptoms of phobias when they took caffeine at plasma concentrations of 8 μg/ml. When the central nervous system is suppressed by drugs, low doses of caffeine and other methylxanthine compounds can exhibit obvious central nervous system excitatory effects. Other data suggest that this class of compounds may specifically antagonize the effects of opioids, including analgesics. Intrathecal injection of caffeine in mice at a dose that does not produce hyperalgesia can increase the half-effective analgesic effect of morphine. However, there is no data to show that caffeine can improve brain function during alcohol intoxication. Studies have shown that long-term use of caffeine can lead to tolerance and drug dependence.

【Toxicity】 Fatalities from ocular caffeine exposure are rare. The lethal dose of caffeine for short-term use in adults is about 5-10g. Adverse reactions can occur after taking 1g, most commonly symptoms of the central nervous system and circulatory system. Early symptoms such as insomnia, restlessness and agitation progress to mild coma, vomiting, convulsions, muscle tension and tremors. Tachycardia and extrasystoles are also common. In addition, faster breathing may be observed.

[Identification] Physical and chemical identification: Place a small amount of powder on a glass slide, add a little water, heat, and after the water evaporates, add 2 drops of benzene. After drying, numerous light yellow needle crystals can be seen along the edge of the glass slide. (Check caffeine)

【Nature and flavor】 slightly bitter; astringent; neutral

【Functions and indications】Refreshing; diuretic; stomachic. Mainly mental fatigue; loss of appetite

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: grind into powder and boil in water, 6-10g.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Although coffee has many magical effects, it cannot be consumed 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.