What are the effects and uses of Malva nut?
Malva nut, also known as Annanzi, Dadongguo, Dahailan, etc., is the dried ripe seed of the plant Malva nut (Scaphium affine) of the Sterculiaceae family, Sterculia genus. It has the effects of clearing heat and moistening the lungs, soothing the throat and restoring voice, and moistening the intestines to relieve constipation. It can be used for hoarseness due to lung heat, dry cough without phlegm, dry and painful throat, constipation due to heat accumulation, headache and red eyes. It can lower blood pressure and moisten the throat to resolve phlegm. Let's take a look at the effects and uses of Malva nut below!
Medicinal Effects of Malva Nut
[Nature and Flavor] Sweet in flavor, cold in nature.
[Meridians Entered] Lung and Large Intestine meridians.
[Effects] Clears heat and moistens the lungs, soothes the throat and restores voice, moistens the intestines to relieve constipation. Mainly treats hoarseness due to lung heat, dry cough without phlegm, dry and painful throat, constipation due to heat accumulation, headache and red eyes.
Pharmacological Effects of Malva Nut
1. Purgative effect: The seed infusion of Malva nut has a mild laxative effect on rabbits, because it can increase intestinal content volume (increasing volume to 8 times that of agar), causing mechanical stimulation and resulting in mild laxation. When the outer skin, soft shell, and kernel of Malva nut are separately soaked and extracted in water, for anesthetized dogs, regardless of the administration method, all can significantly increase intestinal peristalsis (the kernel has the strongest effect, the soft shell is next, and the outer layer is the weakest). This effect can be antagonized by atropine. A 1:400,000 infusion of the kernel increases the peristalsis of isolated rabbit intestine, while the other two layers show no significant effect.
2. Blood pressure-lowering effect: The kernel of Malva nut (defatted dry powder) made into a 25% solution, administered intravenously, intramuscularly, or orally, can significantly lower the blood pressure of dogs and cats. Further experiments show that its blood pressure-lowering principle may be related to the central nervous system. The water infusion of Malva nut kernel has a blood pressure-lowering effect on anesthetized dogs, but raises blood pressure in rabbits (the effective dose in rabbits is 10 times larger than in dogs). The different effects on dog and rabbit blood pressure can both be sensitized by histamine.
3. Other effects: The water-soaked extracts of the outer skin, soft shell, and kernel of Malva nut all have certain diuretic and analgesic effects, with the kernel being the strongest. None of the three have local irritant effects. In acute toxicity tests using Malva nut kernel (defatted dry powder), rabbits showed difficulty breathing and motor incoordination. After dogs were killed by continuous administration of large doses for 10-15 days, pulmonary congestion and edema, and fatty degeneration of the liver were observed. The oral median lethal dose in mice is 12.96 g/kg. When rabbits were intravenously injected with a large amount (1%, 2 mL) of Malva nut kernel water infusion, breathing stopped first while the heart was still beating, and the gastrointestinal surface was very red.
Medicinal Prescriptions of Malva Nut
1. For dry cough and loss of voice, dry and painful throat, and swollen and painful gums due to exogenous pathogens: five Malva nuts, one qian of licorice. Stew and drink as tea. A small amount of rock sugar may be added for the elderly and young.
2. For bloody stool: several Malva nuts, soaked in boiling water until expanded, remove the core, add rock sugar and take. Effective for bloody stool due to heat.
Medicinal Suitability and Contraindications of Malva Nut
1. Those with a cold should not use Malva nut.
2. When drinking Malva nut as a tea substitute, do not exceed 3 pieces each time to prevent poisoning.
3. There are counterfeit products of Malva nut, round-grained Sterculia lychnophora, which can also expand in water, but are not used as medicine. Please pay attention to identification.