What are the effects, actions and contraindications of the traditional Chinese medicine Ze Lan, and what is the difference between it and Pei Lan?
Ze Lan, also known as Shui Xiang, Hu Lan, Hai'er Ju, Feng Yao, Digua Miao and Fang Geng Ze Lan, is a plant of the Lamiaceae family and also a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It is distributed in Tibet, western Sichuan, Qinghai and southern Gansu in China. So what are the effects, actions and contraindications of the traditional Chinese medicine Ze Lan?
1. Introduction to Ze Lan
Ze Lan generally grows in low-lying mountain areas or among shrubs and grasses along stream banks. When the stems and leaves are lush in summer and autumn, it is cut for harvest. In the south, harvesting begins in early to mid-April, and 2~3 harvests can be made per year. However, for plots used for digging up rhizomes for medicinal use as well as for seed stems, the above-ground parts must not be harvested during the growing period. After harvest, the material is cut into sections and dried in the sun. After the rhizomes are dug up, they are washed clean and dried in the sun or by heat.
2. Effects, actions and contraindications of Ze Lan
1. Effects and actions of Ze Lan
Effect one: Treats irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea and postpartum abdominal pain due to blood stasis
Ze Lan is a commonly used medicine for gynecological menstrual disorders, often used in combination with Angelica sinensis (dong gui), Ligusticum chuanxiong (chuan xiong), Cyperus rotundus (xiang fu) and other medicines; used together with Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora (bai shao) and others, it can invigorate blood and nourish blood, and is suitable for those with blood stasis and blood deficiency.
Effect two: Treats traumatic injuries, swelling and pain from blood stasis, and sores and carbuncles
Ze Lan has the effect of invigorating blood and removing stasis to reduce swelling and relieve pain.
(1) For traumatic injuries with swelling and pain from blood stasis: use pounded Ze Lan alone, or combine Ze Lan with Angelica sinensis, Carthamus tinctorius (hong hua), Prunus persica seed (tao ren) and other medicines;
(2) For pain from chest and hypochondriac injury: combine Ze Lan with Salvia miltiorrhiza (dan shen), Curcuma aromatica (yu jin), Corydalis yanhusuo (yan hu suo) and other medicines;
(3) For sores and carbuncles: use pounded Ze Lan alone, or combine it with Lonicera japonica flower (yin hua), Coptis chinensis (huang lian), Paeonia lactiflora root (chi shao) and others.
Effect three: Promotes diuresis and reduces swelling, treats ascites and general edema
Ze Lan is bitter in taste and warm in nature, and has the effect of promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It is especially suitable for edema caused by blood stasis obstruction and the mutual binding of water and stasis. Equal parts of Ze Lan and Stephania tetrandra (fang ji) ground into powder and taken mixed with vinegar can treat postpartum edema; combined with Atractylodes macrocephala (bai zhu), Poria cocos (fu ling), Stephania tetrandra and Plantago asiatica seed (che qian zi), it treats ascites and general edema.
Usage and dosage: decoct in water and take, with a dosage of 10-15g. For external use, an appropriate amount.
2. Contraindications for Ze Lan: those with blood deficiency and those without blood stasis should take it with caution.
3. How to consume Ze Lan
(1) Ze Lan and red date tea
Ingredients: Ze Lan 10g, dried red dates 30g, green tea 1g.
Method: Put Ze Lan together with red dates and green tea into a teacup, brew with boiling water, and drink once warm.
Effect: Mainly treats dysmenorrhea in women.
(2) Gui Wei Ze Lan decoction
Ingredients: Angelica sinensis tail (gui wei), Ze Lan, Achyranthes bidentata (niu xi), Carthamus tinctorius (hong hua), Corydalis yanhusuo (yan hu suo) and Prunus persica seed (tao ren), 3g each.
Method: Decoct in water and take once warm.
Effect: Invigorates blood and removes stasis. Mainly treats postpartum abdominal pain and retention of lochia.
(3) Egg and Shui Ze Lan decoction
Ingredients: Shui Ze Lan leaves 25-50g, 1 egg.
Method: Cook the chopped Shui Ze Lan leaves together with the egg. 10g per time, 2 times per day.
Effect: Invigorates blood, transforms stasis and stops bleeding. Mainly treats anovulatory uterine bleeding of the blood stasis type; it has a certain therapeutic effect for women with irregular vaginal bleeding, heavy or absent flow, dark red or purplish red blood color, sticky texture with many clots, lower abdominal and lumbar abdominal pain, and relatively dark complexion and lips.
(4) Ze Lan decoction
Ingredients: Ze Lan 6g, Platycladus orientalis seed (bai zi ren), Angelica sinensis, Paeonia lactiflora (bai shao), Rehmannia glutinosa preparata (shu di), Achyranthes bidentata (niu xi) and Leonurus japonicus seed (chong wei zi) 4.5g each.
Method: Decoct in water and take.
Effect: Invigorates blood and regulates menstruation. Mainly treats irregular menstruation.
Note: The editor would like to remind everyone that all kinds of traditional Chinese medicines should be taken according to the symptoms under a doctor's guidance.
3. Differences between Ze Lan and Pei Lan
Difference one: Source
Pei Lan is the above-ground part of the Asteraceae plant Eupatorium fortunei (Pei Lan). It is mainly produced in Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Zhejiang, Fujian and other regions.
Ze Lan is the stem and leaf of the Lamiaceae plant Lycopus lucidus (Digua'er Miao). It is produced in most parts of the country.
Difference two: Morphological characteristics
The stem of Pei Lan is cylindrical; the surface is yellow-brown or yellow-green, sometimes with purple, with obvious nodes and longitudinal ridges; it has a fragrant odor and a slightly bitter taste.
The stem of Ze Lan is square-column shaped, with few branches, with shallow longitudinal grooves on all four sides; the surface is yellow-green or greenish, with obvious purple at the nodes and white downy hairs; it has no odor and a mild taste.
Difference three: Nature, flavor and meridian entry
Pei Lan is pungent in flavor and neutral in nature; it enters the spleen, stomach and lung meridians.
Ze Lan is bitter and pungent in flavor and slightly warm in nature; it enters the spleen and liver meridians.
Difference four: Effects
Pei Lan aromatically transforms dampness, awakens the spleen and opens the appetite, releases the exterior and relieves summerheat.
Ze Lan invigorates blood and regulates menstruation, removes stasis and relieves pain, promotes diuresis and reduces swelling.
Difference five: Applications
In clinical practice, Pei Lan is mostly used for conditions such as summerheat-dampness, chills and fever with headache, and internal accumulation of damp-heat.
In clinical practice, Ze Lan is mostly used for gynecological blood stasis amenorrhea, surgical traumatic injuries, and ascites with heaviness of the body.
Difference six: Contraindicated groups
Pei Lan is contraindicated for those with yin deficiency and qi deficiency.
Ze Lan should be used with caution by those with blood deficiency and those without stasis.
Through the introduction in this article, everyone now understands the effects and actions of Ze Lan. In fact, both Ze Lan and Leonurus japonicus (yi mu cao) invigorate blood and regulate menstruation, remove stasis and disperse carbuncles, and promote diuresis and reduce swelling, but the medicinal effect of Leonurus japonicus is better than that of Ze Lan, so it is more widely used in clinical practice. However, if it needs to be consumed, be sure to consult a doctor first and then prescribe the right medicine for the symptoms.