What are the effects and functions of Patchouli?

Patchouli, people simply call it patchouli in daily life. Patchouli is a kind of medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine. It is recorded in traditional Chinese medicine books that Patchouli is pungent in nature and slightly warm in flavor, and has a certain auxiliary therapeutic effect on people with poor spleen, stomach, and lungs. So what are the main effects and functions of Patchouli? This is also a question that people want to know. Next, let’s take a look at the effects and functions of Patchouli.

Production of Patchouli

The 2010 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that Patchouli is the whole herb of Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth., a plant of the Lamiaceae family. Harvest when the branches and leaves are lush, and dry them in the sun and at night, repeating this process until they are dry. Remove the remaining roots and impurities, shake off the leaves first, sieve them and put them aside; wash the stems, soak them thoroughly, cut them into sections, dry them, and then mix them with the leaves. Patchouli has been prepared into a variety of preparations for the treatment of diseases, including Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills and Huoxiang Zhengqi Capsules. They all belong to Class A OTC drugs, which have the effects of dispelling dampness, regulating Qi and harmonizing the middle. It is used for summer-heat and dampness cold, headache, heaviness, chest tightness, or chills and fever, abdominal distension and pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

Effects and functions of Patchouli

Patchouli is pungent and slightly warm in nature, and enters the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians; it has an aromatic ascending and dispersing effect; it has the effects of dispelling heat and relieving exterior symptoms, transforming dampness in the spleen, regulating qi and harmonizing the stomach; it is mainly used to treat cold and heat, dizziness, chest and abdominal distension, loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea during pregnancy, fetal movement disorder, bad breath, sinusitis, and tinea pedis caused by exogenous heat and dampness, cold and dampness, damp-heat, and dampness blocking the middle burner. It has aromatic properties to clear turbidity, harmonize the stomach and stop vomiting, and relieve heat. It is used for dampness and turbidity blocking the middle part of the body, abdominal distension and vomiting, external symptoms of summer-dampness, the initial onset of damp-heat, fever and fatigue, chest tightness and discomfort, cold and dampness retaining summer heat, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, and sinusitis and headache.

Taboos on eating Patchouli

It is forbidden for those suffering from Yin deficiency, hyperactivity of fire, or constipation due to evil factors.

Effects and indications of Patchouli:

1. Exogenous wind-cold;

2. Colds and heat stroke caused by internal dampness and stagnation, summer heat and dampness;

3. Gastroenteritis such as loss of appetite and stomach discomfort.

The above is a detailed introduction to the effects and functions of Patchouli and the contraindications of its consumption. I believe everyone has a certain understanding of some common knowledge about Chinese medicine such as Patchouli. Patchouli is usually made into commonly seen Chinese patent medicines such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water or Huoxiang Zhengqi Pills. In addition, it should be noted that people with constipation must not take it.