The efficacy and function of tea oil cake

Tea oil cake is a kind of medicinal material. If we have some understanding of its medicinal value, we can correctly use tea oil cake to treat some related diseases in life. Let’s take a look at it below.

[Alias] Tea cake, tea cake, tea bran, tea seed cake, tea seed bran, tea oil bran.

[Source] Medicinal material source: It is the residue after the fatty oil is squeezed out of the seeds of Camellia oleifera Abel, a plant of the Theaceae family.

[Original form] Camellia oleifera is an evergreen shrub or small tree, 3-4m high, rarely up to 8m. The bark is light yellow-brown, smooth and uncracked; the twigs are slightly covered with short soft hairs. Simple leaves are alternate; petioles are 4-7mm long and hairy; leaf blades are thick leathery, ovate-elliptical or ovate, 3.5-9cm long, 1.8-4.2cm wide, obtuse at apex, cuneate at base, serrulate at margin, bright green above, glabrous or with stiff hairs on midrib, hairy or glabrous at base of midrib below, and lateral veins inconspicuous. Flowers are bisexual, 1-3 flowers grow at the top of branches or in leaf axils, 3-5cm in diameter, sessile; sepals are usually 5, nearly round, and covered with silky hairs on the outside; petals are 5-7, white, separate, obovate to lanceolate, 2.5-4.5cm long, often with a notch at the apex and hairy on the outside; stamens are numerous, glabrous, and the outer filaments are only fused at the base; ovary is superior, densely covered with white silky hairs, and the style has three shallow lobes at the apex. The capsule is nearly spherical, 3-5cm in diameter, with thick peel, woody, and 2-3-lobed locules. The seeds are round on the back and flat on the belly, up to 2.5 cm long. The flowering period is October-November, and the fruiting period is October of the following year.

[Habitat distribution] It is widely cultivated in the Yangtze River Basin and areas to the south of my country. It is an important woody oil plant.

[Chemical composition] Kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(6→1)-O-α-L-rha-mnopyranoside, kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucopgrancosyl-[(2→1)-O-β-D-glucopyranosy](6→1)-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside and sucrose were isolated from tea oil cake.

[Pharmacological action] The crude camellia saponins contained in camellia oil cakes have different degrees of inhibitory effects on Trichophyton rosea, Trichophyton rubrum and Microsporum ferrugineum in vitro, and their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) are 0.375%, 5% and 5%, respectively. When the extract crystal I of tea seed cake is 1 mg/ml in test tube, it has a bactericidal effect on Microsporum gypseum, Epidermophyton floccosum, Trichophyton gypseum and Trichophyton violaceum. When 1%, 5% and 10% tea seed cake powder were added to dog feces containing schistosome eggs and placed at 30°C for 24 hours, the feces hatched and turned negative, or only contained very few miracidia, indicating that tea seed cake has the effect of killing schistosome eggs. For other functions, please refer to the entry for "Camellia oleifera".

【Nature and flavor】 Pungent; bitter; astringent; neutral; slightly toxic

【Meridian】 Spleen; stomach; large intestine

【Functions and indications】 Drying dampness and detoxifying; killing insects and removing accumulation; reducing swelling and relieving pain. It is used to treat eczema, pain and itching; abdominal pain caused by worm accumulation; swelling caused by trauma

【Usage and Dosage】 For external use: take appropriate amount, decoct in water and wash; or grind into powder and apply on skin. For oral administration: calcine, grind into powder, 3-6g.

【Note】 Take this product raw with caution as it can induce vomiting. "Lingnan Herbal Medicine": "It must be calcined when taken internally, otherwise it will have a severe emetic effect."

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

The medicinal value of tea oil cake introduced in the article is of great help to our lives. In fact, many physical illnesses can be treated with some Chinese medicinal materials such as tea oil cakes. The profound Chinese medicine culture should continue to be passed on.