Meridians of Atractylodes macrocephala

Nowadays, people often have problems with illness because their physical constitution is relatively weak. Therefore, most people should choose to use Chinese herbal medicine for treatment, because Chinese herbal medicine has no side effects, and regular consumption will not cause adverse effects on the human body. Some people like to use Chinese medicine to treat diseases, and of course some people do the opposite. So what are the main uses and benefits of Chinese herbal medicine? Atractylodes and Poria cocos is the dried underground rhizome of the perennial woody plant Atractylodes and Poria cocos of the Asteraceae family. It is bitter, warm and slightly yellow. It is an important medicine for the spleen. It can strengthen the spleen, eliminate dampness, and replenish Qi. Let’s take a look at the detailed introduction of the meridians of Atractylodes and Poria.

The effects of Atractylodes Atractylodes and Poria have the effects of strengthening the spleen and replenishing Qi, resolving dampness and removing dampness, inhibiting sweat, and nourishing the fetus. It is used for spleen deficiency, food stagnation, abdominal distension and diarrhea, phlegm and palpitations, edema, night sweats, and fetal movement disorder. "Medical Origin" records: "Removing dampness and replenishing dryness, neutralizing and nourishing blood, Pengzhong, removing dampness from the stomach and intestines, removing stomach heat, strengthening the stomach and intestines, promoting food coordination, quenching thirst, and nourishing the fetus."

"Ming Yi Bie Lu" believes that Atractylodes and Poria can "benefit the blood between the waist and navel". "Benefiting the blood between the waist and navel" can be understood as strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach, and the blood will flow freely when the dampness is gone.

"Lingshu Jueqi" said: "The middle burner is wronged and the juice is taken. When it turns red, it becomes blood." Atractylodes and Poria are the important medicines for the middle burner. They can strengthen the spleen and remove dampness. When the dampness in the body is removed, the temperament will rise, and the clear yang will go up to respond to the lungs, causing the upper burner to emit gas like fog, fumigating the skin, filling the body, moisturizing the hair, and lingering throughout the body. When Qi flows, body fluids are distributed naturally. If Qi does not flow well, it will stay at a certain point. If moisture blocks the flow, the blood vessels will be blocked, just as it is said in the Golden Chamber: "Menstruation is blood. If the blood is not flowing well, it will become water."

There is a prescription in "Jinkui Yaolue" called Licorice, Paojiang, Poria, and Atractylodes Decoction, which is used to treat edema caused by dampness and cold. Its clinical symptoms are "heavy body, cold waist, as if in raw water, water-like shape...heavy abdomen as if wearing five thousand coins." Use licorice and roasted ginger to strengthen the spleen and eliminate dampness, so as to achieve the effect of scalding earth with water. It can be used clinically to treat dampness and cold, pregnancy edema, and lumbar disc herniation, and can achieve ideal results. Therefore, Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos are also commonly used medicines in gynecology.

In Fu Qingzhu's Gynecology, Atractylodes and Poria are often used to treat water retention and edema. The prescription uses Qi-invigorating and Qi-invigorating methods to strengthen the spleen and stomach, generate Yang, and remove dampness. Therefore, when treating low back pain, one should not simply assume that it is caused by kidney deficiency. For low back pain, edema, coldness, or discomfort in the lower limbs, if the symptoms are integrated and belong to the middle burner, why not use Atractylodes and Poria.

The role of Atractylodes macrocephala

Modern pharmacological studies have found that Atractylodes and Poria have a variety of medicinal values, such as anti-ulcer, liver protection, enhancing immune function, anti-stress, enhancing hematopoietic function, promoting urination, inhibiting uterine contractions, antioxidant, anti-aging, lowering blood lipids, anti-coagulation, and anti-tumor. Its medicinal value, which is related to the spleen-strengthening and qi-invigorating effects of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos, includes regulating gastrointestinal fitness, anti-ulcer, liver protection, enhancing the body's immune function, anti-stress response, and enhancing hematopoietic function. Its effect of eliminating dampness and promoting diuresis is related to its effect of promoting urination. The fetal nourishing effect is related to the effect of inhibiting uterine contractions.

