What medicinal value do the roots, leaves, seed coat, pollen and starch of corn have?
Annual tall herbaceouscornhas extensivemedicinal value. The modern pharmaceutical industry uses corn starch as a culture medium raw material to produce penicillin, streptomycin, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, chloramphenicol, and others. Corn starch can also be used to make glucose, antihypertensive agents, anesthetics, disinfectants, diuretics, and others.
A decoction made from the roots and leaves of corn can treat dribbling urinary blockage. The corn cob can strengthen the spleen and drain dampness, and treat difficult urination, edema, and diarrhea. In folk remedies, corn silk can treat diabetes, cholecystitis, hepatitis, hypertension, rhinitis, chronic nephritis in children, and others.
Dietary fiber can be extracted from the corn seed coat; it has good preventive and therapeutic effects on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, intestinal cancer, and others, and can also lower the cholesterol content in the blood.
Corn pollen contains 18 kinds of amino acids, protein, fat, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, as well as trace elements such as zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, aluminum, selenium, calcium, and phosphorus. It is a concentrated multi-nutrient aggregate, and not only has the effects of nourishing and strengthening the body, resisting fatigue, delaying aging, and promoting fitness and beauty, but also has the effects of regulating nerves and promoting metabolism.
The by-products of making starch from corn can be used to extract phytic acid; phytic acid is a tonic drug and has therapeutic effects on rickets and patients with bone diseases. Inositol can also be produced; inositol can promote fat metabolism in the liver and other tissues, lower cholesterol, and can be used for the treatment of hepatitis, cirrhosis, and arteriosclerosis.
Note: Corn originated in Central and South America. It is now cultivated all over the world. It is mainly distributed between latitudes 30°--50°. The countries with the largest cultivated area are the United States, China, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India, and Romania. The main corn-producing areas in our country are the Northeast, North China, and the mountainous areas of the Southwest.
Corn is an annual tall herbaceous plant. The culm is erect, usually unbranched, 1-4 m tall, with aerial prop roots at each basal node. The leaf sheath has transverse veins; the ligule is membranous, about 2 mm long; the leaf blade is flat and broad, linear-lanceolate, with a rounded, ear-shaped base, hairless or with scattered soft hairs, with a thick midrib and slightly rough margins. The terminal male panicle is large, with the main axis, the rachis of the raceme, and the spaces between them all covered with fine soft hairs; male spikelets are paired, up to 1 cm long, with the spikelet stalks one long and one short, respectively 1-2 mm and 2-4 mm long, covered with fine soft hairs; the two glumes are nearly equal in length, membranous, with about 10 veins, ciliate; the lemma and palea are transparent and membranous, slightly shorter than the glumes; the anthers are orange-yellow, about 5 mm long. The female inflorescence is enclosed by many broad sheath-like bracts; female spikelets are paired, arranged in 16-30 longitudinal rows on the thick rachis, with the two glumes equal in length, broad, veinless, and ciliate; the lemma and palea are transparent and membranous, and the pistil has an extremely long, slender, thread-like style. The caryopsis is spherical or flattened spherical, exposed beyond the glumes and lemmas after maturity, and its size varies with different growing conditions, generally 5-10 mm long, slightly wider than long, with the embryo 1/2-2/3 the length of the caryopsis. The flowering and fruiting period is in autumn.
It is cultivated in all parts of our country. It is widely grown in tropical and temperate regions around the world and is an important cereal crop.