The efficacy and function of Chinese medicine kelp

Many people are unfamiliar with kelp. Konbu is a famous Chinese medicinal material. It is a marine plant. Its appearance is somewhat similar to the kelp we often eat, so some people confuse kelp and kelp. However, the appearance is indeed different. Konbu is more like seaweed. Konbu has many functions. It can lower blood lipids, eliminate phlegm, soften and disperse nodules, promote diuresis and reduce swelling. It is a salty and cold Chinese medicine, so people with weak spleen and stomach need to take it with caution.

Question 1

1. The efficacy and function of kelp

Kelp is salty and cold in nature, and enters the liver, stomach, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of softening and dispersing lumps, eliminating phlegm, and promoting diuresis. It is an important medicine for treating goiter (enlarged thyroid gland). Used together with seaweed, clam shells, etc., kelp pills can be made to treat goiters, which can achieve good results. At the same time, kelp can also treat various edema and athlete's foot edema. "Famous Doctors' Records" says that it "treats twelve types of edema, goiters, accumulation of qi, and fistulas." However, although kelp has the effect of promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, its effect is relatively weak and it often needs to be used together with diuretic and dehumidifying drugs such as coix seed and Alisma orientalis.

Question 2

2. The difference between kelp and kombu

There are strict botanical distinctions between kelp and kombu: first, kelp is the more common name. Biologically, kelp is divided into Laminariales, Laminariaceae and Laminariagenus. Among them, the Laminariales have four families: Rosa rugosa, Laminariaceae, Pterygaceae and Macrophyceae. The kelp we talk about in daily life refers to the genus Laminaria under the Laminariaceae family. Konbu is a genus of Phaeophyceae, Laminariales, Pterygaceae.

Therefore, kelp and konbu are not "real brothers" but "cousins". The body of kelp is yellowish-brown. There was no kelp in ancient China. In Japanese, kelp is collectively called konbu. Some botanical books and regions in China also say that kelp is also known as kombu. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that kelp and kombu are the same thing, because both belong to the Laminariales order. It is correct to say that they are not the same thing, because the two are different at the species level. As can be seen from the diagram below, they have a common "grandfather" - Laminariales, and their "fathers" are Laminariaceae and Pterygaceae respectively. Because the names in plant taxonomy are somewhat confusing and their appearances are very similar, and kelp was introduced from Japan, and kombu in Japanese is kelp, and kelp in English refers to both kelp and kombu, kelp and kombu are often confused.