Chinese plants are aphrodisiacs. Medicinal herbs of Chinese medicine Herbal medicine treatment at home

Traditional medicine uses many exotic medicines. But, besides them, in her arsenal there are many completely ordinary plants familiar to us. The most common ingredients of TCM - in the Around the World encyclopedia

Encyclopedia

Ginseng

(lat.Panax )

“Root of Life” slows down aging, increases libido, and cleanses the blood. In ancient times, Chinese emperors paid a gram of gold for a gram of ginseng. And Qin Shi Huang sent expeditions in search of ginseng, considering it (like mercury) an elixir of immortality.

Ginger officinalis

(lat.Zingiber officinale )

Used to improve digestion, for joint diseases, stomach ulcers, headaches, chronic rheumatism. In ancient times, they believed that ginger scared away evil spirits, preventing them from stealing the soul of the deceased. In the tombs of the Han Dynasty (3rd century BC - 3rd century AD) bags and incense burners with crushed ginger were found.

Soybean bristlecone

(lat.Glycine hispida )

The Chinese use it for complicated childbirth, sexual disorders, rheumatism, blindness, colds, headaches, heat and fever. The legendary ruler Shen Nung 4500 years ago named soybeans one of the main crops.

Chinese sassafras

(lat.Sassafras tzumu )

Chinese white birch

(lat.Betula albosinensis )

A decoction of the bark is used for jaundice, and the ashes are used for breast cancer and non-healing ulcers. In addition, the Chinese tinted their gray mustaches with birch bark ash.

Common barley

(lat.Hordeum vulgare )

Grains are eaten to prevent colds, respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system. Barley ointment is used for ulcers, burns and wounds. The Chinese believe that a person who often eats barley will not turn gray.

Common wormwood

(lat.Artemisia vulgaris )

It is believed to have hemostatic, antiseptic and carminative properties. The infusion is used for bleeding, snake bites, dysentery, and for healing wounds and ulcers. The Chinese consider wormwood to be a love spell. They also give it the ability to ward off evil spirits.

Garlic

(lat.Allium sativum )

The Chinese believe that it cleanses the blood, spleen, stomach, kidneys, neutralizes poison in stale meat and fish, and prevents infectious diseases. According to legend, it was garlic that saved the Yellow Emperor’s subjects from poisoning by an unknown poisonous plant.

Cucumber

(lat.Cucumis sativus )

It is used in TCM as a diuretic, antipyretic, and hypoglycemic agent. Slices are used for burns and cuts, inflammation of the oral mucosa and cracked lips. Cucumber is used to make masks for skin diseases.

Dereza vulgaris

(lat.Lycium barbarum )

The fruits of this plant are the same goji berries, also known among us as wolf berries. It is believed that when dried, they strengthen the immune system, tone the body, and improve metabolism, so the berries are eaten for weight loss.

Holothuria

(sea cucumber, lat.Holothuroidea )

A type of sea cucumber - sea cucumber - the Chinese use it to prepare a tincture, which is used in the treatment of cardiovascular and immune systems, at diabetes mellitus, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Kelp

(lat.Laminaria )

A type of brown algae known as seaweed. According to legend, in Ancient China nursing women ate raw kelp to make the milk healthier. It is used for treatment thyroid gland and for cosmetic purposes.

Tinder fungus varnished

(lat.Ganoderma lucidum )

The infusion is used to enrich the blood with oxygen, for diseases of the heart, blood vessels and liver. It is believed to strengthen the immune system and calm nervous system, improves metabolism. Because of wide range For its medicinal properties, the mushroom was nicknamed the imperial mushroom and the mushroom of immortality.

Ants

(lat.Formicidae )

A tincture of these insects is used to treat arthritis, rheumatism and chronic bronchitis. The zinc it contains stimulates the immune system and protects the body from free radicals that cause atherosclerosis.

