What is Shan Zhi (mountain gardenia), and what are its benefits and effects?
Gardenia fruit has the effects of clearing heat, draining fire, and cooling the blood. So, what is Shan Zhi? Where is the main producing area of Shan Zhi? What benefits and effects does Shan Zhi have? What processing methods are there for Shan Zhi?Let's take a look together.
1. What is Shan Zhi?
Shan Zhi is also known as Mudan, Xianzhi, Zhizi, Yuetao, Shuihengzhi, Zhizihua, Zhizihua, Shanzhihua, Huangjizi, Huangyizi, Huangzhizi, Huangzhi, Shanhuangzhi, Yuhehua, Baichanhua, Dahongzhi, Shanzhizi, and so on. It is an evergreen shrub, reaching about 2 m tall, with fragrant white flowers, a flowering period from May to July, and a fruiting period from August to November. It belongs to the genus Gardenia in the family Rubiaceae. The leaves, flowers, fruits, and roots of Shan Zhi can all be used as medicine, and it has the effects of clearing heat, draining fire, detoxifying, and cooling the blood.
2. Where is the main producing area of Shan Zhi?
It is cultivated in most parts of the country. It grows wild in various places in the south, on hillsides and roadsides.
The medicinal material Shan Zhi is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian; in addition, it is also produced in Sichuan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangsu, Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, and other places.
3. What benefits and effects does Shan Zhi have?
1. Cholagogic effect: When gardenia water extract and alcohol extract were given to rabbits orally, there was no effect on the amount of bile discharged from the bile duct or its solid components, but when the same preparation was injected into rabbits by some researchers, bile secretion began to increase within 15 to 30 minutes and lasted for more than 1 hour. After intravenous injection of crocin and sodium crocetin into rabbits, bile secretion increased. After oral administration of gardenia decoction or infusion to humans, gallbladder radiography showed that the gallbladder had an obvious contracting effect at 20 and 40 minutes after taking the medicine.
2. Sedative effect: Subcutaneous injection of gardenia fluid extract into mice reduced spontaneous activity, caused eye closure, head lowering, and muscle relaxation, and could counteract pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions, but could not counteract strychnine-induced convulsions, though it could reduce their mortality rate. When the ash of the fluid extract was used as a control, the above effects were not seen. It is also used by some to relieve insomnia and excessive fatigue.
3. Blood pressure-lowering effect: Gardenia decoction and alcohol extract have a sustained blood pressure-lowering effect on anesthetized or unanesthetized cats, rats, and rabbits, whether given orally or by intraperitoneal injection. Intravenous injection lowers blood pressure rapidly but the effect lasts only a short time. Its blood pressure-lowering site appears to be in the parasympathetic center of the medulla oblongata.
4. Antimicrobial effect: Gardenia water infusion has an inhibitory effect in vitro on various fungi such as Trichophyton schoenleinii, Epidermophyton inguinale, and Trichophyton rubrum. Its decoction at 15 mg/ml can kill Leptospira. In vitro, gardenia decoction can stop the activity of Schistosoma japonicum. The decoction has no inhibitory effect on bacterial growth.
5. Other effects: Gardenia alcohol extract has an excitatory effect at low concentration and an inhibitory effect at high concentration on the isolated intestinal smooth muscle of rabbits and rats. Dehydroxygardenoside has a purgative effect on mice, and an ointment made from its extract can accelerate the healing of soft tissues.
4. Processing methods of Shan Zhi
1. Raw gardenia: Sift out dust and debris, remove impurities, crush and sift, or cut off both ends.
2. Shan Zhi kernel: Take clean gardenia, cut it open lengthwise from the middle with scissors, and remove the outer skin to obtain the kernel.
3. Shan Zhi skin: That is, the outer fruit skin peeled from raw gardenia.
4. Fried gardenia: Take crushed gardenia, place it in a pot, stir-fry over gentle heat until golden yellow, take it out, and let it cool.
5. Scorched gardenia: Take crushed gardenia, place it in a pot, stir-fry over strong heat until scorched and charred in color, take it out, and let it cool.
6. Gardenia charcoal: Take crushed gardenia, place it in a pot, stir-fry over strong heat until dark brown, but it must retain its nature, then take it out and let it cool.