What Medicinal Herb Is Huangjing? A Detailed Guide
Huangjing, also known as zhuazishen, laohujiang, jizhuashen and other names, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonatum in the Liliaceae family. It often grows under forest canopy, in thickets or on shady hillsides, and is distributed in Northeast China, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang and other places. Let us take a look below at what medicinal herb huangjing is!
What Medicinal Herb Is Huangjing?
Huangjing is a tonic medicinal herb. Huangjing is the dried rhizome of the Liliaceae plants Polygonatum kingianum, Polygonatum sibiricum or Polygonatum cyrtonema. According to differences in shape, it is customarily called "large huangjing", "chicken-head huangjing" and "ginger-shaped huangjing". It has the effects of tonifying qi and nourishing yin, strengthening the spleen and moistening the lungs, and benefiting the kidneys. It is often used for spleen-stomach qi deficiency, physical fatigue and weakness, stomach yin insufficiency, dry mouth and reduced appetite, lung deficiency with dry cough, consumptive cough with blood-streaked sputum, insufficiency of essence and blood, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, premature graying of beard and hair, internal heat and wasting-thirst, and other conditions.
What Types of Huangjing Are There?
1. Polygonatum kingianum: Polygonatum kingianum is produced in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, growing under forest canopy, in thickets or on shady damp grassy slopes, sometimes on rocks, and is also distributed in Vietnam and Myanmar.
2. Polygonatum sibiricum: Polygonatum sibiricum is produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Anhui and Zhejiang, growing under forest canopy, in thickets or on shady hillsides.
3. Polygonatum cyrtonema: Polygonatum cyrtonema is produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, growing under forest canopy, in thickets or on shady hillsides.
What Effects Does Huangjing Have?
1. Nourishing yin and moistening the lungs: Huangjing has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening the lungs and can be used to treat cough caused by lung yin and lung dryness. If combined with Fritillaria cirrhosa and Anemarrhena asphodeloides, the effect will be better.
2. Tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi: Huangjing has the effect of tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi. Used together with Codonopsis pilosula and Atractylodes macrocephala, it can treat poor appetite and weak pulse caused by spleen deficiency.
3. Tonifying and benefiting the kidneys: Huangjing has the effect of tonifying and benefiting the kidneys and has a very good effect on treating soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, premature graying of beard and hair, wasting-thirst and other conditions caused by kidney deficiency and essence depletion.
4. Delaying aging: Huangjing has the effect of delaying aging. Feeding silkworm larvae a huangjing decoction at a concentration of 20% can prolong the larval stage of silkworms.
5. Inhibiting bacteria and preventing disease: Huangjing has antibacterial and antimicrobial effects, can relieve conditions caused by skin fungi, can strengthen myocardial function, and can prevent the occurrence of some cardiovascular system diseases.
6. Enhancing immunity: Huangjing can affect cellular immunity and humoral immunity, increase the transformation rate of lymphocytes, accelerate antibody formation, and effectively improve immune capacity.
How to Consume Huangjing
1. Huangjing and Goji Berry Soup
[Ingredients] 12 grams each of huangjing and goji berries.
[Directions] Put both ingredients into a clay pot, add water and decoct for 30 minutes, then strain the liquid. Take 1 dose daily, divided into 2 warm servings.
[Effects] Treats weakness after illness and surgery, neurasthenia, anemia and other conditions.
2. Huangjing and Lean Pork Congee
[Ingredients] 15 grams of huangjing, 30 grams of lean pork, 50 grams of japonica rice.
[Directions] Add water to the three ingredients and cook into congee. Eat every morning and evening.
[Effects] Tonifies the spleen and benefits qi, nourishes the lungs and moistens dryness, and promotes longevity.
3. Rock Sugar Huangjing Soup
[Ingredients] 30 grams of huangjing, 50 grams of rock sugar.
[Directions] Soak the huangjing in cold water until softened, add rock sugar, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Take twice daily.
[Effects] Nourishes yin and moistens the lungs.