What is the medicinal value of rush

Rush is a very common green plant, generally growing in the south. If you don't know, you wouldn't think there's anything special about rush. But in fact, rush is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. It has a relatively good therapeutic effect in treating some disease symptoms. So what is the medicinal value of rush? Today we will introduce the medicinal value of rush in detail.

Medicinal value

Juncus effusus (Figure 3) is the stem pith or whole herb of Juncus effusus of the Juncaceae family.

From "Kaibao Materia Medica": Rush grows in the marshes of the south of the Yangtze River. It grows in clumps, with round, thin and long straight stems, and people use them as mats.

1. "Bencao Yanyi": Juncus effusus is also found in Shaanxi. After it is steamed and dried, take out the center part and use it to light a lamp. This is called cooked grass. There are also those that are not steamed but are peeled raw and dried, which are called raw grass. It is better to use raw herbs as medicine.

2. "Pinhui Jingyao": Rush is planted in fields and swamps. It is round, thin, long and straight, with a stem but no leaves. People in the south pick it between summer and autumn and peel the skin to make straw raincoats. Its heart can light a lamp, so it is called rush. Because of its mild and penetrating nature, it has the function of promoting diuresis. However, the "Ben Jing" says it is a mat, which is wrong. The mat grass is also produced in the south of the Yangtze River. It is thinner and shorter than the rush, and is a different species, not this kind.

3. "Compendium of Materia Medica": Rush is similar to dragon's beard. But dragon's beard is tight and small with a solid flesh, while this grass is slightly coarse with a hollow and white flesh. The people of Wu planted it, took the pulp for lamp wicks, and used the grass to weave mats and raincoats. There are not many of it growing wild in other places.

Preparation method

1. Rush charcoal: Put rush in a pot, cover it with a pot of slightly smaller diameter, and stick white paper on it. Seal the junction of the two pots with salt mud to prevent air from leaking. Calcined until the white paper turns brown, stop firing, and take out after it cools thoroughly.

2. Crimson rush: Take the cut pieces of rush, spray them with water to make them slightly moist, put them in a porcelain jar, add fine cinnabar, and shake it repeatedly until the cinnabar is evenly distributed. (For every 10 jin of rush wick, use 10 liang of cinnabar).

3. Preparation of Indigo: Place the rush segments in a basin, spray a little clean water on them to moisten them slightly, add Indigo powder, spread it evenly, and stir it from time to time until the surface is evenly covered with Indigo. Take it out and dry it. 10kg of rush and 1.5kg of indigo.

After knowing the medicinal value of rush, you will no longer think it is insignificant. Although the medicinal value of rush is very great. However, it still needs to be used correctly to bring out the unique medicinal properties of rush to help patients treat and prevent diseases. If used improperly, it will have adverse effects on the body.