Don’t ignore the effects of Bai Kou!

It is well known around the world that Chinese people love to eat, and the various cuisines are mouth-watering. I wonder if you have noticed that many delicious dishes contain one ingredient - white koji. Its smell is very fragrant, so many people simply think that it is just a seasoning, which is a big mistake. In fact, Bai Kou is a veritable Chinese medicine, okay? So what are the medical effects of Bai Kou? Let's take a look!

Morphological characteristics

Characteristics

The fruit is spherical, with a diameter of 0.8~1.2cm; the surface is yellow-white to light yellow-brown, with 3 deep longitudinal grooves, a protruding column base at the top, a concave fruit stalk mark at the base, and light brown hairs at both ends. The pericarp easily splits longitudinally and is divided into three chambers, each containing about 10 seeds. The seeds are irregular polyhedrons with a slightly raised back, 3 to 4 mm in diameter, and dark brown and wrinkled surfaces. It has a fragrant aroma and a spicy, cool taste, slightly similar to camphor.

Original cardamom: spherical in shape, with a diameter of 1.2~1.8cm. The surface is yellowish white to light yellowish brown, with three deeper longitudinal grooves, a protruding column base at the top, a concave fruit stalk mark at the base, and light brown hairs at both ends. The pericarp is light, brittle, and easily split longitudinally. It is divided into 3 chambers, each containing about 10 seeds. The seeds are irregular polyhedrons with a slightly raised back, 3 to 4 mm in diameter, dark brown on the surface, wrinkled, and covered with residual aril. It has a fragrant aroma and a spicy, cool taste, slightly similar to camphor.

Indonesian white cardamom: slightly smaller. The surface is yellow-white, some are slightly purple-brown, the skin is thin, and the seeds are thin and shriveled. The smell is weak.

Main Value

It can eliminate dampness and relieve abdominal distension, promote qi circulation and warm the middle middle, stimulate appetite and aid digestion. It is used for dampness and turbidity blocking the middle part of the body, loss of appetite, the initial onset of damp-heat, chest tightness without hunger, vomiting due to cold and dampness, distension and pain in the chest and abdomen, and indigestion.

source

Cardamom comes from "Leigong Paozhi Lun". "Tang Materia Medica": Cardamom, its seedlings are similar to Alpinia galanga, its flowers are yellow and white, and its seedlings, roots and seeds are also similar to Duruo. "Haiyao Bencao": Cardamom, its root is similar to that of Alpinia oxyphylla, with a small and thick skin, a core like a pomegranate, spicy and fragrant, and it is from the grass tree. The leaves are like those of orchids but smaller. They are picked in March, broken into small pieces and dried in the shade. They taste bitter but also sweet. "Shu Materia Medica": "Illustrated Classic" says that cardamom seedlings are similar to Duruo; the spring flowers are at the end of the spike, like hibiscus, with four chambers growing under the stem, white in color, and turn yellow when the flowers bloom; the roots are similar to Alpinia galanga; the fruits are like longan but without scales, and the inside is like pomegranate seeds; the stems, leaves, and seeds are all spicy and fragrant. Harvested in October.