What are the effects and functions of Chinese honey locust thorn?
Chinese honey locust thorn, also known as Gleditsia sinensis thorn, honey locust thorn and Tianding, is the dried thorn of the leguminous plant Gleditsia sinensis and can be harvested throughout the year. As a medicine it has the effects of reducing swelling and drawing out toxins, discharging pus and killing parasites, and it is used to treat conditions such as carbuncles, swellings and toxic sores, scrofula, sore eruptions and stubborn tinea, postpartum insufficient lactation, retained placenta, and leprosy. Let us take a look at the effects and functions of Chinese honey locust thorn below!
The medicinal effects of Chinese honey locust thorn
[Nature and flavor] Pungent in flavor, warm in nature.
[Meridians entered] Liver and Stomach meridians.
[Effects] Reducing swelling and drawing out toxins, discharging pus and killing parasites; mainly treats carbuncles, swellings and toxic sores, scrofula, sore eruptions and stubborn tinea, postpartum insufficient lactation, retained placenta, and leprosy.
Related discussions on Chinese honey locust thorn
1. "Introduction to Medicine": Gleditsia sinensis thorn, for all carbuncles that have not yet ruptured, can open the orifices; for those already ruptured, it can guide medicine to the site of the sore. It is indeed a key medicine for all malignant sores, tinea and leprosy.
2. "Compendium of Materia Medica": Gleditsia sinensis thorn treats wind and kills parasites; its function is the same as that of the pod, but it differs in that its sharpness reaches directly to the site of disease.
3. "Collected Sayings on Materia Medica": Gleditsia sinensis thorn draws out toxins and expels wind. For all carbuncles not yet formed, it can guide them to disperse; for those about to rupture, it can guide them to come to a head; for those already ulcerated, it can guide them to discharge pus. Among medicines for sore toxins it is the foremost essential remedy.
The pharmacological effects of Chinese honey locust thorn
1. Anticancer effect: In in vitro tests, the hot water extract showed an inhibition rate of 50-70% against JTC-26. In in vivo experiments, it had inhibitory activity against mouse sarcoma-180. The decoction, using the plate well method, had an inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus and Neisseria catarrhalis. The water infusion at 60 g/kg by gavage showed an inhibition rate of 32.8% against sarcoma-180.
2. Antibacterial effect: Chinese honey locust thorn can inhibit or kill various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. A 3% water decoction of Chinese honey locust thorn has an antibacterial effect on Nocardia asteroides and others. Testing by the agar plate well method showed that the decoction of Chinese honey locust thorn has an inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria catarrhalis and others, and the phage screening method indicated that Chinese honey locust thorn has anti-phage activity. Chinese honey locust thorn can also act against Mycobacterium leprae and is used externally to treat leprosy.
3. Immunomodulatory effect: Studies have shown that Chinese honey locust thorn can regulate the immune system in the body. The ethanol extract of Chinese honey locust thorn was administered to broiler chickens to observe its effect on their immune function. The results showed that the low-dose group of the ethanol extract of Chinese honey locust thorn significantly increased the transformation rates of T and B lymphocytes in broiler chickens, had a promoting effect on the immune system, and also promoted growth, but the high-dose group had the opposite effect.
4. Anti-allergic effect: Chinese honey locust thorn can also inhibit mast cell-dependent allergic reactions. The water extract of Chinese honey locust thorn can inhibit systemic anaphylaxis in rats, and also significantly inhibit local allergic reactions sensitized by anti-DNP IgE. The latest research found that this effect is achieved by inhibiting the release of histamine from mast cells.
5. Anticoagulant effect: The water decoction of Chinese honey locust thorn significantly prolongs clotting time in mice. In in vitro experiments, the water decoction of Chinese honey locust thorn significantly inhibited platelet aggregation in rabbits and significantly reduced the weight of arteriovenous thrombi in rats. At the same time, a single gavage of 15 g/kg significantly prolonged plasma recalcification clotting time, prothrombin time, kaolin partial thromboplastin time and thrombin time in rabbits, and enhanced plasma antithrombin activity.
6. Other effects: Chinese honey locust thorn can lower blood lipids, treat facial nerve paralysis, neuropathic headache and trigeminal neuralgia caused by various etiologies, and can also treat chronic functional constipation, breast hyperplasia, ectopic pregnancy, infertility due to fallopian tube obstruction, severe acne and others.
Medicinal selected formulas of Chinese honey locust thorn
1. To treat malignant carbuncles, whether erupting externally or internally, about to rupture but not yet ruptured: if located outside on the limbs, shoulders, back, abdomen or exterior, there is severe pain and great swelling; if located internally in the chest, diaphragm, waist, flanks, abdomen, intestines or stomach, there is severe pain and great distension: Gleditsia sinensis thorn flying tips 1 liang; frankincense, myrrh, Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum chuanxiong and licorice 2 qian each; Angelica dahurica, trichosanthes root and honeysuckle 5 qian each. Use 2 bowls each of water and wine, and decoct to 1.5 bowls. If the toxin is above, take after meals; if the toxin is in the middle, take when half full; if the toxin is below, take on an empty stomach. If not yet formed, it can be dispersed; if already formed, it will rupture.
2. To treat hemorrhoids with incessant itching and pain at the anal margin: Gleditsia sinensis thorn 2 liang (burned until smoke ceases), Ailanthus altissima bark 1 liang (lightly roasted), Saposhnikovia divaricata 1 liang (remove the reed head), red peony root 1 liang, bitter orange 1 liang (stir-fried with bran until slightly yellow, remove the pulp). Grind the above medicines and sift into powder. Use 1 jin of strong vinegar, boil half of it into a paste, then add the remaining medicine and mix into pills the size of small beans. Before each meal, take 20 pills with decocted Saposhnikovia divaricata soup.
3. To treat breast carbuncle in women: Chinese honey locust thorn (burned to preserve its nature) 1 liang, clam shell powder 1 qian. Mix and grind; take 1 qian each time with warm wine.
4. To treat sores without a head: Chinese honey locust thorn (dried in the shade and burned to ash), make into powder; take 3 qian each time, mixed with wine, chew three to five mallow seeds, and send down with the aforementioned medicine.
5. To treat cancerous and malignant sores: Chinese honey locust thorn (burned to preserve its nature, ground) and a little Bletilla striata, make into powder and apply.
6. To treat sores growing in the abdomen in the intestines and viscera: Chinese honey locust thorn, any amount, with 1 bowl of good wine, decoct to seven parts, and take warm. Those who do not drink alcohol may decoct in water instead.
7. To treat urinary strangury and retention: Chinese honey locust thorn (burned to preserve its nature) and Psoralea corylifolia in equal parts. Make into powder and take with ash-free wine.
8. To treat retained placenta: Chinese honey locust thorn burned into powder; take 1 qian each time, mixed with warm wine.
9. To treat sublingual swelling in children: Chinese honey locust thorn ash, add a little mirabilite or borneol, rinse the mouth, and apply under the tongue; when saliva comes out, it will resolve on its own.