Tongcao

Tongcao

(notes on materia medica)

[synonym] Koto (Shanhaijing), Linan, huotu, Yishang (Erya), Congcao (Bencao Huiyan), baitongcao (zhizhiqiyong), Tonghua (caomuben Fang), Huacao (Chinese tree taxonomy), datongcao (Sichuan Chinese medicine records), tongdahai, Paotong (Guizhou folk prescription Collection), wujiafeng, Kuanchang, datongta, damutong, wujiaojiapi "Tonghua Wujia" and "Daye Wujiapi" (medicinal records of Hunan Province).

[source] it is the stem pith of tongtuomu in Acanthopanax senticosus.

Plant morphology

Shrubs, up to 6 meters high. The stem is woody but not hard, with white pith in it. It is flaky when young, and gradually full when old. The young branches are densely covered with stellate hairs, or slightly exfoliative gray yellow villi. The leaves are palmately divided up to 1 m long, heart-shaped at the base, 5-7-lobed at the middle or only at the edge, with sharp head, serrate margin, glabrous above and white stellate villi below; petiole stout, 30-50 cm long; stipules 2, large, membranous, lanceolate chiseled, sheath like at the base. Flowers small, petiolate, many globose umbels arranged into large panicles; bracts lanceolate; calyx inconspicuous; petals 4, white, ovate, head acute; stamens 4; disk slightly convex; ovary inferior, 2-locular, style 2, free, stigma capitate. Drupe berry subglobose and flat, exocarp fleshy, hard and crisp. The flowering period is August. The fruiting period is September.

Distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places.

The root, bud and pollen of this plant are also used for medicine. Please refer to the special section for details.

[collection] harvest in autumn, select the plants that have been growing for 2-3 years, cut the aboveground stems into segments, take out the pith when they are fresh, straighten and dry them in the sun. Place in a dry place. The square slice made from the stem and pith is called "fangtongcao"; the edge cut during processing is called "sitongcao".

[medicinal material] the dried pith is cylindrical, generally 0.3-0.6 m long and 1.2-3 cm in diameter. Clean white, with shallow longitudinal groove. It is light, soft, elastic, easy to break, with flat section, hollow or white translucent film with a diameter of 0.5-1.5cm in the middle, silvery white in the outer ring, and layers of septum in longitudinal section, odorless and tasteless. It is better to have white color, empty heart and elasticity.

Produced in Guizhou, Yunnan, Taiwan, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places.

Fangtongcao: a square thin sheet, slightly transparent, smooth, white, paper like and soft. Stone grass: it is an irregular slender strip.

Xiaotongcao is the stem pith of Stachys himalayana, which is also used as Tongcao. See "xiaotongcao".

[chemical composition] it contains 5.95% ash, 1.07% fat, 1.11% protein, 48.73% crude fiber and 5.83% pentosan. In addition, it contains 28.04% uronic acid, part of which exists in poly - β - D-galacturonic acid (this polysaccharide is soluble in ammonium oxalate solution). The hydrolysate contains galacturonic acid, galactose, glucose and xylose.

[processing] Tongcao: remove impurities and slice. Zhutongcao: take Tongcao, put it in the basin, spray a little water, moisten slightly, add fine cinnabar powder, spread evenly, turn it over at any time, hang cinnabar evenly outside, take it out and dry it. (10 jin of grass for each pass, 10 liang of cinnabar)

Sweet and light, cool.

① Materia medica: non toxic. "

② "Qi level, taste sweet. "

③ "Materia medica Mengluo" says: "it tastes sweet and light, and its Qi is flat. "

④ "Gangmu": "sweet light, cold, non-toxic. "

[channel tropism] entering lung and stomach channels.

① "Gangmu": "entering the lung of Taiyin and stomach meridian of Yangming. "

② "Lei Gong processed medicine solution": "into the lung, big, small intestine three channels. "

③ According to the classic of Materia Medica, "when you enter the foot of Shaoyin and the sun, when you reach the hand of Shaoyin and the sun. "

[function indications] diarrhea, urination, milk. Treatment of adverse urination, gonorrhea, edema, maternal milk barrier, dizziness, nasal congestion.

