The efficacy and function of sweet potato vine

Sweet potato vine is a traditional Chinese medicinal material. There are precedents of using sweet potato vine to treat diseases in ancient times, so we can eat it with confidence. Next, I will mainly introduce to you the benefits of sweet potato vines.

[Alias] Ground pomegranate (Southern Yunnan Materia Medica), Cross-River Dragon, Earth Melon (Herbal Prescriptions), Wild Sweet Potato (Classification of Herbal Properties), Ground Centipede (Tianbao Materia Medica), Ox and Horse Vine, Cross-Stone Dragon (Guizhou Folk Prescriptions Collection), Ground Loquat, Cross-Mountain Dragon (Guizhou Folk Medicines), Ground Centipede (Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica), Ox Butterfly Nose, Dove Grass, Winter Loquat, Green Wind Moon, Wind Vine, Roadblock, Ground Fungus (Hunan Materia Medica), Wild Sweet Potato Vine (Guizhou Herbal Medicine), Frost Slope Tiger, Climbing Milk, Drilling Dragon (Guangxi Chinese Herbal Medicine), Ground Gold, Floor Vine, Sow Sweet Potato, Crawling Centipede, Wannianba (Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicine).

[Source] The stems and leaves of the sweet potato , a plant of the Moraceae family. Harvest from September to October and sun-dried.

[Original form] Perennial deciduous vine, the whole body is covered with latex. Aerial roots are hair-like and cling to trees or rocks. The stem is cylindrical or slightly flat, brown in color, with many branches and slightly swollen nodes. Simple leaves are alternate; petiole is 1-2 cm long; stipules are 2, conical, pointed at the tip, and entire; leaf blade is ovate, ovate-oblong or oblong, about 3-6 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, obtuse at the tip, wavy-serrated at the edge, rounded or heart-shaped at the base, green above with bristles, lighter below, and hairy veins. Inflorescence; flowers are unisexual, numerous, both male and female flowers are borne in a sac-like fleshy receptacle; the receptacle is oblate, reddish-brown, grown on creeping branches and half submerged in the soil. The fruit is small. Flowering period is from April to May.

[Habitat distribution] Grown in sparse woods, hillsides, field edges, and roadsides in low mountain areas. Distributed in Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter, cold.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat, promotes dampness, promotes blood circulation and detoxifies. It is used to treat wind-heat cough, dysentery, edema, jaundice, rheumatic pain, hemorrhoidal bleeding, amenorrhea, leucorrhea, indigestion in children, bruises and injuries, and unknown swelling.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoct in water, 3 to 8 qian. For external use: mash and apply.

[Additional prescription] ① For treating dysentery: 4 liang of fresh sweet potato vine, stir-fry until charred, roast with brown sugar, and decoct in water for drinking. (Chongqing Herbs)

[Clinical Application] Treatment of indigestion in children: Take 3 jin of fresh whole herb (stems, leaves) or rhizomes, add 10,000 ml of water, simmer for 3 hours, and boil until 3,000 ml. For children aged 6 months, take 20 ml each time; for children aged 7 months to 11 years, take 25-30 ml each time. Take 2-3 times a day until bowel movements become normal. A total of 331 cases were treated, with ages ranging from 6 months to 2.5 years old. The shortest course of illness was 1 day and the longest was 10 days. Among them, there were 5 cases of simple indigestion and 326 cases of toxic indigestion. As a result, 261 cases were cured, while the rest had poor or no effect. All cured cases were assisted with fluid infusion and correction of electrolyte imbalance. Generally, the frequency of bowel movements will decrease or diarrhea will stop 2 to 3 days after taking the medicine, and there will be no recurrence after recovery. On the first day of treatment, you should fast for 6 to 24 hours depending on your condition. Practice has shown that the medicinal liquid must be concentrated, otherwise it will affect the efficacy; fresh medicinal materials are better than dry ones, and rhizomes are better than the whole herb.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] Published in "Guizhou Folk Prescriptions and Medicines Collection"

The above is an introduction to the Chinese medicinal herb sweet potato vine. For medicinal herbs that we don't understand, we should learn more about them so that we can make full use of them in our lives and not be at a loss.