What are the uses of Impatiens? A clear guide to the latest analysis
Impatiens contains large amounts of flavonoids, naphthoquinones, coumarins, sterols and other compounds. It has anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and other effects. Impatiens is often used in flower beds and flower borders, or planted in clumps or groups in gardens; it can also be grown in pots for ornamental viewing.
Ornamental value
Impatiens, like a crane's crest or a colorful phoenix, has a graceful posture and is charming and pleasing. The fragrant and brilliant red Impatiens and the delicate jade-green Impatiens both open in the morning, which is the best time to admire Impatiens. Because its flower colors and varieties are extremely rich, Impatiens is a commonly used material for beautifying flower beds and flower borders, and can be planted in clumps, in groups and in pots, and can also be used as a cut flower for water culture.
Culinary value
Impatiens is cultivated in all provinces of northern and southern China. When people boil meat or stew fish, they add several Impatiens seeds, making the meat easy to soften and the bones easy to tenderize, with a distinctive flavor. The tender leaves of Impatiens can be blanched and then mixed with oil and salt to eat as a cold dish.
Medicinal value
Impatiens is a famous Chinese medicinal herb. The flowers are used as medicine, can promote blood circulation and reduce swelling, and treat bruises and injuries. External application of the flowers can treat tinea manuum, and can also remove body odor; the seeds are decocted into a paste for external application, which can treat numbness and soreness. It promotes blood circulation and frees the menses, dispels wind and removes dampness; promotes blood circulation and relieves pain; detoxifies and kills parasites. It mainly treats flaccid and disabled limbs due to wind-dampness; pain in the waist and ribs; abdominal pain due to amenorrhea in women; incomplete discharge of stagnant blood after childbirth; bruises and injuries; fractures; carbuncles, abscesses and sores; venomous snake bites; leukorrhea; tinea manuum; onychomycosis. It promotes blood circulation and frees the menses, dispels wind and relieves pain, and is used externally for detoxification. It is used for amenorrhea, bruises and injuries, blood stasis swelling and pain, rheumatoid arthritis, carbuncles, boils and furuncles, snake bites, and tinea manuum.
In folk practice, its flowers and leaves are commonly used to dye fingernails. After dyeing, the fingernails are bright in color, and the color can last for as long as one month. The stems and seeds are used as medicine. The stem is called “Impatiens chinensis” and has the effects of dispelling wind-dampness, promoting blood circulation and relieving pain, and is used to treat rheumatic joint pain and difficulty in bending and stretching; the seeds are called “Impatiens seeds” and have the effects of softening hardness and reducing accumulation, and are used to treat dysphagia, fish bones stuck in the throat, abdominal masses, and amenorrhea.