CHINESE FOOD

Origin
Chinese Angelica is the dried root of Angelica sinensis ( Oliv. ) Diels. The drug is collected in late autumn, removed from rootlet and soil, sighlty dried and tied up in small bundle, placed on a shelf and smoke-dried.

Description and Identification
Somewhat cylindrical, 3 ~ 5 or more branched at the lower part, 15 ~ 25 cm long. Externally yellowish-brown to brown, longitudinally wrinkled and transversely lenticellate. Root stocks (Guitou) 1.5 ~ 4cm in diameter, annulated, apex obtuse and rounded, showing purple or yellow-ish-greeen remains of stems and leaf sheaths; main roots ( Guishen ) lumpy on the surface; branching roots (Guiwei ) 0.3 ~ 1cm in diameter, the upper portion thick and the lower portion thin, mostly twisted and exhibiting a few rootlet scars. Texture flexible, fracture yellowish-white or yellowish-brown, bark thick , showing some clefts and nnumberous brown dotted secretory cavities , wood paler in colour, cambium ring yellowish-brown. Odour, strongly aromatic; taste, sweet pungent and slightly bitter.
It is not used medicinally if the roots becomes woody, withered and not oily, or greenish-brown on the fracture.

Chemical ingredients
Essential oil: ligustilide, ferulic acid, Grdoratan, phospholipid.

Property and channel tropisrn
Property: pungent and sweet in taste, warm in nature. Channel tropisrn: liver, heart, spleen.

Action and Indications
To enrich blood, activate blood circulation, regulate menstruation, relieve pain, and relax bowels. Radix Angelicae Sinensis ( stir-fried with wine):  Amenorrhea , dysmenorrhea , rheumatic arthralgia,traumatic injuries.

Place of Production
Gansu , Yunnan , Sichuan, Shan’ xi are the main places of production. Mingxian in Gansu province boasts the largest output and highest quality.

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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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Donkey-hide Glue (Ejiao)

Origin

Donkey-hide Glue is the solid glue prepared from the skin of Equus asinus L. (Fam. Equidae ) by decoction and concentration.

Description and Identifications

In rectangular or square piece, dark-brown, lustrous. Texture hard and fragile, fracture lustrous, fragment brown translucent when looking against the light. Odour; taste, slightly sweet.

Chemical Ingredients

Almost of ingredients are protein, which are composing with collagen and its hydrolysate, and 16.43% ~ 16.54% nitrogen.

Property and Channel Tropism

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

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Origin

Heterophylly Falsestarwort Root is the dried tuber of Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Miq.) Pax ex Pax et Hoffm. The drug is collected in autumn when stem and leaf mostly withered, washed clean, removed from rootlet, treated with boiling water for a moment, then dried in the sun, or dried in the sun directly.

Description and Identification

Slenderly fusiform or slat-shaped, slightly curved, 3 ~ 10cm long, 2 ~ 6mm in diameter. Root-stock with stem scars, externally yellowish-white, relatively smooth but slightly wrinkled longitudinally, with rootlet scars at dent. Texture hard and fragile, fracture even, yellowish-white and horny, or whitish and starchy. Odour, slight; sweetish in taste.

Chemical Ingredients

palmitic acid, linoleic acid, glycerol 1-monolinolate; the others such as sugar, amino acid, and microelements, etc.

Property and Channel Tropism

Property: slightly bitter and sweet in taste; neutral in nature.
Channel tropism: spleen and lung.

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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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