The efficacy and function of Hainan eggplant

Hainan eggplant is a common medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine. So what are the health benefits of Hainan eggplant? In what aspects of daily life is Hainan eggplant widely used? Let’s take a brief look at Hainan eggplant.

【English name】 fruit of Hainan Nightshade

[Other names] Solanum nipponica, Solanum chinense, Solanum nipponica, Solanum belladonna, Solanum truncatum, Solanum truncatum

[Source] Medicinal material source: The root of Solanum hainanense, a plant of the Solanaceae family.

【Original form】 Shrub, 1-2m high. The stem is erect or procumbent, much branched, the twigs are glabrous, with loess-colored broad and flat barbed spines at the base, the young branches, undersides of leaves, petioles and inflorescence stalks are all covered with much-branched, sessile or short-stalked star-shaped short hairs and small hooked spines. Leaves are alternate; petiole is 4-10mm long; leaf blade is ovate to oblong, 2-6cm long, 1.5-3cm wide, with obtuse tip, base cuneate or unequally rounded, nearly entire or with 5 thick wavy circular lobes. Scorpion tail inflorescence terminal or extra-axillary; calyx cup-shaped, 4-lobed, lobes triangular, without stellate hairs at the tip on both sides; corolla light pink, apex deeply 4-lobed, lobes lanceolate, outside covered with stellate hairs; stamens 4, filaments about 1mm long, anthers about 6mm long; ovary spherical, apex covered with stellate hairs, style about 7mm long, apex 2-lobed. The berries are spherical, 7-9mm in diameter, red and shiny when ripe, with persistent calyx reflexed outwards, and the fruit stalk is about 2cm long with a swollen tip; the seeds are light yellow, nearly kidney-shaped, and flat. The flowering period is spring, summer and autumn, and the fruiting period is autumn and winter.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: grows in bushes or under forests.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy; slightly bitter; cool

【Functions and indications】Disperses wind-heat; promotes blood circulation and relieves pain. Mainly used for colds; headaches; sore throats; swollen and painful joints; irregular menstruation; injuries from falls

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoction, 30-60g.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica" Root: spicy, bitter, warm in nature. It has the functions of dispelling wind and blood stasis, relieving pain, calming the liver and stopping malaria. Used for bruises, swollen and painful joints, irregular menstruation, colds, headaches, and malaria.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

In general, the effect of Hainan eggplant is quite significant. It is precisely because Hainan eggplant has so many health benefits that the application of Hainan eggplant in health preservation in daily life can be said to be quite high.