Amber

(lat.Amber )

The Chinese extract from fossilized resin (amber) succinic acid, which is used as a balm for intestinal inflammation and Bladder, as well as for convulsions in children. In ancient times, they believed that the spirit of a tiger after death fell underground, turning into amber. Hence its Chinese name hu-po (“soul of the tiger”).

Photo: Legion-media (x3), Getty Images, iStock (x12)

Herbal medicine - herbal therapy, is practiced by both modern medicine and many traditional medicines in different countries. Herbal treatment is especially widespread in traditional Chinese medicine. Of the three components, herbal medicine receives the least criticism from Western medical scientists. Moreover, in-depth scientific study of the chemical composition of medicinal herbs gives impetus to the development of new synthetic drugs.
We will look at the properties the most famous and effective natural sources health, for example, ginseng, Reishi mushrooms, Spirulina algae, etc. Some of them are cultivable and can be grown in subsidiary farms, in garden plots, in greenhouses and even in apartments.

Chinese herbal medicine is based mainly on herbs. But, although to a lesser extent, it still uses components of animal origin (animal parts, propolis, mumiyo, honey) and minerals.

Unlike acupuncture and massage, herbal treatments are more accessible. After consulting with your doctor, you can even prepare some simple tinctures or decoctions yourself. Raw materials for them often grow in nature in Russia and other CIS countries, for example, astragalus, reishi mushrooms, Ural licorice, datura vulgaris, etc. Others can be grown in the country or in the garden, for example, ginseng, Schisandra chinensis, shiitake mushrooms.

More complex medications in the form of finished forms are sold in pharmacies. A significant part of them is imported from China.

Some Chinese herbal medicine poisonous. IN medicinal purposes they are used in very small doses, at which they do not cause harm to the body, but benefit. All this can only be determined by a qualified doctor.

History of herbal medicine

Discovery of Natural Medicines Chinese medicine began when ancient people living in what is now China began to notice that certain food components had the ability to alleviate and even completely eliminate diseases. After this, the ancient Chinese began to use herbal treatment in everyday life.

The first ancient therapist known to us in this field is Shen Nong (神农), a mythologized human ruler who lived in China in the 3rd millennium BC. e. He studied the healing properties of medicinal and poisonous plants and passed on his knowledge to the peasants. His notes are considered to be the most ancient works on herbal medicine. Shen Nong classified 365 types of herbal, animal and mineral remedies into three categories. He classified herbs that are effective in treating many diseases as the highest category. These are, for example, ginseng and Reishi mushrooms.

Shen Nong is also credited with inventing plowing and other agricultural methods.

The most thorough work is the Materia Medica (Peng Cao), written by Li Shichen and published in 1578. It contains descriptions of 1892 types of medicines and 8160 recipes.

Principles of Herbal Therapy

Methods of processing plants to obtain herbal medicines in many countries, including China, are not based on the isolation of chemically pure active substance, but to preserve the entire complex of active substances of the plant in simple forms (decoction, infusion, extract) and in complex recipes.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the properties of herbs are divided into two types. The first is the pseudo-temperature characteristics of the plant: hot, warm, cold, neutral and, somewhat aside, fragrant. The second type refers to taste characteristics: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, salty. Different combinations of "temperature" and flavor give herbs specific medicinal properties. Chinese medicine explains the healing effects of herbs various influences different combinations of “temperature” and taste into Yin and Yang.

Thus, Chinese herbal therapy considers the medicinal properties of both individual plants and, to a greater extent, combinations of herbs. Chinese herbal combinations (formulas) contain from 4 to 20 natural ingredients. This differs from Western herbal therapy, which places priority on the medicinal properties of an individual plant.

If recipes (formulas) contain several natural ingredients, then chemically active compounds contain up to several hundred. This is one of the reasons why Chinese medicines are considered difficult to explain from the point of view of Western pharmacists.

