The efficacy and function of barley

As the pressure of modern life increases, more and more health care methods are emerging, but the most popular ones are still traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine that have been tested for thousands of years. For example, take barley. What are the functions and effects of barley? Let me introduce it to you today.

[Other names] Millet (Guangya), naked wheat, millet (Tao Hongjing), Mou wheat (Compendium of Materia Medica), rice wheat, and bare-chested wheat (Yilin Zongyao).

[Source] It is the fruit of barley , a plant of the Poaceae family.

[Original form] Annual herb, 60 to 100 cm tall. Culms erect, smooth and hairless. The leaf sheaths are glabrous, sometimes sparsely pubescent on the leaf sheaths of basal leaves, with curved groove-like auricles on both sides of the leaf sheath apex; the ligule is small, 1-2 mm long, membranous; the leaf blades are flat, long-lanceolate, 8-18 cm long, 6-1B mm wide, rough on the upper side and smoother on the lower side. The inflorescence is spike-shaped, 4 to 10 cm long, divided into several nodes, each node has 3 fully developed spikelets, the spikelets are about 2 cm long, usually sessile, each spikelet has 1 flower, the inner and outer lemmas are linear or linear-lanceolate, slightly covered with short soft hairs, the apex elongated into a short awn, only 8 to 14 mm long; the lemma is oblong-lanceolate, smooth, with 5 longitudinal veins, the midrib elongated into a long awn, extremely rough, 8 to 13 cm long, the lemma is equal in length to the palea; there are 3 stamens; there is 1 ovary, and the style is divided into 2. The caryopsis is fused with the inner and outer palea, rarely separated, and there is a groove on the back of the caryopsis. Flowering period is from March to April. Fruiting period is from April to May.

[Habitat distribution] Cultivated throughout the country.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, salty, cool.

[Entry into meridians] "Essential Chinese Medicines" says: "Enters the spleen and stomach meridians."

【Functions and indications】Soothes the stomach, relaxes the intestines, and promotes diuresis. It is used to treat indigestion, diarrhea, painful urination, edema, and burns caused by hot water or fire.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 1 to 2 liang; or grind into powder. For external use: stir-fry and grind, then apply or decoct in water for washing.

【Note】 "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: "Honey is the messenger."

[Additional prescription] ① To treat sudden painful and difficult urination: boil 3 liang of barley with 2 large cups of water and take 1 3 cups. Remove the residue and add 1/2 cup of ginger juice and 1/2 cup of honey and mix them together. Divide into three doses and take before meals. (Sheng Hui Fang)

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Bencao Jing Jizhu".

After the above introduction to barley, we have a detailed understanding of barley. In life, we can learn more about the characteristics of barley and make full use of its medicinal value to serve our lives.