Effects on the digestive tract

The effect of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction on the intestinal activity of rabbit paraffin sections is related to the functional status of the intestine. Under normal circumstances, it has an stimulating effect. When the intestine is in an irritating state due to the action of acetylcholine, Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos have an inhibitory effect. When the intestine is in a suppressed state due to the action of adrenal hormones, Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos have a stimulating effect, which can restore intestinal activity to a nearly normal level. Using melanogaster blue 2000 as an intragastric marker, it was confirmed that the decoction of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos had the effect of significantly promoting gastrointestinal motility and colon motility in mice.

Intragastric administration of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction has a significant enhancing effect on the colonic motility of mice. Atropine can significantly inhibit the function of autonomic intestinal stimulation. It is inferred that its function of stimulating intestinal motility is mainly caused by stimulating M-choline receptors. The decoction of Atractylodes and Poria has a stimulating effect on gastrointestinal motility, while the volatile oil of Atractylodes and Poria has an inhibitory effect. The volatile oil of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos has a strong effect in inhibiting the spontaneous movement of the intestine and antagonizing barium chloride, while the juniper brain in the volatile oil has a strong effect in antagonizing acetylcholine.

The toluene extract of the anti-ulcer Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos was administered orally, which had a significant inhibitory effect on the hydrochloric acid-alcohol-induced gastric mucosal damage in rats. Intraduodenal administration has an inhibitory effect on gastric acid excretion in rats undergoing cardia ligation surgery, reduces gastric acid value, and reduces the excretion of gastric juice and pepsin. Gavage of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction into liver-protecting mice can prevent liver damage caused by carbon tetrachloride, alleviate liver glycogen depletion and liver metastatic necrosis, promote liver growth, and reduce elevated ALT.

Improve the body's immune function

Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos can significantly improve the ability of white blood cells to phagocytize Staphylococcus aureus. The sugar content of Atractylodes and Poria in a certain concentration range can independently activate or cooperate with ConA and PHA to promote the transformation of reticulocytes in normal mice, and significantly enhance the level of IL-2 metabolism. Hydrocortisone causes immunosuppression in mice. The sugar content of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos has a restorative effect on the proliferation of reticulocytes, increases the survival rate of extracellular matrix-induced liver cells in immunosuppressed mice, increases the lifespan of reticulocytes, corrects the disorder of T cell subpopulation distribution, and significantly increases the low IL-2 level.

Anti-stress response

Atractylodes and Poria have the effects of relieving fatigue and enhancing adrenal function. Gavage of mice with a decoction of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos every day for one month can increase weight, improve energy, and increase swimming time. Intragastric administration of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction can also improve the energy of tumor-bearing (cervical cancer U14) mice and increase swimming time.

Improve hematopoietic function

Atractylodes and Poria have the effect of promoting hematopoiesis in mice. Injecting a decoction of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos into the subcutaneous tissue of mice for 3 days had a significant effect on promoting the transformation of erythroid hematopoietic progenitor cells.

Good for urination

Gavage or intravenous injection of Atractylodes and Poria decoction or fluid extract into rats and rabbits has a significant and long-lasting diuretic effect, which can promote the excretion of electrolytes, especially sodium. Intravenous injection of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction in unanesthetized dogs increased urination by 9 times, and the effect lasted for 5 hours. Intragastric administration increased urination by 2-3 times, and the effect lasted for 6-7 hours. Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos do not affect the anti-diuretic effect of posterior pituitary hormone. The mechanism of the beneficial diuretic effect of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos may be related to inhibiting the decomposition and metabolism of electrolyte solutions and enhancing the metabolism of Na, K, and Cl-.