There is a division of herbal medicine into traditional herbal medicine and botanical medicine. Traditional herbal medicine is integral part traditional medicine, such as Chinese. Botanical medicine is a complement to evidence-based modern medicine. Here natural medicines are not used independently, but more often as an addition to general treatment using modern means. In China, the line between modern and traditional medicine is less clear than in Western countries.

Ready-made forms

Finished forms of Chinese medicines are formulations (formulas) that have been tested for effectiveness during long-term use. The basis of the finished forms is plant raw materials, animal organs (seafood) and minerals. Many components of the formulations are pre-processed.

The components of ready-made forms are divided into 4 classes depending on their role in the medicine: monarch, minister, assistant, conductor.

Medicine Monarch - this is the main component. It affects the cause or main symptom diseases. Usually its mass fraction in the medicine is quite large.

Medicine Minister helps the monarch medicine enhance its therapeutic effect.

Helper medicine , this is an auxiliary component that helps the monarch medicine and the minister medicine enhance the therapeutic effect. In addition, it can cure associated diseases and secondary symptoms. It also has a restraining function, which is to limit the action of the poisonous and potent properties of the monarch drug.

Medicine-conductor, this is the last class. It regulates the effects of other drugs in the formulation.

None of the formulations can do without the monarch drug. Its function is most clearly expressed and understandable. IN simple recipes There must be a medicine-monarch and a medicine-minister/medicine-guide. An individual component can perform not one function, but two or more, depending on the richness of its properties.

Finished dosage forms are made in the form of powders, pastes, balms, tablets, boluses, etc., depending on the raw materials and area of ​​application. Since ancient times, tablets were formed from a mixture of several herbs and other ingredients that were ground into powder. Then the powder mixture was added to the adhesive substance, which most often served as honey. The tablet was formed by hand.

Currently cooking dosage forms according to TCM recipes, it is carried out both manually and on technological lines.

The accuracy of the technology for preparing herbal medicines greatly influences healing effect future drug. From the point of view of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, this very drug is given the required amount of “fire” (heat) or “moisture”, etc.

Many drugs are coated. For example, if a drug must act in the intestines, the coating protects it from the rapid action of gastric juice.

Medicinal herbs

About 2 thousand species of medicinal plants are used in Chinese herbal medicine. Some of them are common to European and Chinese medicine, others are known only in China and other countries East Asia. Sometimes written sources contain only a list of 50 fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine.

In the roots and rhizomes of medicinal herbs, biologically active chemical compounds are found more often than in their above-ground parts. The most famous root is ginseng root. But this is a rare plant. There are also more common, but quite effective examples, in particular, ginger rhizome.

In addition to treatment with herbs, herbal medicine, with certain assumptions, includes medicines of animal origin. These are, for example, bear bile and seahorse. However, due to the need to preserve wildlife they began to be replaced by plant analogues or synthesized drugs.

Medicinal mushrooms

Although mushrooms are not herbs, treatment with their help is classified as herbal medicine, sometimes separated by the name “fungoterapia” (from Latin word"fungus" - mushroom).

Mushrooms are a powerful herbal remedy. It is known that many mushrooms have a medicinal effect, but among them 3 types stand out: shiitake, cordyceps and reshi. They are actively used in Chinese herbal medicine.

Of these three mushrooms, shiitake and cordyceps have a greater antitumor effect, while reishi has an immunoregulatory effect.

It has been noticed that mushrooms not only heal themselves, but also enhance the therapeutic effect of other drugs. Also, over the centuries, would they have been selected correct combinations mushrooms with each other, which achieves the most powerful therapeutic effect.

Some types of Chinese mushrooms have long been used not only in preparations, but also in medicinal tea.

Herbal medicine (herbal medicine, herbal therapy, herbal medicine) is practiced by both modern medicine and many traditional medicines in different countries. The term is now increasingly used phytotherapy, derived from the ancient Greek words φυτόν (plant) and θεραπεία (therapy). This is a broad method of treating diseases, based on the use of medicinal plants and preparations from them.
Before resorting to herbal medicine, you should consult a medical specialist.

