In fact, the raw land is not pure white. The root tuber of Radix Rehmanniae of Scrophulariaceae is red and yellow, especially when it is newly unearthed. Because of this color, people in the world named it Rehmannia glutinosa. Fresh products can be directly used as medicine after washing, or dried in the sun, or steamed nine times and dried nine times. However, very few users are used to calling it "fresh rehmannia root" or "dried rehmannia root", and those who are used to drying in the sun are called "dried rehmannia root" or "dried rehmannia root" [1]. After nine times of steaming and nine times of drying, Rehmannia glutinosa is naturally made.
Fresh rehmannia glutinosa and dried rehmannia glutinosa have the same taste, which are sweet, bitter, cold, sweet and nourishing yin. Rehmannia glutinosa is a commonly used product for nourishing yin, and it has been a traditional Chinese medicine often used by doctors from the era of Zhang Zhongjing to the epidemic period of epidemic febrile diseases in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Moreover, Rehmannia glutinosa can not only supplement the yin of various organs such as heart, liver and kidney meridians, but also cool blood, so it enters the heart, liver and kidney meridians.
Rehmannia glutinosa is cold, good at entering the blood, and has three effects of cooling blood, nourishing yin and stopping bleeding [1][2], but many people don't know it.
1. Clearing heat and cooling blood
Rehmannia glutinosa has an excellent effect of cooling blood, which is the first in cooling blood. It is mainly used for blood-heat syndrome, including febrile diseases and pathogenic heat entering the interior (nourishing blood) and miscellaneous diseases and blood heat. Fever caused by epidemic febrile diseases is often aggravated at night, with obvious dry mouth and red tongue without coating. Rehmannia glutinosa is often used with Scrophularia and Lonicera japonica (recorded in Ye Wen Jing Lun), such as Qingying Decoction; If the heat pathogen is deep and has entered the blood, it is common for patients with dizziness, red tongue, abnormal bleeding (such as vomiting blood and bloody stool) and dark spots. Rehmannia glutinosa is often combined with buffalo horn, red peony root and peony bark, such as Liangxuehuangtang. Blood heat of miscellaneous diseases means that there is no obvious exogenous pathogenic factors invading the human body, but there is one disease. This kind of situation is generally a mixture of excess and deficiency of the body. For example, psoriasis and eczema in skin diseases have a long course of disease and repeated illness, and often qi and blood stagnate and turn into fire. If there is blood heat, the doctor will choose to add compound heat-clearing and blood-cooling.
2. Cool blood to stop bleeding
The theory of medicinal properties points out that Radix Rehmanniae is the main cause of hematemesis, and Zhang Zhongjing often uses Radix Rehmanniae to achieve the effect in hemorrhagic diseases. After careful study, it can cool blood and then stop bleeding, eliminate bleeding movement, so as to achieve the effect of stopping bleeding. Both raw charcoal and fried charcoal have this effect, but the hemostatic effect is more obvious after fried charcoal, because the astringency of the medicine after fried charcoal is more astringent. Because of the use of traditional Chinese medicine compound, the synergistic effect of various drugs makes the scope of rehmannia root hemostasis wider. For example, Sisheng Pill can treat hematemesis and nosebleeds (nosebleeds) caused by blood heat. Huang Tu decoction can treat gastrointestinal bleeding caused by deficiency and cold of spleen and stomach; Xiaoji Yinzi can treat hematuria caused by blood heat rash.
Step 3 nourish yin and promote fluid production
Although Rehmannia glutinosa is not a yin-nourishing drug, it has a strong yin-nourishing effect and a wide range of applications, especially fresh Rehmannia glutinosa. If it is not dried, its juice is very rich. If nourishing yin and promoting fluid production are the main methods, ancient physicians mostly used fresh products, which used a large amount, such as Zhang Xichun's book "Medical Enthusiasm", and there were many detailed examples. For yin deficiency with internal heat and bone steaming with hot flashes, it can be used equally with Anemarrhena asphodeloides and Cortex Lycii. In the late stage of epidemic febrile disease, it can be combined with Artemisia annua and Carapax Trionycis. If constipation due to yin deficiency and intestinal dryness is obvious, you can use the famous liquid-increasing soup, which contains Radix Rehmanniae, Radix Scrophulariae and Radix Ophiopogonis to increase water and facilitate defecation.
However, it should be noted that Rehmannia glutinosa is cold and greasy, and it is not suitable for those who are wet. If conditions require, the amount will not be endless, and it will be between10 ~15g at most. If it is fresh rehmannia, the proportion of juice is relatively large, and the dosage will be between 12 and 30 grams. Because Radix Rehmanniae has obvious laxative effect, people with thin stools should also use it with caution. The same is true of Radix Rehmanniae Preparata. In order to reduce the influence of nourishing on promoting qi circulation, doctors often add herbs for promoting qi circulation such as Amomum villosum, or stir-fry Radix Rehmanniae Preparata and Fructus Amomi. The best way to keep healthy is to keep the qi flowing smoothly and keep the viscera qi running normally.
References:
[1] Wang Jian, Shiyuan Wang. Traditional Chinese Medicine [M] Beijing: China Traditional Chinese Medicine Press, 20 15.
[2] Ling Yikui. Chinese medicine [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Science and Technology Press, 2005.