CHINESE FOOD

Origin

Siberian Solomonseal Rhizome is the dried rhizome of Polygonatum kingianum Coll.et Hemsl., Polygonatum sibiricum Red. or Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua. According to shape, these are commonly known as ” Dahuangjing” , ” Jitouhuangjing” , and ” Jiangxinghuangjing” . The drug is collected in spring and autumn,removed from the fibrous root,washed clean,blanched in boiling water or steamed to soften, and dried.

Description and Identification

Dahuangjing: Freshy tuberculated,up to more than 10cm long, 3 ~ 6cm wide,2 ~ 3cm thick. Externallt pale yellow to yelloish-brown,with ring-shaped nodes,striatums and fibrous toot scars, the upper part od modes showing lateral stem scars orbiculate with sunken circumference and prominent in centre. Texture hard and tenacious,uneasily broken,francture horny,pale yellow to yellowish-brown. Odour, slight; taste, sweet, and viscous on chewing.

Jitouhuangjiang: Tubercles curved and cylindrical,3 ~ 10cm long,0.5 ~ 1.5cm diameter. Node 2 ~4cm long,somewhtat concial,often branched; externally yellowish-white or greyish-white, ranslucent with longitudinal wrinkles, round stem scars 5 ~ 8mm in diameter.

Jiangxinhuangjing: Elongated tubercles,varying in length,often connected in groups of several tubercles. Externally greyish-yellow or yellowish-brown, rough, bearing prominent and orbiculate stem scars on the upper part of nodes ,0.8-1.5cm in diameter.

Not to be used as a drug if it tastes bitter.

Chemical Ingredients

It has steroidal saponins such as sibiricoside A, 14 a -hydroxysibiricoside A.

Property and Channel Tropism

Property: sweet in taste, neutral in nature.
Channel tropism: spleen, lung, kidney.

Action and Indications

To reinforce qi and nourish yin, to invigorate the function of the spleen, to moisten the lung, and to benefit the kidney.

Weakness of the spleen and the stomach marked by lassitude, dryness in the mouth nad anorexia; dry cough due to deficiency of yin of then lung; deficiency of vital essence and blood; diabetes caused by internal heat.

Place of Production

Polygonatum kingianum Coll.et Hemsl.: Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou Province Polygonatum sibiricum Red.: Hebei, Neimenggu, shaan xi province. Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua.: Anhui, Hunan, Guizhou Province, etc.

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Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes Chinese date, Chinese drugs, Dang shen, dietetic therapy, Fructus Lycii, Huang jing, pork, Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes

Origin
Black sesame is the dried ripe seed of Sesamum indicum L.The plant is collected in autumn when the fruit is ripe, dried in the sun. The drug is gathered, removed from foreign matter, and dried in the sun.

Description and Identification
Flattened-ovoid, about 3mm long, and 2mm wide. Externally black,smooth or reticulately wrinkled. A dotted brown raphe at the apex. Testa thin,cotyledons 2,white,oily. Odour weak; taste sweet, slightly oily,aromatic.

Chemical Ingredients
It mosdy has fattiness oil, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. In addition, it also has pedaliin, protein, lecithin, etc.

Property and Channel Tropism
Property: sweet in taste; neutral in nature.
Channel tropism: liver,kidney,large intestine.

Action and Indications
To tonify the liver and the kidney, to replenish vital essence and blood, and to relax the bowels. Dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, impaired hearing, premature greying of the hair and beard; loss of hair after a serious disease; constipation.

Place of Production
It is produced in Shangdong, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hebei, etc.

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Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes Chinese date, Chinese drugs, dietetic therapy, Fu ling, sesame, Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes

Origin
Lily bulb is the dried freshy scale leaf of Lilium lancifolium Thunb. , Lilium brownii F.E. Brown var. viridulun Baler or Lilium pumilum DC. The drug is collected in autumn, washed clean , heated with boiling water briefly, and dried.

Description and Identification
Elongated elliptical, 2 ~ 5cm long, 1 ~ 2cm wide, 3 ~ 4mm thick at middle. Externally whitish, pale brownish-yellow or purplish, with several longitudinal and paralled white vascular bundles. Apex somewhat acute, base relatively broad, margins thin, undulate, slightly curved inwards. Texture hard and fragile, fracutre relatively even, horny. Odourless; taste, slightly bitter.

Chemical Ingredients
It has phospholipids, alkaloid, aminophenol amylosx, and many kinds of microelement which are needed.

Property and Channel Tropism
Property: sweet and slightly bitter in taste, slightly cold in nature. Channel tropism: heart and lung

Action and Indication
To nourish yin and moisten the lung,and to tranquilize the mind.
Deficiency of yin with chronic cough and bloody sputum; fidgetness , palpitation , insomnia. Dream-disturbed sleep and absent-mindedness.

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Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes Chinese date, Chinese drugs, dietetic therapy, Ginseng, Lily, Yin-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes

Origin
Longan Aril is the of Dimocarpus lonhsn Lour ( Fam. Sapindaceae ). The drug is collected in summer and autumn when fruit is ripe, dried, removed from shell and nutlet, and dried in the sun until it becomes unsticky.

Description
Longitudinally broke and irregular slices, frequendy several slices agglutinated, about 1.5cm long, 2~4cm wide, about 1mm thick. Brown, translucent. One surface shrank, the other surface lustrous , with longitudinally fine wrinkles. Texture soft. Odour, slightly aromatic; taste, sweet.

Chemical Ingredients
Glucose; tartaric acid; saccharose; vitamin Bi,B2,P,C.

Property and Channel Tropism
Property: sweet in taste, warm in nature. Channel tropism: the heart and spleen

Action and Indication
To tonify the heart and the spleen to nourish blood, and to tranquilize the mind.
Cardiac palpitation, forgetfulness and insomnia due to deficiency of qi and blood; anemia.

Place of Production
Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Taiwan, etc.

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Blood-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes Blood-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes, Chinese date, Chinese drugs, dietetic therapy, Ginseng, Longan

Origin:

Honey is a saccharine fluid deposited by  Apis cerana Fabricius or Apis mellifera Linnaeus. The drug is collected from spring to autumn, and filtered.

Description and Indentification:

Translucent, lustrous and viscid, white to pale yellow or orange yellow to yellowish-hrown, white granular crystals gradually separated out on keeping or on cooling. Odour, aromatic, taste, very sweet.

Relative density Dissolve any crystal on a water bath at a temperature below 60C, if the crystal has separated out in the samples examined, mix well, cool to 25C and carry out the method for the determination of relative density, not less than 1.349.

Action and Indications:

To replenish the spleen and stomach, to relieve dryness, to alleviate pain, and to counteract toxicity.

Epigastric pain alleviated after meal or by pressing: dry coungh; constipation; external use for sores, scalds and burns.

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Qi-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes Chinese date, dietetic therapy, Honey, Qi-Nourishing Drugs and Recipes