Medicinal Herbs In Chinese Medicine

Herbology evolved into a healing art in China through observation and usage. This knowledge was compiled and passed down for refinement through the centuries. Herbs, like everything else in Chinese Medicine, are classified according to their energetic qualities and functions. They are defined with terms like warming, cooling, notifying or purging which describes the overall energetic configuration of the herb.

Chinese people often read of a particular herb's ability to make them thin, vital, or cure their illness. This in most cases is misleading and a partial truth. The claims made for energy enhancement or weight loss will rarely work for all body types. Different bodies are energetically different and do not have the same energetic needs. Also, many times an herb becomes well known or popular and consequently starts to show up as an ingredient in all sorts of products.

One such herb is ginseng. Ginseng is used to supplement energy. However, there are different qualities and types of ginseng. Certain varieties are appropriate for individuals that are weak, energetically cold and overall deficient. However, if the same herb is given to an individual considered energetically warm, it will exacerbate the condition. It could make that person restless or hyperactive.

The healing quality of an herb depends on many things: cultivation, harvesting, storage, selection, discernment of quality, and the different processing methods used. Processing is done to increase potency. For instance, an herb can be decocted or made into a medicinal tea to draw out the medicinal qualities; substances can be sliced to increase the surface area and potency, or alcohol can be used to extract the volatile oils.

There are also different methods of combining herbs. Herb combining can increase or promote therapeutic effectiveness. Combined they have a synergistic influence that would be different or perhaps less potent if taken individually.

Generally speaking, Chinese herbs are safer than western pharmaceuticals and rarely have unpleasant side effects. A professional prescribing Chinese herbs is usually able to eliminate or substantially reduce symptoms such as nausea, insomnia or headaches in a relatively short time, but deep healing may take a good deal longer depending on the type of illness and duration. Herbs are concentrated food—their effect is very subtle and they work by assisting Nature and the body's own healing abilities.

Individuals that have a chronic illness and would like to try Chinese herbs should consult a Chinese physician that is knowledgeable and experienced in using the herbs. Those that would like to expand their culinary knowledge and taste experience can try experimenting to get to know qualities, texture, and taste. They can be purchased at an Oriental grocery store or Chinese pharmacy and relatively speaking are easy to use and inexpensive.

Chinese medicine is out valuable heritage, which has lasted several hundred years. According to the legend, the Chinese medicine started with Shennong(神农)，a legendary miracle doctor who tried to distinguish medical herbs from a under plants by tasting all of them. The knowledge of the Chinese medicinal herbs handed down from one to another through verbal instruction until the birth of the Chinese characters. Because plants remained as the main resources of the Chinese medicinal materials, all the classical books relating to medicines were generally named “bencao(本草)” in the ancient times, which meant that plants were the foundation of medicinal herbs. During the past dynasties, many books relating to medicinal herbs were printed out, but only about 300 types of medical books are in existence.

Several Local Herbs in Sichuan

Sichuan is an important herb production base. It has rich resources of 3,500 sorts of herbs. They include about 3200 plant herbs, 340 animal drugs and 40 minerals. The production of the local staple herbs has made up one-third of the national total output value. The name of Chuan, which means Sichuan, is traditionally placed right before the names of many local herb products as a symbol of their high-quality like the Chuan bulb of fritillary and the Chuan rhizome. Some valuable local herbs are listed below:

Tianma天麻 (the tuber of elevated gastrodia)

The plant has been used for medical treatment for more than 2,000years. It mainly cures patients of arms and legs’ contraction, hemiplegia, headache or dizziness. The wild Tianma plant grows in mountainous areas around the Sichuan basin, ranging from 700 to 3,000m above sea level. Traditionally local people gather the plant in spring or winter however, the winter Tianma plant is better than the spring one. Sue to the scientific research efforts, the wild Tianma plant started to grow in farmers’ fields, making the production grow much higher than before..

Chuanbeimu 川贝母 (the Chuan bulb of fritillary)

The plant is used to reduce phlegm and benefit lungs. It mainly grows in cold mountainous areas 3,000m above sea level and above. In the past years much efforts have been made on the artificial plantation as well as sexual and asexual bulb reproduction for the purpose of growing the Chuanbeimu plant in the areas at low sea level. Recently the research work has come off with much progress in which the Chuanbeimu bulb starts to grow at much lower sea level, and the production output is expected to amount from 25 to 50 jin per mu.

Chongcao 虫草 (Chinese caterpillar fungus)

The fungus is one of the valuable local herbs in Sichuan. It mainly grows in mountains and grassland 3,000m above sea level. The fungus contains cordyceps sinensis acid, fatty acid, protein and amino acid. The output of the fungus occupies first place I China. In 1981 the artificial fungus plantation came out with a success. The sale at home and abroad goes on very well.

Duzhong杜仲 (the bark of eucommia)

For over 200 years, the bark has been used for medical purposes. It mainly nourishes livers and kidneys and reinforces bones and muscles. It also lowers blood pressure, and decreases the absorption of cholesterol. The eucommia tress grow in Mianyang（绵阳）, Leshan（乐山） and some other areas usually local workers peel the trees to gather the bark for medical uses. However, too much bark pooling will hurt the trees. Therefore, the local department concerned has invited research workers to experiment how to help the tress renew their bark in a better condition at the same time, the advanced peeling technique has been widely accepted, and now the local workers try to peel the trees in a circular way.

Huanglian黄连 (the rhizome of Chinese gold-thread)

The herb mainly treats vomiting, dysentery, aphtha, malignant boil and other sickness. The herb, which grows in Shizhu(石柱), Nanchuan（南川）, Wulong（武隆） areas, is named Weilian（味连）or Jizhuanlian（鸡爪连）because it looks like a chicken claw. Another kind of Huanglian（黄连）herb, which grows in Emei（峨嵋）， Ebian（峨边） and Hongya（洪雅） areas, it is named Yalian（雅连）. There the production output is low, but the quality is the best.

Local people have grown the herb for several decades. As seedlings are planted, it takes at least five years for them to grow for the ready-make herbs. Since 1975 the experiment has been carried out for the purpose of the herb high output and rotation. It is said that it has advanced with a great success.