Priceless! Uncover the secret of Li Shizhen's life-saving medicine

Scutellaria baicalensis is an ancient Chinese medicine, and the "Shennong Bencao Jing" from the Qin and Han dynasties listed it as a medium-grade medicine. Scutellaria baicalensis is bitter and cold in nature, and is good at clearing away heat. Because its root is yellow on the outside and black on the inside and hollow, "the inside of the stomach is rotten", it is also called "rotten intestines" and "empty intestines". Although it looks inconspicuous, it was once the life-saving medicine of the famous pharmacist Li Shizhen.

When Li Shizhen was 20 years old, he suffered from a cold and cough that lasted for a long time, accompanied by fever. His skin felt like it was on fire, he coughed up phlegm every day, and was thirsty and drank a lot, so he almost lost his sleep and appetite. His old father Li Yanwen was very anxious at that time. Li Yanwen himself is a famous doctor in contemporary times. He let his son take many Chinese medicines, such as Bupleurum, Schizonepeta, Ophiopogon japonicus, etc., but they were all ineffective. His condition became increasingly worse, and his family thought he was going to die.

Later, Li Yanwen searched through medical books and accidentally saw the discussion of Li Dongyuan, a famous doctor in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, on the treatment of lung heat. He suddenly realized that "irritability leading to drinking" and being more severe during the day belonged to "heat in the qi" and should be treated with Huangqin Decoction to drain the fire in the qi of the lung meridian. He then took one liang of Scutellaria baicalensis slices, two zhong of water, boiled it into one zhong, and gave it to Li Shizhen to drink. The next day, the fever had subsided, and the phlegm and cough were cured.

Judging from Li Shizhen's condition, he was very likely suffering from a lung infection such as "lobar pneumonia", which caused fever, cough with sputum, thirst, excessive drinking, and burning skin, which is a symptom of "lung heat and real fire" in traditional Chinese medicine. Why can Scutellaria baicalensis alone have such a magical effect?

Scutellaria baicalensis is the dried root of Scutellaria baicalensis, a plant of the Lamiaceae family. It is bitter and cold in nature, and has the effects of clearing away heat and dampness, purging fire and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and removing heat and stabilizing the fetus.

There are many types of processed Scutellaria baicalensis, including raw Scutellaria baicalensis, stir-fried Scutellaria baicalensis and Scutellaria baicalensis charcoal. Their effects vary depending on the processing methods. Raw Scutellaria baicalensis is often used to clear away heat, and it can clear damp-heat in the lung, stomach, gallbladder, and large intestine meridians, especially clearing lung heat. It is used for lung heat cough, thirst due to fever, and sore throat; stir-fried Scutellaria baicalensis is often used to stabilize the fetus, and it has the effect of removing heat and stabilizing the fetus; Scutellaria baicalensis charcoal is often used to stop bleeding, and it is used to treat vomiting and epistaxis due to blood heat, and to treat bleeding symptoms caused by excessive fire toxicity and forced blood flow.

Modern research shows that Scutellaria baicalensis also has a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect and can inhibit a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. It has a strong antibacterial effect on Pneumococcus, Staphylococcus and Shigella. Large doses of Scutellaria baicalensis can be antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and Scutellaria baicalensis itself has a fever-reducing effect. Therefore, Scutellaria baicalensis alone cured Li Shizhen's illness and saved the life of this great pharmacist.