Coptis chinensis

Coptis chinensis

(Ben Jing)

[synonym] Wang Lian (Ben Jing) and disaster Lian (theory of medicinal properties).

[source] rhizomes of Coptis chinensis, Coptis trilobata, Coptis omeiensis or Coptis yunnanensis.

[plant morphology] 1

Perennial herbs, 15-25 cm high. Rhizome yellow, often branched, dense fibrous roots. Leaves basal, petioles 6-16 cm long, glabrous; leaves slightly leathery, ovate triangular, 10 cm wide, 3-lobed; central lobe slightly rhombic, tomb rapidly extended to 1-1.8 cm petiole, lobes pinnately divided again, 4-5 pairs of deep lobes, nearly oblong, apex acute, 2-6 mm apart from each other, edge with needlelike serrations; lobes on both sides oblique ovate, more than middle The central segment is short, unequal to 2-cleft or rarely 2-cleft, and the lobes are often pinnately cleft again; pubescent along veins above, glabrous below. The flower stems are 1-2, as long as or longer than the leaves; dichotomous or polybranched cymes have 3-8 flowers; bracts are lanceolate, 3-5 pinnately cleft; sepals are 5, yellow green, long elliptic ovate to lanceolate, 9-12.5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; petals are linear or linear lanceolate, 5-6.5 mm long, apex pointed, with honeypot in the center; stamens are numerous, and the outer stamens are slightly shorter or closer than petals Long, anthers broadly elliptic, yellow; carpels 8-12. It is 6-12, stipitate, 6-7 mm long. Seeds 7-8, oblong, ca. 2 mm long, brown. The flowering period is from February to April. The fruit period is from March to June.

Wild or cultivated. It is distributed in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei and Shaanxi.

② Coptis trilobata

Perennial herbs. Its morphology is similar to that of Coptis chinensis, and its main characteristics are that its rhizome is unbranched or less branched. Leaf blade papery, ovate, 16 cm long, 15 cm wide, 3-cleft, lobes all with distinct petioles; central lobe triangular ovate, base sharply shrunk to 2.5 cm petiole, pinnately divided into 4-6 pairs, bilateral lobes obliquely ovate triangular, unequal 2-cleft or half cleft, lobules adjacent to each other. Bracts linear lanceolate, 3-lobed near middle or pectinate pinnate. Calyx narrowly ovate; petals nearly oblanceolate, all wider; stamens about 20, only about 1 / 2 of petals long; carpels 9-12. The seeds are sterile.

Cultivated in Sichuan, wild species are rare.

③ Emei wild company

Perennial herbs, 15-30 cm high. Rhizome less branched, internodes short and dense. Leaves basal, 4-11, petioles 5-16 cm long; leaves lanceolate or narrowly ovate, about the same length as petioles, 3.5-6.5 cm wide, 3-cleft; central lobe triangular lanceolate, 14 cm long, 6 cm wide, apex acuminate, base sharply contracted into petioles, pinnate cleft, 7-10 pairs, lobules long elliptic ovate, margin acutely serrate; bilateral lobes oblique ovate, only central Lobes 1 / 3-1 / 4, 2-cleft or occasionally 2-cleft, lobules pinnately divided or 2-cleft; upper surface puberulent along veins, the rest glabrous. The flower stems are mostly single, with 3-6 flowers in polybranched cymes; the sepals are linear, 7.5-10 mm long and 0.7-1.2 mm wide; the petals are 9-12, narrowly linear, 1 / 2 or shorter than the calyx; the stamens are mostly, 4 mm long; the carpels are 9-14. The length is about 8 mm. Seeds oblong, yellowish brown.

Wild in the wet jungle. It is distributed in Sichuan.

④ Coptis yunnanensis

Perennial herbs. The shape of rhizome is similar to that of Coptis chinensis, and the main differences are as follows: rhizome is less branched and internodes are dense. The central lobe is ovate rhombic or long rhombic, pinnately divided into 3-6 pairs, and the small lobes are sparsely separated from each other. It has 3-5 flowers; bracts elliptic, 3-lobed or pinnate; calyx ovate or elliptic, 6-8 mm long, 2-3 mm wide; petals spatulate or ovate spatulate, 4.5-6 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, apex rounded or obtuse, narrowed into slender claws below the middle, with honeypot in the center; carpels 8-15.

Born in the shade of cold and wet forest in high mountains. It is distributed in Yunnan and Changdu, Tibet, and cultivated in Yunnan.

In addition, Rhizoma Coptidis breviscapus (distributed in Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou, rarely cultivated) and Rhizoma Coptidis pentaphylla (distributed in Southeast Yunnan) are also used for medicine.

[collection] it is better to harvest after the beginning of winter (November). After digging out, remove the stems and leaves, fibrous roots and soil, dry or dry them, and knock off the coarse skin.

