What is Dendrobium officinale? Get to know this precious Chinese medicinal herb

Dendrobium officinale is a precious Chinese medicinal herb, also known as black-joint grass, Yunnan iron bark, iron bark dou, and so on. It is praised as the first of the "nine great immortal herbs." There is an old saying: "In the north there is ginseng, in the south there is fengdou," and the parent plant of fengdou is Dendrobium officinale. After processing, the dried product is called Dendrobium fengdou. Let us take a look below at what exactly Dendrobium officinale is!

What is Dendrobium officinale?

Dendrobium officinale is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Dendrobium in the orchid family. It is distributed in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and other places in China. Its stems are used as medicine and have the effects of benefiting the stomach and promoting fluid production, nourishing yin, and clearing heat. Its medicinal components are mainly dendrobium polysaccharides, dendrobine, and total amino acids, among others. It can improve human immune capacity, enhance memory, tonify the five viscera in cases of deficiency and exhaustion, resist aging, inhibit tumors, improve symptoms of diabetes, and resist hypoxia, and it also has significant effects for those undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, those with excessive nightlife, and those who overuse tobacco and alcohol.

What effects does Dendrobium officinale have?

1. Nourishing yin and body fluids: Dendrobium officinale has the effect of moistening the body, viscera, brain marrow, and bones, and inhibiting hyperactive yang and internal fire. Yin fluids are the material basis of human life activities, so it can fundamentally solve the problem of insufficient yin fluids in the human body.

2. Nourishing yin and blood: Dendrobium officinale has the function of nourishing yin and blood, and the rich polysaccharides it contains have the effect of enhancing immune function, and can enhance the phagocytic ability of peritoneal macrophages toward chicken red blood cells.

3. Tonifying the spleen and stomach: Dendrobium officinale has a relatively good inhibitory effect on Helicobacter pylori, a common pathogenic bacterium in spleen and stomach diseases. At the same time, it can promote the secretion of gastric juice, enhance gastric emptying capacity, and help digestion.

4. Protecting the liver and promoting gallbladder function: Physicians through the ages have all considered Dendrobium officinale to have the effect of nourishing liver yin, and it can be used to treat liver and gallbladder diseases such as hepatitis, cholecystitis, and gallstones.

5. Clearing and reducing deficient heat: Dendrobium officinale has the effect of clearing and reducing deficient heat. Compared with ordinary heat-clearing drugs, the deficient heat it clears is completely a type of deficient heat, characterized by yin deficiency and excess heat.

6. Strengthening sinews and bones: Dendrobium officinale can nourish yin fluids, and yin fluids can lubricate joints, thereby achieving the effects of strengthening sinews and bones, making joints flexible, and enhancing resistance to rheumatism.

7. Inhibiting tumors: Dendrobium officinale has relatively strong antitumor activity. Used as adjuvant therapy for malignant tumors, it can improve the symptoms of tumor patients, reduce the side effects of radiotherapy (chemotherapy), enhance immunity, and improve quality of life.

8. Brightening the eyes: Dendrobium officinale has the function of nourishing yin and nourishing the eyes. It has been regarded by physicians through the ages as an excellent product for eye care, and it has a delaying effect on the prevention and treatment of cataracts, a common eye disease in the elderly.

9. Prolonging life: Dendrobium officinale contains a variety of trace elements. These trace elements are closely related to human health and longevity, and its anti-aging effect on the human body is broader and more comprehensive than that of ordinary drugs.

How is Dendrobium officinale best eaten?

1. Eaten fresh

[How to eat] Take some fresh Dendrobium officinale, wash it, and chew it carefully in the mouth. It tastes sweet and slightly sticky, fresh and refreshing, and the remaining residue can simply be swallowed.

[Effects] Strengthens yin and benefits essence, stimulates appetite and strengthens the spleen.

2. Decocted as soup

[How to eat] Wash and chop or crush it, add water, put it in a pot, and first decoct over gentle heat for 30 minutes. Then add 1 to 2 grams of American ginseng and decoct for another 30 minutes. It can be decocted repeatedly and eaten together with the residue.

[Effects] Tonifies deficiency and nourishes yin, clears heat.

3. Brewed as tea

[How to eat] After washing, cut into thin slices, brew with boiling water, and drink. It can be brewed repeatedly and eaten together with the residue.

[Effects] Stimulates appetite and strengthens the spleen, reduces internal heat and regulates qi, and has a significant effect on chronic pharyngitis.

4. Made into paste

[How to eat] Wash and chop or crush it, optionally add other Chinese medicinal materials, add water, and decoct the juice. Decoct twice, discard the residue, then concentrate over low heat, add rock sugar, and continue simmering into a paste for consumption.

[Effects] Has significant effects on symptoms such as strain and weakness, multiple joint pains, physical fatigue, and excessive night sweats.

5. Soaked in alcohol

[How to eat] Wash, chop, and crush it, then soak it alone or together with other materials in alcohol above 40 degrees. It can be consumed after 3 months.

[Effects] Tonifies the kidneys and nourishes yin, generates essence and dispels wind.

6. Used in meals

[How to eat] Wash and chop or crush it, and stew it over gentle heat for 2 to 3 hours together with ingredients such as chicken and duck. Alternatively, decoct it over gentle heat, take the juice, and add it to other ingredients to make porridge, soup, or broth.

[Effects] Nourishes yin and promotes fluid production, and treats common symptoms of physical deficiency such as deficient heat, slight sweating, and soreness and pain in the sinews and bones.