Lobelia

Chinese herbal medicines have a certain status in the world. From ancient times to the present, Chinese herbal medicines have been used to treat many diseases. Among Chinese herbal medicines, lobelia is a very rarely used herbal medicine, but the effect of lobelia is very significant. It is mainly produced in the southern region. The taste of lobelia is slightly bitter. When boiling lobelia, be sure to wash it with hot water. This will reduce the bitterness by half without reducing the efficacy.

Lobelia is a rarely used Chinese medicine and was first recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica.

Other names: Snake grass, snake grass, fine rice grass, snake tongue grass, fish tail flower, and half-flowered chrysanthemum.

Source: The dried whole herb of Lobelia chinensis, a perennial herb of the Campanulaceae family, is wild.

Plant morphology: Perennial small herb, more than 10 cm tall, with slender stems that are creeping or erect. Leaves are alternate, oblong or linear, entire or shallowly wavy, and almost sessile. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils or branch tops, with long petioles, and the calyx is 2-lipped and 5-lobed. The corolla is bi-lipped, with the upper lip having two lobes deep to the base and the lower lip having three lobes all split to one side, forming the shape of half a flower, hence the name "half-flower". The fruit splits into two lobes when mature.

Origin: Mainly produced in Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces, and widely distributed in the Jiangnan region.

Identification of properties: whole plant (including slender fibrous roots, rhizomes and aboveground stems, leaves, corolla, etc.). It has shrunk into irregular lumps, gray-green or slightly purple, and the corolla leaves have curled and broken. It has a faint smell and tastes slightly salty and spicy.

Gray-green and weed-free ones are preferred.

Main ingredients: Contains lobelia alkaloids, which are yellow crystals similar to alkaloids. It also contains lobeline and so on.

Pharmacological effects: 1. Diuretic: The effect is significant and lasting, it can increase urine volume and water excretion, the active ingredient is lobelia oleracea; 2. Detoxification and swelling reduction.

Preparation: Cut into pieces and use raw.

Nature and flavor: spicy, neutral.

Meridians: Enter the heart and small intestine meridians.

Function: Clearing away heat, detoxifying, diuretic and reducing swelling.

Indications: insect and snake bites, various sores and swellings, ascites, difficulty urinating, cirrhosis of the liver, etc.

Clinical application: 1. In the treatment of venomous snake bites, it may accelerate the excretion of toxins through diuresis and laxatives. It is suitable for treating bites from cobra, bamboo snake and viper. You can use 120g of fresh Lobelia chinensis, mash it to extract the juice and take it with hot wine; or you can use 30-60g of the dry product and decoct it in water. It can also be used in combination with other heat-clearing and detoxifying medicines, such as Sanhuang Banbianlian Decoction. For external use, take a handful of fresh lobelia, add salt and mash it into a paste, then apply it around the wound.

2. Treat late-stage schistosomiasis by reducing ascites and improving symptoms through diuresis. Decoction 30-60g daily, divided into two doses.

Dosage: For diuresis, use 15-30g of dry product and 90g of fresh product. For treating snake bites, use 30-90g of dry product and 90-120g of fresh product.

Prescription example: Sanhuang Lobelia Decoction: Scutellaria baicalensis 9g, Coptis chinensis 6g, Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae 15g, Lobelia 30g, Flos Lonicerae 15g, Chrysanthemum indicum 15g, decocted in water and taken orally.