What are the common varieties of precious Chinese medicinal herbs in our country?
Chinese medicinal herbs are attracting more and more attention, so what are the relatively common precious Chinese medicinal herbs in our country? For example, ginseng and codonopsis are herbs that everyone is very familiar with. So besides these, what else is there?
At present, the common precious Chinese medicinal herbs in our country mainly include 38 species, namely ginseng, Korean ginseng, American ginseng, codonopsis, astragalus, rhodiola, reishi mushroom, snow lotus, angelica, fleeceflower root, longan aril, polygonatum, dendrobium, goji berry, gastrodia, eucommia, cornus, cordyceps, gecko, human placenta, velvet antler, deer antler glue, donkey-hide gelatin, tortoise shell glue, turtle shell glue, sea dragon, seahorse, dog kidney, bird's nest, Chinese forest frog, notoginseng, saffron, dragon's blood, musk, white-banded snake, antelope horn, cow bezoar, and pearl.
Ginseng, also known as yellow ginseng, earth spirit, divine herb, and king of a hundred herbs, is one of the world-famous “Three Treasures of Northeast China”.
The fleshy root of ginseng is a famous tonic, suitable for regulating blood pressure, restoring heart function, neurasthenia, and physical weakness, and also has effects such as expelling phlegm, strengthening the stomach, promoting urination, and stimulating. According to place of origin, it can be divided into American, Northeast China, and Korean ginseng. Due to different climates, the former has more obvious horizontal wrinkles on the surface of the root than the latter, and imported ginseng also has a higher content of active ingredients.
Nature and flavor: sweet and slightly bitter in taste, warm and neutral in nature. Enters the spleen, lung, and heart meridians. Tonifies qi, secures collapse, promotes fluid production, calms the spirit, and benefits the intellect.
Effects: Greatly tonifies original qi, restores the pulse and secures collapse, tonifies the spleen and benefits the lungs, promotes fluid production, and calms the spirit.
Indications: Physical weakness with impending collapse, cold limbs and faint pulse, spleen deficiency with poor appetite, lung deficiency with wheezing and coughing, fluid damage with thirst, internal heat and wasting-thirst, chronic illness and emaciation, palpitations and insomnia, impotence and cold womb; heart failure, cardiogenic shock. Used for shortness of breath and panting, palpitations and forgetfulness, thirst and excessive sweating, poor appetite and weakness, and shock and collapse caused by all acute and chronic diseases and after blood loss. Greatly tonifies original qi, secures collapse and promotes fluid production, and calms the spirit. Treats strain-related deficiency, poor appetite, fatigue, vomiting after eating, slippery and leaking stools, deficiency cough with panting, spontaneous sweating and sudden collapse, palpitations, forgetfulness, dizziness and headache, impotence, frequent urination, wasting-thirst, uterine bleeding in women, chronic fright in children, and all syndromes of prolonged deficiency with insufficient qi, blood, and fluids.
Korean ginseng, also called Korean ginseng and direct ginseng (generally specifically referring to red ginseng produced on the Korean Peninsula). It is the root with rhizome of the Araliaceae plant ginseng, made by processing and steaming. It is divided into North Korean red ginseng and South Korean red ginseng. Ginseng produced on the Korean Peninsula can also be divided by processing method into fresh ginseng, taegeuk ginseng, white ginseng, and Korean ginseng (red ginseng). Korean ginseng has effects such as greatly tonifying original qi, promoting fluid production, and calming the spirit, and is suitable for people with palpitations and insomnia, physical weakness, heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and so on. Modern medical research shows that Korean ginseng has multiple tonic effects. Scholars from Japan and South Korea (South Korea) have found through research that Korean ginseng has obvious effects in preventing diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension. Korean ginseng also has effects in anti-cancer, controlling disease, promoting blood circulation, preventing fatigue, and enhancing immunity. Its place of origin, which is also its most famous producing area, is Geumsan County, Chungcheongnam-do in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula (under the jurisdiction of South Korea)
Reishi mushroom, also called forest spirit and precious mushroom, is the fruiting body of the fungus Ganoderma lucidum in the Polyporaceae family. It has the effects of tonifying qi and calming the spirit, stopping cough and relieving asthma, and prolonging life. It is used for dizziness and insomnia, palpitations and shortness of breath, neurasthenia, and deficiency fatigue with coughing and asthma.
Codonopsis: Sweet, neutral. Tonifies the middle and benefits qi, harmonizes the stomach and promotes fluid production, and expels phlegm and stops cough. Used for spleen deficiency with poor appetite and loose stools, weakness of the limbs, palpitations, shortness of breath, dry mouth, spontaneous sweating, rectal prolapse, and uterine prolapse.
[Lisu medicine] Dangqi: the root is used for weakness of the spleen and stomach, dual deficiency of qi and blood, fatigue and weakness, poor appetite, thirst, chronic diarrhea, and rectal prolapse, in
American ginseng is cool in nature and sweet and slightly bitter in taste.
American ginseng's functions and indications are to tonify qi and nourish yin, clear heat, and promote fluid production. Used for qi deficiency and yin depletion, internal heat, coughing and asthma with bloody phlegm, deficiency heat and irritability, wasting-thirst, and dry mouth and throat. Dosage 3-6 g. Benefits lung yin, clears deficiency fire, promotes fluid production, and quenches thirst. Treats chronic cough due to lung deficiency, blood loss, dry throat and thirst, and deficiency heat and irritability.
Astragalus is a purely natural product that ordinary people often consume. There is a folk saying, “Drink astragalus soup often, prevent disease and protect health,” meaning that often using astragalus to make soup or steeping it in water as tea has a good disease-preventing and health-protecting effect. Both astragalus and ginseng are good qi-tonifying medicines. Ginseng emphasizes greatly tonifying original qi and restoring yang to rescue from collapse, and is often used for emergencies such as collapse and shock, with good effects. Astragalus, however, mainly tonifies deficiency and is often used for those with long-standing physical decline, weak voice, and thin, weak pulse. Some people catch colds easily whenever the weather changes, which traditional Chinese medicine calls “insecurity of the exterior.” Astragalus can be used to secure the exterior, and taking astragalus regularly can help avoid frequent colds.
Rhodiola has the effects of tonifying qi and clearing the lungs, benefiting the intellect and nourishing the heart, astringing and stopping bleeding, and dispersing blood stasis and reducing swelling. It mainly treats qi deficiency and physical weakness, aversion to cold after illness, shortness of breath and fatigue, lung heat with cough, coughing blood, leukorrhea and diarrhea, and traumatic injuries, etc.