The efficacy and function of Coptis chinensis

Coptis chinensis is a common Chinese medicine with many different functions. It can regulate some diseases of the human body. Let us learn about its specific functions below.

[Other names] Gelsemium elegans (Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica), Yellow Croaker Lamp Grass, Dung Bucket Grass (Zhejiang Tianmu Yam Medicinal Plant Catalogue), Echeveria (Henan Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook).

[Source] The whole herb or root of the Poppy family plant Coptis chinensis . Harvest in summer, wash and dry.

[Original form] Annual herb with a foul odor, 10 to 60 cm tall. The roots are slender. The stem is much branched. The leaf blade is triangular in outline, 3 to 12 cm long, 2 to 3 times pinnately divided, 1 time with 3 to 4 pairs of lobes, 2 or 3 times with ovate or broadly ovate in outline, shallowly or deeply lobed, and the last lobe is narrowly ovate to broadly ovate, with obtuse or rounded apex. The raceme is 3-10 cm long; the bracts are narrowly lanceolate or subulate, 1.5-5 mm long; the sepals are 2, ovate; the corolla has 4 petals, yellow, the upper petal is 6-9 mm long, lip-shaped in the front, with spurs in the back, sac-shaped, 1-2 mm long, the lower petal has a slight keel protrusion on the back front, and the tips of the two side petals are fused; the stamens are 6, 2-body, with nectaries at the base of the filaments extending into the spur; the pistil is 1. The capsule is linear, 2 to 3 cm long and 1.5 mm wide. The seeds are black, oblate, about 1 mm in diameter, and densely covered with small pits. Flowering period is from March to May. Fruiting period is June.

[Habitat distribution] It grows at the foot of walls, in rock crevices or in grasslands at the edge of ravines. It is distributed in the provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Pearl River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin, and reaches southern Shaanxi and southwestern Henan in the north.

[Chemical composition] The whole plant contains protopine and racemic-tetrahydropalmatine.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter, cold, poisonous.

【Functions and indications】Insecticidal, detoxifying, heat-clearing and diuretic. It is used to treat scabies, swelling and pain caused by sores, red eyes, flashes of fire, diarrhea caused by summer heat, coughing up blood due to lung disease, and convulsions in children.

[Usage and Dosage] For external use: mash and apply or grind the root with wine or vinegar to apply the juice. For internal use: decoct in water, 1-2 qian (0.5-1 liang for fresh ones): or mash into juice.

【Note】 Jiangxi "Handbook of Herbal Medicine": "Generally not for internal use."

[Additional prescription] ① For the treatment of psoriasis and stubborn tinea: Grind the root of Coptis chinensis into wine and vinegar and apply externally. (Jiangxi "Handbook of Herbs")

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Zhejiang Tianmu Yam Plant Records"

Through the above introduction, let us understand the relevant knowledge of Coptis chinensis. If we can give full play to the efficacy of Coptis chinensis, it can help us solve some physical diseases. Therefore, many people regard it as their own health care choice.