What are the effects and functions of Bupleurum

There are many kinds of Chinese herbal medicines, and Bupleurum is one of the more common ones. Chinese people like Bupleurum very much and know that it is a very good thing, but their understanding of Bupleurum is still very unclear. So what are the effects and functions of Bupleurum? Understanding the effects of Bupleurum will help you get twice the result with half the effort when using it.

Northern Bupleurum is cylindrical, branched and slightly curved. It is about 5 to 15 cm long, with a diameter of about 0.2 to 1 cm at the top. The tail gradually becomes thinner and shaped like a rat's tail, with a slight reed stem at the top. The outer skin is yellowish brown or single brown, with fine longitudinal lines and long horizontal dot-shaped lenticels and root marks. It is tough and not easy to break. The cross section is yellowish white and woody. It has a slight fragrance and a light taste. The best ones are those with a thick taproot, few branch roots and a yellowish-brown color.

Main ingredients: Mainly contains saikosaponin, phytosterols, and a small amount of volatile oil. The stems and leaves contain rutin.

Efficacy and functions: Soothe qi, relieve depression, and disperse heat.

1. Antipyretic. Animal experiments have confirmed that it has an antipyretic effect. Clinical observation shows that its antipyretic effect is stable and reliable, but its effectiveness is still not as good as that of Scutellaria baicalensis.

2. Sedation and analgesia. It has the effect of relieving chest tightness and flank pain, relieving depression and regulating menstruation.

3. Antibacterial. In vitro tests have an inhibitory effect on the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

4. Antiviral. It has a strong inhibitory effect on influenza virus. In addition, it has the effect of inhibiting the cell pathological changes caused by poliovirus type 1.

Chaihu Pain Relief Decoction: 15g of bupleurum, 10g each of angelica, atractylodes, coix seed, saposhnikovia, stephania, mulberry twig, raw rehmannia, honeysuckle, forsythia, and plantain seed, and 5g of licorice. Decoction in water, 1 dose per day.

Xiaoyao Powder (Ju Fang): Bupleurum 9g, Angelica 9g, White Peony 9g, Atractylodes 9g, Poria 9g, Mentha 3g (added later), Ginger 4.5g, Roasted Licorice 3g. Decoction in water.

Xiao Chaihu Decoction (Treatise on Febrile Diseases): 12g of Bupleurum, 9g of Scutellaria, 9g of processed Pinellia, 6g of Codonopsis, 6g of Ginger, 3g of Licorice, and 4 jujubes. Decoction in water.