Detailed Tutorial on the Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods for Pseudostellaria heterophylla
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is the dried root tuber of the Caryophyllaceae plant Pseudostellaria heterophylla, and has the effects of tonifying qi and blood, promoting fluid production, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. It is suitable for weak conditions such as persistent summer fever in children, poor appetite, lung deficiency, cough, palpitations, as well as weakness and fatigue after illness in children, spontaneous sweating, night sweats, and thirst. It is distributed in Guizhou, Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and other provinces. It is currently cultivated throughout the country. It is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and has now been included by the Ministry of Health in the “List of Chinese Medicinal Materials Usable for Health Foods”. It can be said that Pseudostellaria heterophylla is a Chinese medicinal material that is both medicinal and edible. As people's demands for food have increased day by day in recent years, Chinese medicinal materials such as Pseudostellaria heterophylla will surely shine brightly.
Overview of Pseudostellaria heterophylla
1. Introduction to Pseudostellaria heterophylla
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is also known as Hai'er Shen, Tong Shen, Shuang Pi Qi, Si Ye Shen, and Mi Shen. It is mainly produced in Guizhou, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui and other places. Among them, the Pseudostellaria heterophylla produced in Zherong County, Fujian, is the most famous, and it is now cultivated throughout the country.
2. Origin of the name
During the Spring and Autumn period, the son of the King of Zheng was 5 years old, naturally intelligent, able to distinguish loyalty from treachery, and deeply loved by the king. However, this prince had a delicate constitution and fell ill from time to time, and the imperial physicians in the palace repeatedly treated him without effect. Later, the king posted a notice widely seeking tonic medicines and offered a heavy reward. For a time, people came in an endless stream from various places to present treasures and recommend physicians, but all the medicines used were ginseng-type tonics, and none worked. One day, a white-haired old man tore down the notice and presented medicine, claiming that he was not doing it for the reward, but truly for the prince's noble health and the great affairs of the state. The king said to the old man: “Your sincerity is evident, but if the medicine is not effective, I fear you may be guilty of deceiving your superior.” The old man laughed and said: “The prince's noble body is young and tender, and cannot tolerate strong tonics; it requires gradual and steady treatment. I have a medicine that will surely show effect after 100 days of use.” So the prince followed the method and took the slender, yellow-white grass root offered by the old man. Three months later, his body indeed became full and plump, and he did not contract illness. At this point, the king began to believe what the old man had said. In great joy, he conferred the title of crown prince on his son, and then hurriedly sought the old man to grant him rewards, but the old man was already hard to find. The king asked what the medicine offered by the old man was called, and everyone shook their heads, not knowing. A close minister advised: The medicine has the nature of ginseng-type medicines and saved the crown prince's body, so let it be called Tai Zi Shen (Crown Prince Ginseng). Thus, the fine name “Tai Zi Shen” spread from this.
3. Morphological characteristics
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is a perennial herb, 15-20 cm tall. Underground there is a fleshy, upright spindle-shaped root tuber, with fibrous roots sparsely growing around it. The stem is single, unbranched, purple in the lower part, nearly square, green in the upper part, cylindrical, with obviously swollen nodes, smooth and hairless. The leaves are simple and opposite; the leaves in the lower part of the stem are the smallest, oblanceolate, with pointed tips, gradually narrowing at the base into a petiole, entire, gradually enlarging upward, and the leaves at the top of the stem are the largest, usually two pairs closely arranged in a whorl-like arrangement of 4 leaves, long ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 4-9 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, with acuminate tips, narrowed at the base into a petiole, with sparse hairs on the veins on the back of the leaves, and margins slightly wavy. There are two flower types: the flowers near the ground are small and are cleistogamous flowers. The pedicel is purple with short pubescence, the sepals are 4, purple on the back, white and membranous at the margins, without petals; the flowers at the top of the stem are larger and open, with slender pedicels, 1-2 (-4) cm long, with short pubescence, upright at flowering, drooping after flowering, sepals 5, lanceolate, green, with long hairs on the back and margins; petals 5, white, with the apex shallowly toothed, 2-lobed or obtuse; stamens 10; ovary ovate, styles 3. The capsule is nearly spherical. There are a few seeds, brown, flattened round or oblong-reniform, with wart-like protrusions. The flowering period is April, and the fruiting period is May-June.
4. Physiological characteristics
Pseudostellaria heterophylla likes to grow in a warm and humid environment and fears high temperatures; growth and development stop above 30°C. It fears strong light and exposure, and is likely to die under the scorching sun. It is relatively cold-resistant. It can overwinter safely at -17°C. Under low-temperature conditions, it can also germinate and take root. It grows well under shady and moist conditions, prefers fertile, loose soil rich in humus, and grows well in sandy soil. It grows poorly in waterlogged lowlands, clay loam, compact soil, soil with poor drainage, soil with little humus, and barren soil.
5. Medicinal material properties
The dried root tuber of Pseudostellaria heterophylla is slender and strip-shaped or long spindle-shaped, about 2-6 cm long and about 3-6 mm in diameter, yellow-white on the surface, semi-transparent, with fine wrinkles and sunken fibrous root scars; the root head is bluntly rounded, often with residual stem scars on it, and the lower end gradually narrows like a rat tail. It is brittle and easy to break; the broken surface is yellow-white and bright, while the surface of the directly sun-dried one is white, farinaceous, with a slight odor and a slightly sweet taste. Those that are plump and moist, yellow-white, and without fibrous roots are considered best. The cortical parenchyma cells are in several layers and mostly tangentially elongated. The phloem is narrow; the phloem rays are wide. The cambium ring is obvious. The xylem occupies most of the root; the xylem rays are very broad; the vessels are single and scattered or in bundles of 2-3, arranged radially; the primary xylem is 3-4 protostelic. The parenchyma cells of this product are filled with starch grains, and some contain calcium oxalate cluster crystals, 12-60 μm in diameter, more easily observed in the xylem.
6. Industry development prospects
As a Chinese medicinal material used both as medicine and food, Pseudostellaria heterophylla can be used both in medicinal combinations and as an excellent food therapy product. More famous examples include stewed free-range chicken with Pseudostellaria heterophylla, stewed venison with Pseudostellaria heterophylla and white fungus, and Astragalus, red date and Pseudostellaria heterophylla soup, and so on. Pseudostellaria heterophylla has a mild medicinal nature, can strengthen the body, and improve immunity. It is especially suitable for children. At present, the relatively famous and large-scale Pseudostellaria heterophylla industrial bases in the country include Zherong Pseudostellaria heterophylla and Niudachang Town Pseudostellaria heterophylla. The national price of Pseudostellaria heterophylla uses the price of Zherong Pseudostellaria heterophylla as the benchmark. With the development of the Pseudostellaria heterophylla industry, deep processing of Pseudostellaria heterophylla, such as decoction pieces, extracts, and edible Pseudostellaria heterophylla, has also made considerable progress. As a traditional Chinese medicinal material, Pseudostellaria heterophylla was mainly circulated as a medicinal material in the past. At present, some Pseudostellaria heterophylla processing enterprises have set their sights on foreign markets. It is believed that in the near future Pseudostellaria heterophylla will go abroad and make its due contribution to the modernization of traditional Chinese medicinal materials.