Chicken Bone Herb: The Lingnan Wonder Drug for Liver Protection - Benefits and Uses, Drinking as Tea and Making Soup
Chicken Bone Herb, also known as Yellow Head Herb, Yellow Boy Strong, Large Yellow Herb, and Pig Kidney Herb, is cool in nature, sweet and slightly bitter in taste, and has the effects of clearing heat and draining dampness, soothing the liver and relieving pain, and invigorating blood and dispersing stasis. The overall appearance of Chicken Bone Herb is somewhat similar to the mimosa we usually see, so what are the benefits and uses of Chicken Bone Herb? What are the benefits of drinking it as tea? What is it best boiled into soup with?
Chicken Bone Herb is mainly produced in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China. The whole plant is used medicinally. It was first discovered and excavated as a folk herbal medicine and was ultimately recorded in the "Records of Herbal Collection in Lingnan." In clinical practice, Chicken Bone Herb has a long history of being used to treat various types of hepatitis and has been made into various dosage forms. The compound Chicken Bone Herb pill recorded in the "Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China" is a commonly used drug for treating hepatitis.
Benefits and Uses of Chicken Bone Herb
According to the "Records of Herbal Collection in Lingnan," Chicken Bone Herb is the dried whole plant of the legume plant Abrus cantoniensis Hance (Abrus cantoniensis Hance). It can be collected throughout the year, with mud and sand removed, and dried. Remove impurities and pods (the seeds are toxic), cut into sections, and use raw.
Properties: Sweet, slightly bitter, cool. Enters the Liver and Stomach meridians.
Effects: Drains dampness and relieves jaundice, clears heat and detoxifies, soothes the liver and relieves pain.
Applications:
1. Jaundice.
This product is sweet, bitter, and cool, and has the effect of clearing heat and draining dampness to relieve jaundice. To treat jaundice caused by damp-heat stagnation in the liver and gallbladder, it can be used alone or combined with Yin Chen (Artemisia capillaris), Di Er Cao (Hypericum japonicum), and other drugs to strengthen the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, draining dampness and relieving jaundice.
2. Breast abscess.
This product has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. To treat breast abscess, fresh leaves of this product can be pounded and applied externally.
3. Discomfort in the rib-side, distending pain in the stomach cavity.
This product enters the Liver and Stomach meridians and has the effect of soothing the liver and relieving pain. To treat discomfort in the rib-side and stomach cavity pain due to liver qi stagnation, it is often used together with Liang Mian Zhen (Zanthoxylum nitidum).
Usage and dosage: Decoct and take, 15-30g.
Precaution: The seeds of Chicken Bone Herb are toxic and cannot be directly used medicinally. All bean pods must be removed completely.
Modern research:
1. Chemical composition: This product contains abrine, abrus saponins, flavonoids, amino acids, sugars, abrus saponols, and glycyrrhetinic acid.
2. Pharmacological effects: The crude saponins of Chicken Bone Herb have a liver-protecting effect, and the decoction of this product can enhance intestinal peristalsis.
3. Clinical research: It has been reported that fresh Chicken Bone Herb plus brown sugar, decocted and taken, with the dose halved for children, achieved good therapeutic effects in treating various types of hepatitis ("Zhejiang Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine," 1960, 4:166). It has been reported that Tian Ji Huang (Hypericum japonicum) injection, administered intramuscularly, is effective for acute icteric and non-icteric hepatitis, persistent hepatitis, and chronic hepatitis, etc. ("Pharmaceutical Industry," 1972, 5:26). Hypericum japonicum, taken as a decoction, is effective in treating typhoid and paratyphoid ("Fujian Traditional Chinese Medicine," 1964, 3:96).
Benefits of Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as Tea
1. Chicken Bone Herb is sweet and slightly bitter in taste and cool in nature. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea has a very good effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, and can also soothe the liver and disperse stasis.
2. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea has a relieving effect on distending pain in the stomach cavity.
3. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea has a very good therapeutic effect on acute or chronic hepatitis.
4. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea can be used to treat mastitis.
5. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea can also be used to treat icteric hepatitis and stomach pain.
6. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea can treat breast abscess and scrofula.
7. Drinking Chicken Bone Herb as tea also has a very good therapeutic effect on treating blood stasis pain from traumatic injuries, painful urination, and snake bites.
Brewing Method
For hepatitis patients with jaundice or yellow urine and discomfort in the rib-side, 15-30 grams of Chicken Bone Herb can be decocted with an appropriate amount of clean water for 40 minutes, and the liquid taken.
Precautions
However, although Chicken Bone Herb is good, it also has precautions and contraindications. If one is careless, it can really cause great disaster, and even endanger life.
1. The seeds of Chicken Bone Herb are toxic. Even for medicinal use, all pods must be removed. Therefore, when making Chicken Bone Herb soup, all pods must be removed.
2. Chicken Bone Herb is sweet and slightly bitter in taste and cool in nature. Therefore, people with deficiency-cold constitution should use it with caution, otherwise it may aggravate the cold constitution.
3. Chicken Bone Herb is very similar in appearance to Abrus mollis of the same family and genus, but the leaves of Abrus mollis are larger than those of Chicken Bone Herb, with more hairs, and taste sweeter. The effects of the two plants are different, and they must never be confused in use, so as to avoid adverse effects on the body.
After paying attention to the above points, we can safely use Chicken Bone Herb for dietary therapy. Chicken Bone Herb has effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, soothing the liver and relieving pain, and is mainly used for jaundice, acute and chronic hepatitis, mastitis, etc. Especially for those with recurrent hepatitis symptoms, abnormal liver function, and immunodeficiency, it can provide a significant auxiliary therapeutic effect. In addition, it also has the effect of treating stomach pain and traumatic injuries.
What is Chicken Bone Herb Best Boiled Into Soup With?
1. Chicken Bone Herb and Red Date Soup
50 grams of Chicken Bone Herb, 8 red dates, decoct together in water and take.
[Suitable population] Has the effect of clearing heat, removing dampness, and relieving jaundice. It can be consumed by people with jaundice or severe damp-heat.
2. Chicken Bone Herb, Chicken Gizzard Lining, and Hawthorn Drink
30 grams of Chicken Bone Herb, 10 grams of chicken gizzard lining, 15 grams of hawthorn. Put all together into a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes and it is done.
[Suitable population] Has the effect of clearing heat and draining dampness, strengthening the spleen and resolving accumulation. It is suitable for people with indigestion or fatty liver.
3. Chicken Bone Herb and Pork Bone Soup
50 grams of Chicken Bone Herb, 200 grams of pork spine bone, 3 slices of ginger. Wash the pork spine bone and cut into pieces, wash the Chicken Bone Herb and cut into sections. Put the above ingredients together into a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of clean water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 40 minutes and it is done.
[Suitable population] Has the effect of clearing heat, removing dampness, and relieving jaundice. It is suitable for people with damp-heat jaundice.
4. Chicken Bone Herb and Pork Soup
30 grams of Chicken Bone Herb, 20 grams of adzuki beans, 100 grams of lean pork, 5 large red dates, 3 slices of ginger. Wash the lean pork and cut into small pieces. Wash the other ingredients and put them together with the lean pork into a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours, add salt to taste and it is done.
[Suitable population] Has the effects of clearing heat and draining dampness, promoting gallbladder function and relieving jaundice, and promoting urination and reducing swelling. It is suitable for people with short yellow urine, bitter and sticky mouth, and constipation.