What are the effects and functions of Siphonostegia chinensis?
Siphonostegia chinensis, also known by the names Liu Jinu, Tu Yinchen, Yinyanglian and others, is the whole plant of Siphonostegia chinensis, a plant in the genus Siphonostegia of the family Scrophulariaceae. Used as medicine, it has the effects of clearing heat and draining dampness, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and dispelling stasis and relieving pain. It has a therapeutic effect on icteric hepatitis, cholecystitis, favism, urinary tract stones, difficult urination, hematuria, bloody stool, postpartum blood stasis abdominal pain and other conditions. Let us take a look at the effects and functions of Siphonostegia chinensis below!
The medicinal effects of Siphonostegia chinensis
[Nature and flavor] Bitter in flavor, cold in nature.
[Meridians entered] Spleen, stomach, liver and gallbladder meridians.
[Effects] Clearing heat and draining dampness, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, dispelling stasis and relieving pain. It mainly treats icteric hepatitis, cholecystitis, favism, urinary tract stones, difficult urination, hematuria, bloody stool, and postpartum blood stasis abdominal pain; for external use it treats traumatic bleeding, burns and scalds.
Related discussions on Siphonostegia chinensis
1. "Rihua Zi Bencao": Treats heart and abdominal pain, directs qi downward for water swelling and blood qi, unblocks women's abdominal masses, and stops cholera and watery diarrhea.
2. "Bencao Jingshu": Bitter can descend, pungent and warm can free the flow; blood moves when it gets heat, so it can govern breaking blood and reducing distention. People of old called it an essential medicine for incised wounds, and it also treats lingering postpartum diseases, stopping bleeding and relieving pain, precisely because it moves blood swiftly.
The pharmacological actions of Siphonostegia chinensis
1. Liver-protecting and cholagogic action: When the water decoction of Siphonostegia chinensis was given to mice by gavage at 10 g/kg and 5 g/kg, with liver injury caused by carbon tetrachloride, the two dosage groups could lower serum ALT, showing a significant difference compared with the control group. Gavage administration of concentrated decoction of Siphonostegia chinensis had an obvious cholagogic effect on anesthetized dogs and rats.
2. Lowering serum cholesterol: The water decoction of Siphonostegia chinensis, given by gavage at 10 g/kg, has an obvious effect of lowering serum cholesterol in normal mice.
3. Antibacterial action: The water decoction of Siphonostegia chinensis has varying degrees of antibacterial action in test tubes against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus anthracis, beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Shigella.
Medicinal selected prescriptions of Siphonostegia chinensis
1. Icteric hepatitis: Siphonostegia chinensis, Hypericum and Selaginella tamariscina 50 g each, old radish root 9 g. Decoct in water and take.
2. Cholecystitis: Siphonostegia chinensis, Hypericum japonicum, Isatis leaf, Lygodium japonicum spore, Hedyotis diffusa and Cudrania cochinchinensis 15 g each. Decoct in water and take.
3. Burns and scalds: Siphonostegia chinensis and calamine in equal amounts. Grind together into fine powder, mix with an appropriate amount of sesame oil and apply to the affected area. Once daily.
4. For treating traumatic injuries with stasis, swelling and pain, it can be used alone as a powder taken with wine, or combined with Drynaria fortunei, Corydalis yanhusuo and others.
5. For treating blood stasis amenorrhea, it can be combined with peach kernel, angelica and Ligusticum chuanxiong.
6. For treating indigestible food accumulation with abdominal pain and diarrhea or dysentery, it can be decocted alone and taken, or combined with hawthorn, malt, chicken gizzard lining and Atractylodes macrocephala.