Suppress uterine contractions

The effect of Atractylodes and Poria in nourishing the fetus is related to their effect of inhibiting uterine contractions. The alcohol extract and petroleum ether extract of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos showed significant inhibitory effects on the spontaneous contraction of the uterus of paraffin sections of non-pregnant mice, as well as the uterine fluid-regulated contraction induced by oxytocin and Leonurus japonicus granules. The inhibitory effect increased with the increase of drug concentration, and there was a dose-effect relationship. The alcohol extract of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos can also completely antagonize the neurogenic contraction of the uterus of guinea pigs in vivo. The alcohol extract of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos has a stronger inhibitory effect on uterine cysts in paraffin sections, while the water extract has a weaker inhibitory effect.

Antioxidant, anti-aging

Atractylodes and Poria have antioxidant effects. It can effectively inhibit lipid peroxidation, reduce the content of lipid peroxides in tissues, prevent harmful substances from damaging the structure and function of tissue cells, and resist self-oxidative hemolysis of blood cells in mice and humans. Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos can increase the SOD activity of blood cells in mice over 12 months old, improve the effect of eliminating oxygen free radicals, reduce the harm of oxygen free radicals to the body, and inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase B in the brain of mice. Gavage of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction to aged mice for 4 weeks significantly increased the activity of GSH-Px in whole blood and significantly reduced the MDA component in blood cells. Atractylodes and Poria have the effect of slowing down the decline of kidney function in elderly mice and can greatly improve the kidney structure of aging mice.

Medicinal value of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos

Giving a decoction of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos to rabbits for lowering blood lipids can accelerate the oxidation and utilization of glucose in the body and have the effect of lowering blood lipids.

The prothrombin time of anticoagulant rats increased significantly after intragastric administration of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos decoction. After normal people take the water decoction or alcohol extract of Atractylodes and Poria, their prothrombin time and coagulation time are significantly increased.

Anti-tumor Atractylodes and Poria have cytotoxic effects on tumor cells, can reduce the proliferation rate of tumor cells, reduce the erosion of tumor tissue, and enhance the body's anti-tumor response ability. The volatile oil of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos has an inhibitory effect on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice, lymphosarcoma ascites type, esophageal cancer (Ecal09), sarcoma 180, etc. Abdominal injection of Atractylodes macrocephala pachymarone B has an effect on sarcoma in mice. It also has a significant inhibitory effect.

In general, the medicinal value related to the spleen-strengthening and qi-invigorating effects of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos includes regulating gastrointestinal motility, anti-ulcer, liver protection, improving the body's immune function, anti-stress response, and improving hematopoietic function. Its effect of eliminating dampness and promoting diuresis is related to its effect of promoting urination. The fetal nourishing effect is related to the effect of inhibiting uterine contractions. Atractylodes and Poria also have antioxidant, anti-aging, lipid-lowering, anti-coagulation, and anti-tumor effects.

The medicinal effects of Atractylodes macrocephala and Poria cocos

It is used for spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, food stagnation, bloating, fatigue, drowsiness, and diarrhea. To nourish the spleen and stomach, it can be combined with Codonopsis pilosula, licorice, etc. It can be used to eliminate abdominal distension and bloating in the same way as Citrus aurantium. It can be used to strengthen the spleen and stomach, eliminate dampness and treat diarrhea, just like Poria cocos and Coix seed.

Used for water retention, phlegm and edema. To treat cold drinks, it can be combined with coix seed, cinnamon twig, etc. For treating edema, it is often used together with Poria peel and Bignonia peel.

Used to treat night sweats due to deficiency. This product is used in the same way as Scutellaria baicalensis and Floating Wheat. It has the function of strengthening the exterior and suppressing sweat, and can treat night sweats due to exterior deficiency. In addition, this product can also be used to nourish the fetus, treat symptoms such as swelling of the feet during pregnancy, fetal restlessness, etc. For those with internal heat, it can be combined with Bupleurum and other herbs. For those with low back pain, it can be used in the same way as Eucommia ulmoides and Viscum album.