① "Rihuazi Materia Medica": "eyesight, antipyretic, birth, under the cell, under the milk. "

② The book of materia medica: "it is beneficial to urinate and relieve all kinds of drugs. "

③ "Medical Qiyuan": "in addition to edema and obstruction, treat five gonorrhea. According to the secret of indications, purging the lung. "

④ "Materia medica fou Yao": "treatment of blindness, deafness, nasal obstruction and aphasia. "

⑤ "Changsha medicine solution": "Tongjing closed, treatment of jaundice, eliminate carbuncle, benefit nose carbuncle, in addition to upset. "

[usage and dosage] oral administration: decoction, 0.5-1.5 money; or into pills, powder. External use: grind the end of cotton wrapped nasal.

[should avoid] deficiency of both qi and Yin, no damp heat inside and pregnant women should take it with caution.

① "The classic of Materia Medica" says: "it is forbidden for people who are in a state of collapse, but not for pregnant women. "

② "Ben Cao Hui Yan:" it is forbidden to use Yin and yang deficiency. "

③ "Materia Medica from the new": "do not take cold. "

[prescription selection] 1. For the treatment of heat, astringency and urination like safflower juice: three liang of Tongcao, one liter of kuizi, four liang of talc (crushed), two liang of Shiwei. Cut it up, take six liters of water, fry it for two liters, remove the dross, and take it at three different temperatures. If a person walks eight or nine miles, take another one. Avoid five fishy food, hot noodles, fried food, etc. (Tongcao Yinzi in Puji Fang)

② Treat a body yellow swollen transparent. Also treat kidney swelling: Tongcao (honey baked dry), wood Polyporus (remove the skin) each equal. On the end of the fine, into the fine, to the land dragon, musk a little. Take half or one money for each meal, and drink rice. (Tongcao powder, general micro prescription for children's health)

③ After the treatment of typhoid vomiting: Tongcao Sanliang, raw reed root (cut) a liter, orange peel one or two, japonica rice Sanhe. On the four flavors, five liters of water to boil, take two liters to drink; not bad, more, take the difference. (Qian Jin Fang)

④ For the treatment of nasal carbuncle, the smell is not good, and there are polyps: Akebia, asarum, Fuzi (gun, peeled, navel). The top is the end, the honey is the harmony. Wrap a little sponge in your nose. (sanyinfang Tongcao powder)

⑤ Lactation: tongtuomu, small ginseng, stewed pig feet food. (Hunan medical records)

Li Gao: "Tongcao Xiefeng is good for urination, Ganping is good for relieving blood and electricity of Yin. It has the same function as Dengcao and is suitable for living. "

② The Compendium: "Tongcao is white in color and cold in Qi, light in taste and light in body, so it enters the lung meridian of Taiyin to induce heat and reduce urination; it enters the stomach meridian of Yangming to ventilate the upper part and lower the milk; it is cold in Qi and low in taste and light in body. "

③ "Materia medica justice": "the smell of Tongcao is sweet, light and non-toxic in Li Dongyuan's" medication method ". In this case, the word "Gan" is not a big sweet word, but a light word, such as spring water and rice. It can pass through meridians and collaterals, clear away heat and benefit water. Its nature is similar to that of Akebia, but it has no pain. It has a slow releasing power and no severe disadvantages. Although it can pass through meridians and collaterals, it doesn't hurt Yin very much, and it is suitable for those with less dampness and heat. If the heat is too severe, it will not be as effective as Akebia. Dongyuan is called Liyin orifices. It can treat five kinds of gonorrhea. It can remove edema and scrofula, but it can be effective in treating mild diseases. It's also called purging the lung and urinating. It's the same as Dengcao. Its cover is white and its smell is light and clear. Therefore, it can also ascend. It can discharge the heat of the lung and close the upper orifices. It can also be said that the lower orifices are self beneficial. "

Chinese PinYin : Tong Cao