What is the difference between Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus? A quick guide to telling them apart
Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus are both common Chinese medicinal herbs. Scutellaria baicalensis is the root of the perennial herbaceous plant Scutellaria baicalensis in the Lamiaceae family, genus Scutellaria, while Astragalus membranaceus is a plant in the Fabaceae family, genus Astragalus. Although their names differ by only one character, their effects, indications and properties are completely opposite. Let us take a look at their differences below!
Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus have different alternative names
1. Scutellaria baicalensis: Scutellaria baicalensis is also known as shancha gen, tujincha gen and so on, and is produced in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Shandong, Sichuan and other places.
2. Astragalus membranaceus: Astragalus membranaceus is also known as mianqi, huangqi, dushen, shuzhi, baiben, baiyaomian, huangshen, xueshen, renxian and so on, and is produced in Northeast China, North China and Northwest China.
The morphological differences between Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus
1. Scutellaria baicalensis: Scutellaria baicalensis is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Lamiaceae family, genus Scutellaria, with a thick fleshy rhizome, firm papery leaves that are lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, terminal racemes on stems and branches, corollas purple, purplish-red to blue, flattened filaments, a slender style, an annular disc, a brown ovary, and ovoid nutlets, with the flowering and fruiting period from July to September.
2. Astragalus membranaceus: Astragalus membranaceus is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae family, genus Astragalus, with pinnately compound leaves, 13-27 leaflets, 5-10 cm long, petioles 0.5-1 cm long, slightly dense racemes with 10-20 flowers, the peduncle nearly equal to or longer than the leaves and noticeably elongated by the fruiting stage, membranous slightly inflated pods, semi-elliptic, 20-30 mm long and 8-12 mm wide, with a pointed tip at the apex, 3-8 seeds, flowering from June to August and fruiting from July to September.
The differences in effects between Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus
1. Scutellaria baicalensis: Scutellaria baicalensis is bitter in taste and cold in nature, entering the Heart, Lung, Gallbladder and Large Intestine meridians, and has the effects of clearing heat and drying dampness, purging fire and detoxifying, and stopping bleeding and calming the fetus. It mainly treats warm-heat diseases, upper respiratory tract infections, cough due to lung heat, damp-heat jaundice, pneumonia, dysentery, coughing blood, red eyes, restlessness of the fetus, high blood pressure, carbuncles, swellings, boils and sores and other conditions.
2. Astragalus membranaceus: Astragalus membranaceus is sweet in taste and warm in nature, entering the Lung meridian, and has the effects of protecting the defensive qi and securing the exterior, tonifying qi and raising yang, expelling toxins and promoting tissue regeneration, and promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It mainly treats qi deficiency and fatigue, poor appetite and loose stools, sinking of middle qi, chronic diarrhea and prolapsed rectum, spontaneous sweating and night sweats, blood deficiency and sallow complexion, yin-type abscesses with diffuse swelling, qi deficiency edema, internal heat and wasting-thirst and other conditions.
Having read this far, everyone probably has some understanding of the differences between Scutellaria baicalensis and Astragalus membranaceus. In fact, they are basically two different Chinese medicinal herbs, opposite in nature and flavor and basically opposite in clinical application, completely different. When using them, everyone must look carefully, for although their names differ by only one character, they are far apart.