[medicinal material] the commodity of Coptis chinensis can be divided into the following categories according to the difference of original plant and origin

① Weilian, also known as Chuanlian (materia medica Mengjiao), jizhaolian, jizhaohuanglian and Guanglian. It is the dry rhizome of Coptis chinensis, with many branches, usually 3-6 branches in bundles, slightly curved, like chicken feet, about 3-7 cm in length, and 3-8 mm in diameter. It is yellowish brown in appearance, and reddish brown at the place where the cork peels off; there are discontinuous transverse lines on the branches, the nodules are swollen, and the shape is like beads, with many hard fine fibrous roots and fibrous root marks, and some surfaces are smooth without transverse lines, such as stems, commonly known as "river branches" or "bridge poles"; there are brown scales on the upper part, and there are residual stems or petioles on the top. The quality is solid and hard, the section is irregular, the skin is dark brown, the wood is golden yellow, the ray has cracks, the central pith is reddish yellow, occasionally hollow. It is odorless and bitter. The saliva can be dyed red and yellow. It is better to have strong, continuous bead shape, solid quality, red yellow cross section, no residual stem and fibrous root.

They are all cultivated products, mainly produced in Sichuan and Hubei. It is also produced in Shaanxi (Pingli).

② Yalian, also known as emeilian, Jiading Lian and cigailian. It is the dry rhizome of Coptis trilobata. Most of them are single branches, few branches, slightly cylindrical, slightly curved, silkworm like, about 4-8 cm long, about 3-9 mm in diameter. The appearance is brown or yellowish brown, with many discontinuous transverse lines, obvious nodules, and most fibrous root scars, petiole residues and scales. The skin is dark brown, the wood is dark yellow, the rays are obvious, and the pith is sometimes hollow. Odorless, very bitter. The best ones are plump, beaded, solid, yellow cross-section, no residual stem and fibrous root.

They are all cultivated products, mainly produced in Sichuan (Emei, Hongya).

③ Wild Coptis, also known as: Phoenix Tail company. It is the dry rhizome of Coptis omeiensis. The appearance of rhizome is similar to that of Yalian, but the petioles with a length of 6-10 cm are left at the top, which are used as wild markers; the rhizome is mostly single branch or with two branches, slightly curved, about 5-6 cm long, 4-6 mm in diameter, dark brown in appearance, and the nodules are close to beads, without "river branches"; there are more scales left, and fibrous roots are hard. The section wood is bright yellow.

They are all wild. It is mainly produced in Sichuan (Emei, Hongya and Ebian). The yield is very small, but the quality is generally considered to be the best.

④ Yunlian is mainly the dry rhizome of Coptis yunnanensis. It is smaller, more curved, more constricted, more single branch, shaped like a scorpion tail. It is about 1.5-8 cm long and 2-4 mm in diameter. The outer skin is yellowish green or grayish yellow. The other characteristics are similar to the above varieties.

Cultivated or wild. It is mainly produced in Yunnan (Deqin, Weixi, Tengchong and Bijiang).

In addition, the roots of Rhizoma Coptidis breviscapus are commonly known as "Turpan Coptidis" or "Turpan Coptidis", which are produced in a small amount in various places; the roots of Rhizoma Coptidis pentaphylla are also used as "Yunlian" in Yunnan. The rest of the processing of Coptis - Rhizoma Coptidis whiskers (fibrous roots), Rhizoma Coptidis (petiole base), Rhizoma Coptidis (all petioles), Rhizoma Coptidis leaves (leaves), and Rhizoma Coptidis residue (residue from cage collision) are also used instead of Rhizoma Coptidis in a few areas.

[chemical constituents] Rhizoma Coptidis contains 7-9% berberine, berberine, methylberberine, tetrandrine, tetrandrine, phellodendron and Phellodendron lactone.

Berberine, methylberberine, jatrorrhizine, tetrandrine, two kinds of non phenolic alkaloids and two kinds of phenolic alkaloids were isolated from Coptis omeiensis.

[pharmacological effects] 1. Anti microbial and antigenic effects

1. Bacteria: in vitro tests showed that Coptis or berberine had strong antibacterial effect on Streptococcus hemolyticus, meningococci, Diplococcus pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae, Bacillus anthracis and Staphylococcus aureus; it had inhibitory effect on Shigella dysenteriae, diphtheria, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus viride; it had inhibitory effect on pneumonia, pertussis, Yersinia pestis, Brucella and tetanus It is also effective for typhus, Clostridium perfringens and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but less effective for Proteus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi, and little effective for Shigella sonnei, paratyphoid and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Due to the different experimental methods, there are some differences among the reports. The sensitivity of Shigella to Shigella was higher, followed by Freund's and sonnei's. Its action is equal to or better than that of sulfanilamide but weaker than that of streptomycin and chloramphenicol. The antibacterial effect of crude extract of Coptis chinensis is basically consistent with that of pure berberine, but there are a few cases in which the antibacterial effect of crude extract of Coptis chinensis is not completely consistent with that of pure berberine. It is reported that berberine can restore the sensitivity of intestinal bacteria to the above drugs. In vitro and in vivo tests, berberine, streptomycin and sulfanilamide also showed synergistic effect on Staphylococcus. Although there are many strains with simultaneous resistance to berberine and sulfonamides, there is no complete cross resistance. Although its minimum effective concentration is higher than that of streptomycin and chloramphenicol, its clinical efficacy is at least not lower than that of streptomycin and chloramphenicol. However, oral administration of Coptis could not protect the lethal effect of diphtheria on guinea pigs, and could not reduce or inhibit the occurrence of local reaction and intradermal injection

Chinese PinYin : Huang Lian