“Tsar” of medicinal plants on the planet - ginseng

Why do they switch from synthetics to herbs or are treated with them at the same time? The reasons are as follows.

• no results from taking synthetic drugs
• there are results, but a lot side effects
• medicines from the pharmacy are too expensive

Currently, there is a division of herbal medicine into traditional herbal medicine and botanical medicine. Traditional herbal medicine is an integral part of traditional medicine, such as Chinese. Botanical medicine is a complement to evidence-based modern medicine. Here, natural medicines are not used independently, but more often as an addition to general treatment using modern means. In China, the line between modern and traditional medicine is less clear than in Western countries.

Herbal treatment is especially widespread in Tibetan medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Of the three components of TCM, herbal medicine receives the least criticism from Western medical scientists. Moreover, in-depth scientific study of the chemical composition of medicinal herbs gives impetus to the development of new modern medicines.
This site discusses the properties of not only the most famous and effective natural sources of health, for example, ginseng, Reishi mushrooms, Spirulina algae, but also many others. Some of them can be cultivated and can be grown in subsidiary plots, garden plots, greenhouses and even in apartments. Grown does not mean immediately being treated with them. Decisions about treatment can only be made with the approval of a doctor.

Before resorting to herbal medicine, you must keep the following in mind.

In some Chinese medicine clinics operating in Russia, individual herbal medicines are prepared according to the patient’s diagnosis. At the same time, you need to be careful and ask the doctor questions about each component so as not to get allergic reaction or unjustifiably included expensive grass.
Some Chinese herbal medicine products are poisonous. For medicinal purposes, they are used in very small doses, in which they do not harm the body, but benefit it. All this can only be determined by a qualified doctor.
Some of the herbs may have serious side effects when interacting with over-the-counter medications or may not be safe for people with certain medical conditions. For example, the herb ephedra has been linked to serious health complications, including heart attacks and strokes. In 2004, the US banned the sale of food products containing ephedra, but the ban did not apply to TCM preparations.
Some medicinal herbs dangerous for those taking blood thinners because they may increase the risk of bleeding.
Some medicinal herbs enhance the effects of Western drugs, while others act as antagonists. Therefore, you need to contact a herbalist who has knowledge of both European and traditional Chinese medicine.
Herbs can also be dangerous if a person is taking antidiabetic medications, contraception, immunosuppressants or undergoing interferon therapy.
Monitoring is important in herbal medicine. Good blood circulation means that doses reach therapeutic levels without causing side effects. Monitoring liver and kidney function provides information on whether the body metabolizes herbs well or poorly.
When ordering herbs online, it is unclear whether they will come the right types plants. There is also a risk of receiving poor quality products that may be contaminated with heavy metals or pesticides. An experienced herbalist can vet products and suppliers.

Herbal medicines of Chinese and Tibetan medicine not included in State Register medicines.

History of herbal medicine

The discovery of the medicinal properties of Chinese herbs began when ancient people living in what is now China began to notice that certain food components had the ability to alleviate and even completely eliminate diseases. After this, the ancient Chinese began to use herbal treatment in everyday life.

The first ancient therapist known to us in this field is Shen Nong, a mythologized human ruler who lived in China in the 3rd millennium BC. e. He studied the healing properties of medicinal and poisonous plants and passed on his knowledge to the peasants. His notes are considered to be the most ancient works on herbal medicine. Shen Nong classified 365 types of herbal, animal and mineral remedies into three categories. He classified herbs that are effective in treating many diseases as the highest category. These are, for example, ginseng and Reishi mushrooms.
Shen Nong is also credited with inventing plowing and other agricultural methods.

The most thorough work is the Materia Medica (Peng Cao), written by Li Shichen and published in 1578. It contains descriptions of 1892 types of medicines and 8160 recipes.

