City people definitely don’t know these Chinese herbal medicines

Polygonum multiflorum

Polygonum multiflorum, also known as Polygonum multiflorum, Purple Polygonum multiflorum, and Polygonum multiflorum. It is a perennial twining vine of the genus Polygonum of the Polygonaceae family. The tubers are thick, oblong, and dark brown. It grows in thickets in valleys, under forests on hillsides, and in rock crevices along ditches. It is produced in southern Shaanxi, southern Gansu, East China, Central China, South China, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou. Its root tubers can be used as medicine to calm the mind, nourish the blood, activate the meridians, detoxify (stop malaria), and eliminate carbuncles; processed Polygonum multiflorum can replenish the essence and blood, blacken the hair, strengthen the tendons and bones, and nourish the liver and kidneys. It is a common and precious Chinese medicinal material.

[Nature and flavor and meridians] Bitter, sweet, astringent, slightly warm. It enters the liver, heart and kidney meridians.

[Functions and indications] Nourishes the liver and kidneys, improves the essence and blood, blackens the hair, strengthens the tendons and bones, resolves turbidity and reduces fat. It is used for blood deficiency, chlorosis, dizziness, tinnitus, premature graying of hair, soreness of waist and knees, numbness of limbs, metrorrhagia, leukorrhea, and hyperlipidemia.

Citrus aurantium

Zhishi, a traditional Chinese medicine name; the dried young fruit of the sour orange and its cultivated varieties or sweet orange belonging to the Rutaceae family. Lime is a small tree of the Rutaceae family and the genus Citrus. It has dense branches and leaves and many thorns. The thorns on the long branches are up to 8 cm long. The leaves are dark green and have a thick texture. They are mainly produced in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Jiangsu and other places. The fallen fruits are picked or collected between May and June, cut into two halves horizontally from the middle, and dried in the sun or at low temperature. The smaller ones can be directly dried in the sun or at low temperature. When using, wash, steam, cut into thin slices and dry. Use raw or stir-fried with bran.

[Nature and flavor and meridians] Bitter, pungent, sour, slightly cold. It enters the spleen and stomach meridians.

[Function and indications] It can break up qi and eliminate stagnation, resolve phlegm and relieve abdominal distension. It is used for internal stagnation, fullness, distension and pain in the abdomen, heaviness after diarrhea, constipation, phlegm stagnation and qi obstruction, chest pain, chest congestion and sagging of internal organs.

[Note] Use with caution in pregnant women.

Cuscuta

Cuscuta australis, an annual parasitic herb. The stems are twining, yellow, slender and leafless. Inflorescences are lateral, with few or many flowers clustered in umbels or cymes; bracts and bracteoles are small and scale-like; pedicels are slightly sturdy; calyx is cup-shaped, united below the middle, and the lobes are triangular; corolla is white and pot-shaped; stamens are attached to the slightly lower part of the corolla lobes; scales are oblong; ovary is nearly spherical, with 2 styles. The capsule is spherical and almost completely surrounded by the persistent corolla. There are 2 to 49 seeds, which are light brown, oval, about 1 mm long, and have a rough surface.

Distributed in China, Iran, Afghanistan, Japan, North Korea, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Australia. It grows on the edges of fields, sunny slopes, roadside thickets or seaside sand dunes at an altitude of 200 to 3000 meters. It usually parasitizes on a variety of plants in the Leguminosae, Asteraceae, and Terrestris families.

This species is a harmful weed in soybean producing areas and is also harmful to crops such as sesame, ramie, peanuts, and potatoes. The seeds are used for medicinal purposes, and have the functions of nourishing the liver and kidneys, improving essence and strengthening yang, and stopping diarrhea.

[Nature and flavor and meridians] Spicy, sweet, and neutral. It enters the liver, kidney and spleen meridians.

[Functions and indications] Nourishes the liver and kidneys, consolidates semen and reduces urination, stabilizes the fetus, improves eyesight, and stops diarrhea; can be used externally to eliminate wind and remove spots. It is used for liver and kidney deficiency, soreness of waist and knees, impotence and spermatorrhea, enuresis and frequent urination, fetal leakage due to kidney deficiency, fetal movement disorder, blurred vision and tinnitus, diarrhea due to spleen and kidney deficiency; external treatment of vitiligo.

[Note] Use with caution in pregnant women.

Smilax glabra

This product is the dried rhizome of the Liliaceae plant Smilax glabra. It is a perennial evergreen climbing shrub that mostly grows on hillsides or under forests. Only the dried rhizomes are selected for medicinal use. It is usually dug up in summer and autumn, the fibrous roots are removed, washed and dried for use as medicine; or it can be cut into thin slices while fresh, dried and used as medicine.

[Nature and flavor and meridians] Sweet, bland, and neutral. It enters the liver and stomach meridians.

[Functions and indications] Detoxification, removal of dampness, and unblocking of joints. It is used for limb cramps and muscle and bone pain caused by syphilis and mercury poisoning; damp-heat stranguria, leucorrhea, carbuncle, scrofula, and scabies.