The efficacy and function of Amomum villosum

As a traditional Chinese medicine, Amomum villosum has great medicinal value and can treat many diseases. Let’s take a closer look at it below.

【English name】 FRUCTUS TSAOKO

[Source] This product is the dried mature fruit of Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lemaire , a plant of the ginger family. The fruits are harvested in autumn when they are ripe, impurities are removed, and they are sun-dried or dried at low temperature.

[Properties] This product is oblong, with three blunt edges, 2 to 4 cm long and 1 to 2.5 cm in diameter. The surface is gray-brown to reddish-brown, with longitudinal grooves and ridges, a round protruding column base at the top, and a fruit stalk or fruit stalk scar at the base. The fruit skin is tough and easy to tear longitudinally. Peel off the outer skin, there is a yellow-brown septum in the middle, which divides the seed cluster into 3 lobes, each lobe contains 8 to 11 seeds. The seeds are conical polyhedrons with a diameter of about 5mm; the surface is reddish brown, covered with a grayish white membranous aril, the seed ridge is a longitudinal groove, and there is a concave hilum at the tip; the texture is hard, and the endosperm is grayish white. It has a unique aroma and tastes spicy and slightly bitter.

【Identification】 (1) Cross section of seeds of this variety: thin-walled cells of the aril contain starch granules. The epidermal cells of the seed coat are brown, rectangular, and have thick walls; the hypodermis is composed of one row of thin-walled cells containing yellow substances; the oil cell layer is composed of one row of oil cells, which are square or rectangular, 42 to 162 μm in the tangential direction and 48 to 68 μm in the radial direction, containing yellow oil droplets; the pigment layer is composed of several rows of brown cells, which are wrinkled. The endocarp is a row of palisade thick-walled cells, brown-red in color, with extremely thick inner and side walls, a small cell cavity, and siliceous blocks inside. The endosperm cells contain starch granules and a few tiny calcium oxalate clusters and prisms. Endosperm cells contain starch granules and starch granules.

[Preparation] Amomum villosum kernels : Take the Amomum villosum and stir-fry according to the stir-frying method (Appendix Ⅱ D) until it turns brown and slightly bulges, remove the shell and take out the kernels. Crush when using.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy and warm.

[entry into meridians] Enter the spleen and stomach meridians.

【Functions and indications】 Drying dampness and warming the middle part, eliminating phlegm and stopping malaria. It is used for internal obstruction of cold and dampness, abdominal distension and pain, fullness and vomiting, and malaria, chills and fever.

【Usage and Dosage】 3 to 6 g.

【Storage】Keep in a cool and dry place.

[Remarks] (1) It is used to treat cold and dampness blocking the spleen and stomach, abdominal distension, pain, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. It can be used together with cardamom, Magnolia officinalis, Atractylodes macrocephala, etc. It is used for malaria, especially for malaria caused by mountain mist and foul dampness. It can be used in combination with Changshan, Bupleurum, Anemarrhena, etc.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Pharmacopoeia

[Source] "Essentials of Pinhui"

Through the above, we have learned about the effects and functions of the Chinese medicine Amomum villosum. I hope everyone can take the right medicine and eat Amomum villosum correctly in life.