What are the value and dietary precautions of Qingyu Dancao?

Modern society is developing rapidly, and medical technology is constantly surpassing people's imagination; its level of advancement was something people never imagined in earlier years. Western medicine is extremely widespread. Nowadays, no matter what illness people have, their first reaction is to see a Western medicine doctor and take Western medicine, while neglecting our long-inherited traditional Chinese medicine. Although treating illness with Chinese medicine takes a longer time, its curative effects are obvious to all. The Qingyu Dancao introduced today is a very common example of a medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It can be seen everywhere in our daily lives. Do not be misled by its name; it has nothing to do with black carp.

Plant morphology of Qingyu Dancao

Qingyu Dancao is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb often used in our lives. It is also called Dancao, Duiyelin, and Chouinicao. It is often seen in shaded, damp places by the roadside. It is the whole plant of Crananthus, a plant in the Gentianaceae family. Crananthus is a perennial trailing herb, with slender stems, opposite leaves, papery, ovate-lanceolate, 4-7 cm long and 1.2-2.3 cm wide, acuminate at the apex, rounded at the base, entire, dark green; 3 main veins are obvious. Flowers are axillary; the calyx tube is 5-lobed, with triangular-lanceolate lobes; the corolla is campanulate, 5-lobed, pale purple, with accessory lobes between the lobes. The berry is oblong-spherical, 1.5 cm long, red-purple, with a long stalk, exceeding the persistent calyx. The flowering period is in autumn.

Medicinal material identification

The whole plant is twining. The stems are slender and nearly circular, with a yellow-green or purplish surface, bearing fine ridges, and internodes 7-14 cm long. The leaves are opposite and mostly shrunken. When complete specimens are flattened, they are ovate-lanceolate or long ovate, 4-8 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, acuminate at the apex, cordate or rounded at the base, entire, with 3 veins. Sometimes flowers or residual calyx can be seen in the leaf axils. The flowers are pale purple, and the calyx tube is winged. The odor is slight, and the taste is slightly bitter.

Medicinal value

Functions and indications: The effects of Qingyu Dancao are clearing heat, strengthening the spleen, and clearing the lungs to relieve cough. It treats jaundice, wind-heat cough, rheumatism, and ascariasis.

Selected formulas:

① To treat jaundice: three liang of Qingyu Dancao root, decocted in water and taken. ② To treat wind-heat cough: one to two liang of fresh Qingyu Dancao, stewed with pork and eaten. ③ To treat rheumatism: five liang of Qingyu Dancao root, soaked in wine and taken; the vine can also be decocted in water for fumigation and washing. ④ To expel roundworms: five qian of Qingyu Dancao, three qian of Yuzhu, and a handful of rice. Cook into porridge and eat it in two portions. ④ To treat acute throat obstruction: one qian each of large Qingyu Dancao gall (dried on a new tile, membrane removed and ground into powder), snake slough (sand and soil removed, burned to ash in a bowl, ground extremely fine), and Baiyaozi (dried on a new tile), and one liang each of white stiff silkworm (straight ones, silk and mouth removed, dried on a new tile) and white alum (calcined in an iron pan and retained in nature). Grind all the above into fine powder, then mix and grind evenly in a mortar. Use half a qian each time and blow it into the throat. If the illness is mild, finely cut the flesh of aged white salted plum, add it to the above medicine and pound evenly, make pills the size of a large chicken head, and take one pill each time, holding it in the mouth to dissolve and swallowing the saliva. If the white plum is slightly dry and hard, soak it in hot water until soft, take the flesh, and cut it finely for use. ⑤ To treat malignant sores and white ringworm: Qingyu Dancao, Mubiezi, and Niu'er Dahuang. Grind together into fine powder, mix evenly, and apply.

Precautions

The benefits of Qingyu Dancao are those described above. Qingyu Dancao is a treasure and has very good effects on jaundice, roundworms, cough, and so on. However, we know that Qingyu Dancao is a cold-natured medicinal herb, so women who are still in their menstrual period should not take it, to avoid interruption of menstruation, and pregnant women should also not take it for the safety of the fetus.

Everything has two sides, and we have heard family teach us since childhood that every medicine has some toxicity. Therefore, even for Chinese medicines that are purely plant-based, when taking them, we must keep the doctor's advice firmly in mind, understand the precautions well, and never be careless. Life is truly precious; do not lose your life because of your own negligence. Usually, when we are sick and want to use Chinese medicine for treatment, we must also make detailed inquiries beforehand. Do not control the dosage and usage according to your own wishes; this is a very dangerous thing. After all, you are not a professional, and you cannot joke about such an important matter.

The above is the relevant introduction in this article. I believe that after reading it, you also have a simple understanding of this. If needed, you can continue to follow No. 1 Home Network to learn more information.