Principles of Herbal Therapy

Methods for processing plants to obtain herbal medicines in many countries and in China, including, are based not on isolating a chemically pure active substance, but on preserving the entire complex of active substances of the plant in simple forms (decoction, infusion, extract) and in complex recipes.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the properties of herbs are divided into two types. The first is the pseudo-temperature characteristics of the plant: hot, warm, cold, neutral and, somewhat aside, fragrant. The second type refers to taste characteristics: sour, bitter, sweet, spicy, salty. Different combinations of “temperature” and flavor give herbs specific medicinal properties. The healing effects of herbs are explained by the different influence of different combinations of “temperature” and taste on Yin and Yang.

Chinese herbal therapy considers the medicinal properties of both individual plants and, to a greater extent, combinations of herbs. Chinese herbal combinations (formulas) contain from 4 to 20 natural ingredients. This differs from Western herbal therapy, which places priority on the medicinal properties of an individual plant. Chinese and Tibetan herbal medicine also uses components of animal origin (animal parts, propolis, mumiyo, honey) and minerals.

Recipes (formulas) contain up to several dozen natural ingredients, and up to several hundred chemically active compounds. This is one of the reasons why these drugs are considered difficult to explain from the point of view of Western pharmacists.

Ready-made forms

Finished forms of Chinese medicines are formulations (formulas) that have been tested for effectiveness over long-term use. The basis of the finished forms is plant raw materials, animal organs (seafood) and minerals. Many components of the formulations are pre-processed.

The components of ready-made forms are divided into 4 classes depending on their role in the medicine: monarch, minister, assistant, conductor. The complex interactions between the components are believed to produce synergistic effects and reduce the possible side effects of some herbs.

Monarch medicine is the main component. It affects the cause or main symptom of the disease. Usually its mass fraction in the medicine is the largest.
The minister medicine helps the monarch medicine enhance its healing effect.
In third place is the medicine-assistant. This is an auxiliary component that helps the monarch medicine and the minister medicine enhance the therapeutic effect. In addition, it can cure associated diseases and secondary symptoms. It also has a restraining function, which is to limit the action of the poisonous and potent properties of the monarch drug.
The last class is a conductor drug. It regulates the effects of other drugs in the formulation.

None of the formulations can do without the monarch drug. Its function is most clearly expressed and understandable. In simple recipes, there is always a monarch medicine and a minister medicine / guide medicine. An individual component can perform not one function, but two or more, depending on the richness of its properties.

Finished dosage forms are made in the form of powders, pastes, balms, tablets, boluses, etc., depending on the raw materials and area of ​​application. Since ancient times, tablets were formed from a mixture of several herbs and other ingredients that were ground into powder. Then the powder mixture was added to the adhesive substance, which most often served as honey. The tablet was formed by hand.
Currently, the preparation of dosage forms according to TCM recipes is carried out both manually and on production lines. In Russia own production has a clinic of Tibetan medicine “Naran”. Herbs for it are collected in Buryatia and Altai, and are also imported from Tibet.

The accuracy of the technology for preparing herbal medicines greatly influences the therapeutic effect of the future drug. From the point of view of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, this very drug is given the required amount of “fire” (heat) or “moisture”, etc.

Many drugs are coated. For example, if a drug must act in the intestines, the coating protects it from the rapid action of gastric juice.

Tibetan herbal medicine

The Chinese are undeniably the pioneers and trendsetters in acupuncture and therapeutic massage. In herbal medicine, it is not so clear and the leadership here is disputed by Tibetan medicine. Tibet has long been part of China, but traditional medicine there are differences.

In Tibetan herbal medicine, they strive not to resort to herbs grown on plantations, as in China. Preference is given to growing in the wild, although this becomes more difficult every year. Medicinal plants are collected in environmentally friendly places and in right time. In addition to seasonality, the phases of the moon are taken into account.

Medicinal substances of animal origin in Tibetan medicine are approximately the same as in Chinese medicine. There are 169 medicines of inorganic origin. There are some precious metals, salts, and pearls.

