The efficacy and function of winter melon seeds

Friends who don’t know about winter melon seeds will not understand what effects and functions they have. Winter melon seeds are a traditional Chinese medicinal material. Many people only know about them in terms of their appearance, so it is difficult to understand what benefits winter melon seeds can really bring to people’s bodies. We need to have a deep understanding of this medicinal material.

[Other names] Sunflower seeds (Golden Chamber Essentials), Sunflower seeds (Good Prescriptions for Women).

[Source] It is the seeds of the Malvaceae plant of the Malvaceae family.

[Original form] Winter sunflower (Ben Jing), also known as: sunflower (The Book of Songs), sunflower vegetable (Shuowen), dew sunflower (Erya Yi), winter sunflower vegetable (Jiuhuang Bencao), slippery vegetable (Compendium of Materia Medica), Wei Zu (Xianfang Pu), water chestnut vegetable, Qi vegetable (Yi Lin Zuan Yao), slippery vegetable (Ningdu Zhou Zhi), golden sunflower, golden purple flower sunflower (Zhi Jing Shi Ji), winter cold vegetable (Illustrated Catalogue of Plant Names and Realities), winter amaranth (Classification of Herbal Properties), fennel, slippery vegetable, and strange vegetable.

【Habitat distribution】 Distributed throughout the country.

[Properties] The dried seeds are round and flat in the shape of orange segments, or slightly kidney-shaped, small, with a diameter of about 1.5 to 2 mm. The thinner side is concave in the center. The surface is a brown-yellow shell (pericarp) with fine circular wrinkles. After rubbing off the skin. The seeds are brown in color. It is hard and has a slight fragrance when broken. The best ones are those with full, firm and old grains.

【Chemical composition】 The seeds contain fatty oil and protein. The flowers contain anthocyanins. Fresh winter mallow contains 6.8-7.4% monosaccharides, 4.1-4.6% sucrose, 4.5-4.8% maltose, and 1.2% starch.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, cold.

[entry into meridians] Enters the large and small intestines, and bladder meridians.

【Functions and indications】Diuretic, laxative, and lactating. It is used to treat constipation, gonorrhea, edema, lack of milk in women, and swollen and painful breasts.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 2 to 5 qian; or made into powder.

[Note] People with spleen deficiency and loose intestines should not take this medicine. Pregnant women should take it with caution.

[Additional prescription] ① Treating sudden obstruction of bowel and urination, distension and dying: add 2 liters of sunflower seeds to 4 liters of water, boil and take 1 liter at once. A ball of pork fat as big as an egg would be even better. (Behind the Elbow)

[Remarks] The winter mallow seeds currently used in commercial products are mostly the seeds of Ramie, a plant of the Malvaceae family. Both ramie seeds and buckwheat seeds are listed in different articles in various Materia Medica, and their effects are also different. Please refer to the articles on "Buckwheat" and "Buckwheat Seed".

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Shennong's Herbal Classic" 1. "Ming Yi Bie Lu": Winter Glory Seed, grown in Shaoshi Mountain. Harvested in December.

From the above introduction to winter melon seeds, we can see that winter melon seeds are of great help to the human body. They can improve some bad symptoms of the human body and are a very useful medicinal material for the human body.