What medicinal herb is Huangjing (Solomon's Seal)? Here is the latest introduction

Huangjing is also known as claw ginseng, tiger ginger, chicken-claw ginseng, etc. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonatum in the family Liliaceae, often growing under forests, in thickets or on shady mountain slopes. It is distributed in China's northeast, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang and other places. Now let us take a look at what medicinal herb Huangjing is!

What medicinal herb is Huangjing?

Huangjing is a tonic medicinal herb. Huangjing is the dried rhizome of the Liliaceae plants Polygonatum kingianum, Polygonatum sibiricum or Polygonatum cyrtonema. According to differences in shape, it is customarily called “large Huangjing”, “chicken-head Huangjing” and “ginger-shaped Huangjing”. It has the effects of tonifying qi and nourishing yin, strengthening the spleen and moistening the lungs, and benefiting the kidneys. It is often used for spleen and stomach qi deficiency, physical fatigue and lack of strength, stomach yin insufficiency, dry mouth and reduced food intake, lung deficiency with dry cough, consumptive cough with blood-streaked sputum, insufficiency of essence and blood, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, premature graying of beard and hair, internal heat and diabetes-like thirst, and other conditions.

What types of Huangjing are there?

1. Polygonatum kingianum: Polygonatum kingianum is produced in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, growing under forests, in thickets or on shady damp grassy slopes, sometimes on rocks; it is also distributed in Vietnam and Myanmar.

2. Polygonatum sibiricum: Polygonatum sibiricum is produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Zhejiang, growing under forests, in thickets or on shady mountain slopes.

3. Polygonatum cyrtonema: Polygonatum cyrtonema is produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, growing under forests, in thickets or on shady mountain slopes.

What effects does Huangjing have?

1. Nourishing yin and moistening the lungs: Huangjing has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs and can be used to treat cough caused by lung yin and lung dryness; the effect is better if combined with Fritillaria cirrhosa and Anemarrhena asphodeloides.

2. Tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi: Huangjing has the effect of tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi. Used together with Codonopsis pilosula and Atractylodes macrocephala, it can treat poor appetite and weak pulse caused by spleen deficiency.

3. Tonifying and benefiting the kidneys: Huangjing has the effect of tonifying and benefiting the kidneys and has a very good effect on treating soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, premature graying of beard and hair, diabetes-like thirst and other conditions caused by kidney deficiency and essence depletion.

4. Delaying aging: Huangjing has the effect of delaying aging. Feeding silkworm larvae a Huangjing decoction at a concentration of 20% can prolong the larval stage of silkworms.

5. Inhibiting bacteria and preventing disease: Huangjing has antibacterial and bacteriostatic effects, can relieve conditions caused by skin fungi, can strengthen myocardial function, and can prevent the occurrence of some cardiovascular system diseases.

6. Enhancing immunity: Huangjing can affect cellular immunity and humoral immunity, increase the conversion rate of lymphocytes, accelerate the formation of antibodies, and can effectively improve immune capacity.

How to consume Huangjing

1. Huangjing and goji berry soup

[Materials] 12 grams each of Huangjing and goji berries.

[How to take] Put the two ingredients into a clay pot, add water and decoct for 30 minutes, then take the liquid. One dose per day, taken warm in 2 divided doses.

[Effects] Treats weakness after illness and surgery, neurasthenia, anemia and other conditions.

2. Huangjing lean pork porridge

[Materials] 15 grams of Huangjing, 30 grams of lean pork, 50 grams of japonica rice.

[How to take] Add water to the three ingredients and cook into porridge; eat every morning and evening.

[Effects] Tonify the spleen and benefit qi, nourish the lungs and moisten dryness, and prolong life.

3. Rock sugar Huangjing soup

[Materials] 30 grams of Huangjing, 50 grams of rock sugar.

[How to take] Soak Huangjing in cold water until expanded, add rock sugar, and decoct over low heat for 1 hour; take twice daily.

[Effects] Nourish yin and moisten the lungs.