Medicinal herbs

About 2 thousand species of medicinal plants are used in Chinese herbal medicine. Some of them are common to European and Chinese medicine, others are known only in China and other East Asian countries. Sometimes written sources contain only a list of 50 fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine.

In the roots and rhizomes of medicinal herbs, biologically active chemical compounds are found more often than in their above-ground parts. The most famous root is ginseng root. But this is a rare plant. There are also more common, but quite effective examples, in particular, ginger rhizome.

Treatment with mushrooms is also classified as herbal medicine, sometimes separating this branch with the name “fungotherapy.”

In addition to treatment with herbs and mushrooms, herbal medicine, with certain assumptions, includes medicines of animal origin. These are, for example, bear bile and seahorse. However, due to the need to preserve wildlife, they began to be replaced with plant analogues or synthesized drugs.

Treatment with herbal remedies at home

Patients usually take herbal remedies prescribed in the clinic at home because, unlike massage and acupuncture, the course of treatment here is much longer and there is no need to go to the clinic every day. And there is nothing complicated in taking them; it is enough to strictly follow the prescribed rules. If side effects occur or in case of doubt, contact the doctor who prescribed them. The doctor may change the dosage, composition, or even stop taking it.

Doctors at Chinese or Tibetan medicine clinics make their diagnosis in accordance with the canons of TCM (heat, wind, mucus), but it is still recommended to provide a medical history from your primary care physician. In the future, it is advisable to inform the attending physician about this alternative therapy, although this is not provided for by law.
It is necessary to find out the composition of the prescribed herbal medicine. It may contain allergic components of plant or animal origin. Another thing to keep in mind is that TCM doctors may prescribe dosages designed for the average person. But the effectiveness of herbal remedies, as well as synthetic drugs, depends, among other things, on the correct dosage, taking into account weight, age, previous diseases and other factors.

There are also some non-medical aspects in taking herbal medicines that interfere effective treatment. Unlike synthetic drugs, herbal medicines act slowly, often with a delay until a sufficient amount of active substances accumulates in the body. In such cases, patients, not seeing rapid improvement, stop taking the drugs, but the result could already be close.
In addition, ready-made, effective herbal medicines are often expensive. The patient, seeing a quick effect, stops taking them, but not from disbelief, but from lack of funds for long-term treatment.

Side effects

There is a common misconception about the absolute harmlessness of herbal treatment. However, it is not. Firstly, there are poisonous herbs that are actively used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are included in herbal formulas in small doses and bring a healing effect. Secondly, even non-toxic medicinal herbs can cause harm if taken incorrectly or in large doses, or for a long time.

Often there are such side effects or their signs as bitterness in the mouth, rash on the body and face, pain in the hypochondrium, heaviness in the stomach, and stool disorders. In such cases, doctors recommend taking a break from taking herbal medicines for 1-2 days, then resuming taking them at a reduced dose. Sometimes you have to completely abandon the herbal medicine that caused the allergy or side effects and choose another one.

In addition to herbs, TCM recipes contain unprocessed minerals, which can also have side effects.

The patient needs to thoroughly understand and weigh whether it is worth resorting to Chinese/Tibetan herbal medicine and, if so, how to properly organize and carry it out.

Therapeutic diet

Therapeutic diets have been developed for many diseases. This is one of the types non-drug treatment. In TCM they are given even greater importance than in European medicine. However, the concept of diet should not be confused with therapeutic fasting.

Each product has not only nutritional properties, but also its own set of mineral macro- and microelements and active biochemical compounds. Therefore, for each specific disease or predisposition to it, the diet of the foods consumed is important. In the early stages of the disease, diet can stop it, and in the middle and late stages it can slow down the development and manifestation of symptoms.

A healthy person must remember that any product cannot contain a complete set of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, it is important to eat a variety of foods to meet the body's needs for vitamins and minerals.

Chinese herbal treatment - Herbal methods.

