Rhubarb is the general name of many perennial plants of Polygonaceae and the name of Chinese herbal medicine. In China literature, "rhubarb" often refers to rhubarb.
In China, rhubarb is mainly used for medicine, but in Europe and the Middle East, their rhubarb often refers to several other edible rhubarb varieties with red stems. The smell is fragrant, the taste is bitter and slightly astringent, and it sticks to the teeth with a sense of sand. Stems and leaves wither in late autumn or are excavated before germination in the following spring.
Remove fine roots, scrape off skins, cut petals or segments, and string them to dry or directly dry them. Rhubarb, a traditional Chinese medicine, has the effects of relieving depression, clearing damp-heat, purging fire, cooling blood, removing blood stasis and detoxifying.
Properties This product is cylindrical, conical, elliptical or irregular, with a length of 3 ~ 17 cm and a diameter of 3 ~ 10 cm.
Except the epidermis, the surface is yellow-brown to reddish-brown, scattered with some white reticular textures and star-shaped vascular bundles, and the rest epidermis is brown with many rope holes and coarse wrinkles.
Solid, part of the center is slightly soft, and the cross section is reddish brown or yellowish brown, which is granular; Rhizome pith is wide, with rings or scattered stars; The root wood is developed, with radial texture, obvious bedding ring and no stars.
The smell is fragrant, the taste is bitter and slightly astringent, and it sticks to the teeth with a sense of sand.
Finished product identification
Cross section of rhubarb: most of the cork layer and cortex of the root have been removed. Phloem is obvious; The parenchyma is developed. Form a layer, form a ring.
Xylem has dense rays, 2 ~ 4 rows of cells are wide and contain brown substances; The ducts are non-lignified, usually 1 to several, and are sparsely arranged. The parenchyma cells contain calcium oxalate clusters and most starch granules.
The rhizome has a wide pith, a common mucus cavity, and contains reddish-brown substances. Heterotypic vascular bundles are scattered, cambium forms rings, xylem is located outside cambium, phloem is located inside cambium, and rays radiate in a star shape.
The powder is yellow and brown. The diameter of calcium oxalate cluster rhubarb crystals is 20 ~ 65438 060 μ m, and some of them reach 65438±090 μm m. ..
Catheters with edge holes, meshes, threads and rings are not lignified. There are many starch grains, which are spherical or polygonal, with a diameter of 3 ~ 45 microns and a star-shaped umbilical point. Composite particles are composed of 2 ~ 8 parts.
Drug identification
Raw rhubarb has a strong diarrhea, so it should be eaten raw if you want to attack it unprepared. Should be taken after decoction, or with boiling water. Long-term decoction will weaken diarrhea.
Wine-baked rhubarb has weak purgative power, good blood circulation effect and easy blood stasis syndrome. Rhubarb charcoal is mostly used for bleeding syndrome.
Pharmacodynamic action
*** 1*** purgative effect ***2*** cholagogic, liver protection * * * * 3 * * Promoting pancreatic juice secretion and inhibiting pancreatic enzyme activity * * * * 4 * * Precautions for gastric and duodenal ulcers: blood deficiency and qi deficiency, spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, no excess heat stagnation.
If this product is used to induce diarrhea, it should be decocted later, or boiled and soaked in juice, otherwise the efficacy will be weakened.
After taking rhubarb, its pigment will be excreted with urine or sweat glands, so urine and sweat can appear yellow.
In addition, after taking rhubarb, the baby sucks milk, which may cause diarrhea, so it is not suitable for lactating women.
Generally speaking, rhubarb has many effects on human health, but not everyone is suitable for keeping in good health with rhubarb. For expectant mothers who are breastfeeding their children after delivery, eating rhubarb may cause the baby's abdomen. Of course, taking rhubarb in daily life should also pay attention to its efficacy.