What is the nature and flavor of Codonopsis pilosula

Codonopsis pilosula is a Chinese herbal medicine. I believe many people don’t know much about it. Codonopsis pilosula is not a kind of ginseng, but a plant of the Campanulaceae family. Although the two are not the same plants, they can be used interchangeably. In other words, Codonopsis pilosula can also be used instead of ginseng to treat many diseases, such as poor appetite, deficiency of Qi and blood, etc. So, what are the properties and flavors of the Chinese herbal medicine Codonopsis pilosula?

Codonopsis pilosula

① "Ben Jing Feng Yuan": sweet, neutral.

② "Bencao Zaixin": sweet, mild, non-toxic.

Function and indications

Tonify the middle, replenish qi, and promote the production of body fluids. It is used to treat weak spleen and stomach, deficiency of qi and blood, fatigue, poor appetite, thirst, chronic diarrhea, and prolapse of the anus.

① "Ben Jing Feng Yuan": Clears the lungs.

② "Bencao Congxin": Nourish the middle and replenish qi, harmonize the spleen and stomach, and eliminate thirst.

③ "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica": Treats lung deficiency and replenishes lung qi.

④ "Scientific Folk Herbs": blood tonic. Suitable for chronic anemia, chlorosis, leukemia, adenosis, and rickets.

⑤ "Handbook of Chinese Medicinal Materials": Treats internal injuries due to deficiency and fatigue, cold stomach and intestines, diarrhea and chronic dysentery, asthma, thirst, fever and spontaneous sweating, uterine bleeding in women, and various diseases related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Practical Prescriptions

① Clear the lungs, replenish vital energy, open up the voice, and help strengthen the muscles: 1 jin of Codonopsis pilosula (soft and sweet ones, sliced), 0.5 jin of Adenophora radix (sliced), 4 liang of longan meat. Boil water into a thick juice, and let the water drip into beads. Store it in a porcelain container. Use a wine glass and drink it with boiling water on an empty stomach. You can also add decoction. (Dangshen Paste from Depei Materia Medica)

② Treat diarrhea and prolapse of the anus due to qi deficiency during childbirth: Codonopsis pilosula (remove the stem and stir-fry with rice) 2 qian, roasted Astragalus, Atractylodes (stir-fried), nutmeg powder, Poria each 1.5 qian, Dioscorea opposita (fried) 2 qian, Cimicifuga heracleifolia (roasted with honey) 6 fen, roasted Licorice root 7 fen. Add two slices of ginger and boil, or add five fen of processed aconite. (Shenqi Baizhu Decoction from "I Don't Know the Necessities of Medicine")

③For treating cold and dampness caused by taking strong medicine, which damages the spleen and stomach and causes mouth and tongue ulcers: 2 qian each of Codonopsis pilosula (roasted) and Astragalus membranaceus (roasted), 1 qian of Poria cocos, 5 fen of Licorice (raw), and 7 fen of White Peony Root. Boil in water and drink warm. (See Qi Anwei Powder in "Zizhen Collection of Throat Science")

④Treat children's mouth ulcers: Codonopsis pilosula 1 liang, Phellodendron chinense 5 qian. Grind them into fine powder and sprinkle on the affected area. (Compilation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescriptions in Qinghai Province)

⑤ Inhibit or kill Mycobacterium leprae: equal amounts of Codonopsis pilosula, Paris polyphylla (Paridis parviflora), and Aralia sphaerocephala root bark (Aralia oleifera root bark). Grind Codonopsis pilosula and Paris polyphylla into fine powder; then add appropriate amount of water to the root bark of Echinops tangutica and boil it three times. Concentrate the three decoctions into a certain amount of medicinal liquid (enough to soak the fine powder of Codonopsis pilosula and Paris polyphylla), and add appropriate amount of honey. Then pour the fine powder of Paris polyphylla and Codonopsis pilosula into the mixture, and mash them into pills. Each pill weighs three qian; it can also be made into a paste. Take three times a day, one pill each time, with warm water.

When women have symptoms such as irregular menstruation, they can use Codonopsis pilosula and other Chinese herbal medicines to make the Shiquan Dabu Soup, which is very effective in treating irregular menstruation and metrorrhagia in women. However, when using Chinese medicinal materials such as Codonopsis pilosula, it is best to do so under the guidance of a doctor rather than taking it indiscriminately, otherwise problems may easily arise.