In those distant times, when our shaggy ancestors lived in caves and exterminated mammoths, the art of herbal medicine was born. The first knowledge about the influence of plants on human health appeared solely due to the indiscriminateness of primitive people in food. During periods of acute shortage of mammoths, they were ready to eat everything they could get their hands on, as a result of which many painful but important discoveries. For example, rhubarb root causes severe diarrhea, a melon leg causes nausea and vomiting, and pomegranate peel and ginger root relieve these symptoms. With the development of civilization, herbal medicine has become the main method of healing. One of the most difficult and efficient systems herbal medicine originated in China, where the collection and preparation of medicines were inextricably linked with the theories of ancient Chinese philosophy, such as the doctrine of the duality of all things “Yin and Yang”, the five primary elements “Wu Xing”, the doctrine of hollow and dense organs “Zhang Fu” , about the energy “qi”, as well as about the points and channels through which it flows - “jin lo”.

Herbal methods

THE FIRST book on herbal medicine appeared in China about two thousand years BC during the Chin Han Dynasty. It was called "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jin." It was the first to describe methods for preparing herbal medicines. The main method of creating medicinal potions was a decoction (Tan Zhi), which, as the Chinese believed, preserved the healing properties and reduced the poisonous properties of plants. Along with this, there were methods of preparing medicines: Zhu Zhi - combining decoctions of different plants and then straining them, Tian Zhi - evaporation, Yin Zhi - brewing, Xie - short boiling in a large quantities liquids and Boo - long boiling in a large amount of liquid.

No iron, copper or aluminum utensils were used to prepare medicines. Usually healing agents were taken twice a day. The time difference between doses should have been 6 hours. No less strict rules existed regarding the procurement of medicinal plants. As a rule, they used the time of year when the content of useful components in the raw materials is optimal. Medicinal plants that use the stem, leaves, fruits and roots are harvested at the time of flowering. If only leaves were needed, they were collected at the moment of maximum flowering. It was recommended to pick flowers at the beginning of flowering or at the moment of maximum bud opening. It was preferred to harvest the fruits and seeds of plants at the moment of their maximum ripening, and the roots were collected in late autumn or early spring. Tree bark and stems were harvested in early summer or late spring. There were three stages of preparation of medicinal raw materials. First: harvesting and cleaning, then washing, chopping and finally cooking. The following methods were used for preparation: Cao fa - frying, Jiu fa - first infusion and then frying, Tang fa - frying with sand, Wei fa - baking in dough or paper and Tshao fa, when medicinal raw materials wrapped in cloth are dipped into boiling water. water and is immediately pulled out. Some herbs were simply dried immediately after collection.

According to Chinese medicine, each herb has four characters and five tastes and acts strictly on a specific meridian, corresponding to a very specific organ in the human body. In the book “Huang Di Nei Jing” it is noted that for syndromes occurring with heat, cold medicine is used (sedative effect), and vice versa, for cold syndromes, hot medicine is used (tonic effect).

Medicinal herbs are distinguished by taste: spicy (shin), sweet (kan), sour (suan), bitter (ku), salty (shian). Hot ones are used to open pores and to give blood movement, sweet ones serve as a remedy for aching pain, sour ones are used to reduce discharge and for constant sweating, chronic cough, diarrhea, spermatorrhea, enuresis, lacrimation, polyuria and heavy menstruation. Bitter herbs help with high fever, constipation, shortness of breath, suffocation, nausea and vomiting. Salty ones soften mucus and stagnation in the blood.

In Chinese medicine, there are four mechanisms of action of herbs: raising (shen), lowering (jian), bringing to the surface (fu), drawing to the depths (chhen). Elevating medications are used for urinary incontinence, spermatorrhea, prolapse of the anus, uterus, visceroptosis and diarrhea.

Descents are used for vomiting, shortness of breath, hiccups, that is, anything that goes up and can be seen coming out of the orifices of the body.

