This magical medicine has a beautiful name called "Xu Changqing"

Dandelion is cold in nature, bitter and sweet in taste, and enters the liver and stomach meridians. It maintains liver health, enhances fat metabolism, inhibits fatty liver, and promotes heat metabolism in the body. It can also help lower blood fat and blood cholesterol. It also has a diuretic effect, which can promote the kidneys to excrete excess water, substances and toxins, and effectively help maintain weight.

1. Talking about Dandelions

Dandelion, Asteraceae, perennial herb. The root is cylindrical, dark brown and thick. It is distributed in most parts of my country, such as Northeast, North China, Central China, Northwest, Southwest, and Southeast. It is widely grown on hillside grasslands, roadsides, fields and riverbanks in medium and low altitude areas. It is also distributed in North Korea, Mongolia and Russia.

Dandelion, also known as dandelion, yellow flower seedling, dandelion grass, ground dandelion, ancient dandelion, double dandelion, etc., is a perennial herb of the genus Taraxacum in the Asteraceae family. It is distributed in all provinces of my country, growing on riverbanks, roadsides and fields in areas with plenty of sunshine. The edible part is the tender shoots or leaves, which can be eaten raw or fried, made into soup, or served cold after washing. The whole dandelion plant can be used as medicine, which has the functions of clearing away heat and detoxifying, relieving pain and dispersing nodules. It is known as one of the eight great kings of traditional Chinese medicine. Now experts from many countries including the United States, Japan, and France are studying and exploring dandelions. Studies have shown that dandelion is not only a highly nutritious vegetable and a high-nutrition health food, but is also widely used in the pharmaceutical, chemical and other industries. It has a very broad development prospect and is deeply welcomed by people. It has become one of the increasingly popular wild vegetables.

"The little paratrooper flies with the wind, flying to the east and to the west, landing in the roadside fields, settling down and taking root." This popular riddle is about dandelions. Dandelion was first recorded in "Tang Materia Medica". It is said that "Dandelion has leaves similar to chicory, yellow flowers, and white juice when broken. People eat it." Sun Simiao's "Qianjin Fang" calls it Fu Gongying, Su Song's "Tujing Bencao" calls it Pu Gongpeng. "Compendium of Materia Medica" lists dandelion in the vegetable section, saying: "There are many dandelions in the north and south of the Yangtze River, and there are also other places, but not in Lingnan. It grows in small cocoons and scattered everywhere. The stems, leaves, flowers, and catkins are similar to chicory, but smaller. The young shoots are edible."

According to legend, there is a beautiful legend about the origin of dandelions: Once upon a time, there lived a wealthy man named Pu on the bank of the Yellow River. He had only one daughter, named "Gongying". She was beautiful and kind, and was as close as a sister to the maid Cui'er. One year, Gongying suddenly had a high fever and sought medical treatment everywhere, but to no avail. It was not until her death that Gongying shyly told Cui'er that the cause of her illness was unbearable swelling and pain in her breasts. It turned out that she was suffering from mastitis. After the young lady died, Cui'er, thinking of the deep affection between master and servant, often went to the grave to pay tribute. The following spring, she unexpectedly discovered that a patch of wild grass had grown on the young lady's grave, a wild grass she had never seen before. The golden petals were like the beautiful smile of a dandelion. After autumn, the seeds of weeds drift in the wind and spread across the earth. The following year, there was a severe drought in the Central Plains and all the grass withered, but this wild grass turned the wasteland green. In that year, Cui'er unfortunately also suffered from breast abscess. She fainted in front of the young lady's grave while paying tribute to her. In a daze, she heard a familiar voice: "The wild grass on the grave is extraordinary; it can cure breast disease and survive famine." Cui'er woke up in shock and doubt, thinking that could it be the young lady's enlightenment? She tried picking some wild grass and taking it home to eat. Sure enough, her mastitis healed after a few days. Later, Cui'er used this grass to cure many patients with mastitis. People associated the medicinal effects of this grass with its origin and believed that it was the incarnation of the beautiful and kind Miss Dandelion, so they called it "dandelion".

2. The efficacy and uses of dandelion

The edible value, medicinal value and nutritional value of dandelion have been highly praised and affirmed in "Compendium of Materia Medica", "Cihai" and medical encyclopedias of all dynasties. "Yi Lin Can Yao" points out: "Dandelion can transform heat and poison, resolve food poison, reduce swelling and nodules, and treat toxic breast abscesses. It has the function of purging fire and stabilizing the earth. It can promote lactation and is used for the shape. It strengthens teeth and removes Yangming heat." "Bencao Zhengyi" also says: "Dandelion is cool in nature and can treat all sores, carbuncles, redness, swelling, heat and toxic symptoms. It can be taken orally or applied to the affected area, and it is quite effective. It is especially effective in treating breast abscesses, boils, redness, swelling and hard lumps. The fresh one can be mashed into juice and taken warm, and the dried one can be decocted and taken. It can also be cured by itself, and it is indispensable in the decoction recipe." Dandelion is sweet, cold, flat in nature, non-toxic, and has the effects of clearing away heat and detoxifying, and diuresis and dispersing nodules. It can treat acute lymphadenitis, acute bronchitis, hepatitis, etc. It has been proven in history that dandelion is a traditional heat-clearing and detoxifying medicine. According to clinical reports, there are about 40 kinds of infectious diseases that can be treated with dandelion injections. It is praised by the traditional Chinese medicine community as one of the "Eight Great Kings" of herbs with the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and resisting infection.

Modern pharmacological research shows that it has good antibacterial effects, especially can effectively inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and skin fungi, and has laxative and stomachic effects; while dandelion infusion has a choleretic effect. Dandelion can also be added to prescriptions for strengthening the spleen, regulating qi and relieving pain, to treat gastric ulcers and other diseases. According to foreign medical clinical introduction, dandelion extract can increase bile flow and relieve pain for chronic gallbladder spasm and stones. Acute attack of cholecystitis. For patients with upper abdominal distension and pain as the main symptom, dandelion can be used as the main ingredient, and it can be combined with artemisia capillaris, curcuma, etc. for treatment.