Bringing to the surface medicines are used for syndromes when everything outside has gone inside and it needs to be brought to the surface. For example: high temperature without sweating, delirium, absence of rash due to measles.

Leading ones deeper are used for syndromes when everything is brought out and it is necessary to stop the secretion (profuse sweating, lacrimation).

Chinese doctors distinguished the following methods of action of medicinal potions: Han Fa - treatment through opening the pores, Shen Wen Tia Piao - treatment using sharp and warm medicines, which is used for rheumatism, flu, acute allergies, Xin Lian Tia Piao - treatment using acute and cooling herbs, which is used for fever, urticaria, flu without sweating, Tu Fa - treatment through vomiting (for overeating, excess fluid, bronchitis with sticky sputum), Sha Fa - laxative and diuretic, Wen Shi - a combination of hot and hot plants ( severe pain, cold extremities, constipation), Rong sha - a combination of cool and sour (for chronic constipation), Zhu shui - cold and bitter (acute pleurisy at elevated temperatures, with disseminated tuberculosis, acute ascites, acute glomerulonephritis with severe swelling).

Rules for preparing recipes

THERE IS an opinion that knowledge of herbs is enough to treat diseases, but this is not at all true. It is impossible to mix plants without taking into account their interaction. Each herb has its own character, taste and approach to a particular meridian. At the same time, only simple and uncomplicated (single-syndrome) diseases can be treated with one medicinal component, and for more complex cases collection of herbs is required. Chinese doctors developed the strictest rules drawing up such collections, where each ingredient was assigned its own, completely defined role.

1. Jun Yao is the main component that acts on the main syndrome and the main cause of diseases. It must be included in the recipe.

2. Cheng yao - helps the main component to carry out its functions. It is not always included in the recipe.

3. Cuo Yao - helps the main medicine treat not only the main syndrome, but also secondary manifestations of the disease (for example, headache when coughing), and is also used for complaints of a secondary syndrome.

4. Shi Yao has two functions: it helps the main medicine to affect one or another meridian and harmonizes the components of the recipe with each other.

When drawing up a prescription for specific syndromes, the following rules are also taken into account:

1. Tan shin - only one herb is used in the recipe when the symptom is quite simple. For example, with dysmenorrhea. This disease is quickly eliminated with the help of motherwort.

2. Shyan shu - use two herbs that are similar in their mechanism of action to enhance their interaction. For example, ephedra and cinnamon are used together for the flu, as both open pores.

3. Shan shi - one medicine plays a main role, the second - an auxiliary one. It is used when the main medicine needs help from another, and not necessarily with the same mechanism of action. For example, peony and licorice. In combination with licorice, the effect of peony is enhanced.

4. Shiang wei - if the medicine contains poison, then an antidote is used to enhance the effect of other substances included in this medicine. For example, Pinnelia trifoliata contains poison, and ginger removes it, resulting in the effect useful substances pinnelia.

5. Shyan wu - one medicine reduces the effect of another component. For example, ginseng root reduces its effect when simultaneous administration with radish seeds.

6. Shyan fan - do not use medicinal components that, when combined, are toxic to the body. For example, harmless licorice in combination with milkweed or pork is poisonous. When taking mint, do not eat edible turtle, when taking bush peony, exclude garlic, vinegar should not be combined with sage, and honey should not be mixed with onions.

You can make an appointment with a Chinese medicine specialist by calling 8 (495) 669-56-85 or by contacting us using the feedback form.

What are Chinese herbs?

Some say it's Cora and Roots. However, the concept of "Chinese herbs" is not limited to just the bark and roots, but includes many other components, in particular, animal products: cicadas, snake skin, pork bile, pearls and oyster shells; minerals, such as kaolin, sodium sulfate and magnesite. All of them are present in Chinese herbal science ("Ben Kao", or "Pharmacology").

Properties and functions of Chinese herbs

Basic properties of Chinese herbs

The nature and taste of Chinese herbs

History of Chinese Pharmacopoeia