Would you be surprised if there was a plant that appeared more than 4,000 years ago? In fact, during the Xia Dynasty, many plants appeared that have continued to this day, and the most familiar leek is one of them. According to the research of Materia Medica, leeks as sacrificial offerings already existed in the Xia and Shang dynasties, leeks were artificially cultivated in the Qin and Han dynasties, and were widely planted in the Song Dynasty. Leek is not only a plant, but also a kind of food, but also a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, and the medicinal parts are mainly divided into leek leaves, leek roots and leek seeds, but in modern times, only leek seeds are included in pharmacopoeia and traditional Chinese medicine.
Leek this plant, has a long history, is also a plant with a good meaning, because the leek and the long homonym, so since ancient times, the leek has a "long and long" beautiful meaning, the poem Saint Du Fu is to use the "night rain spring leek, new cooking room sorghum" to have a home-cooked wine feast with friends, to express the deep meaning of the long. However, as a traditional Chinese medicine, although leeks do not have the meaning of "long and long", nor do they have the friendship of "deep affection", but it has incredible healing effects and health benefits, and leeks are treasures all over the body, whether it is leek leaves, or leek roots, or leek seeds, they all have similar and similar, similar and different wonderful effects. However, in modern times, leek leaves and leek roots are mostly used as food, which can be used as food and medicine homologous health products, but in the real sense of traditional Chinese medicine, leek seeds (referred to as leeks) are the most famous.
For the clinical efficacy of leek seeds, it was first published in the "Famous Doctors". In the "Famous Doctor's Directory", it is said that leek seeds can cure "sperm leakage and drowning in dreams", and this effect has almost become the endorsement of leek seeds. Most of the doctors of later generations have quoted or followed the records of the "Famous Doctors" on the efficacy of leek seeds. However, in the eyes of Tao Hongjing, a famous doctor in the Liang Dynasty, boiling crucian carp with leek seeds was effective for diarrhea; in the Tang Dynasty, the role of the famous doctor Chen Zang for leek seeds inherited Tao Hongjing's statement and also had innovations, first of all, it was believed that leeks had the effect of "stopping the discharge of white pus", and also mentioned that leeks could be used to treat "cold abdominal pain". During the period of the Five Dynasties, the role of "Rihuazi Materia Medica" on leek seeds has a summary of "warming the waist and knees, curing ghosts, and being very effective".
The role of leek seeds, in the real sense, became a man's "favorite", or in the Ming Dynasty, it kicked off and was out of control. First of all, it is said in the "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica" that leek seeds have the effect of "tonifying the kidney and liver, warming the waist and knees, rejuvenating the yang road, and curing impotence". The medicine saint Li Shizhen said about the role of leek seeds, leek seeds "tonify the liver and life, treat the frequency of urination, enuresis, women's white lewdness, leucorrhea"; and the "Compendium of Materia Medica" attaches to leek seeds, it is said that leek seeds can be used to treat dreams of drowning white, fatigue hurts the kidneys, dreams of drowning, drowning in dreams, dream of enuresis, jade stems are strong, waist and feet are weak, women take down, and men have kidney deficiency and cold, dreams, smoke, insects and teeth and other diseases. The Ming Dynasty medical scientist Ni Zhumo said in the "Hui Yan of Materia Medica" that leeks "pass through turbidity, and the medicine of small water is also", "this medicine specializes in the treatment of sperm leakage, drenching, urine inaccessibility, and can't help it.
For example, Huang Yuanyu, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty, pointed out in the "Medicinal Solution of Yu Qiu" that leeks have the effect of "secret essence and blood, warm knees and strengthen waist", "warm and nourish the kidney and liver"; For the clinical application of leek seeds, "Materia Medica" pointed out that leeks can be used to treat "muscle and bone pain, red and white discharge". "Lingnan Medicine Collection" has a new insight into the clinical application of leek seeds, believing that using leek seeds to "burn and smoke" can be used to treat "nasal abyss", and that leek seeds can also be "scattered and injured and stasis" when taken internally. Although these are some small discoveries, they provide a theoretical and practical basis for the wide application of leek seeds in clinical practice.
For the clinical efficacy of leek seeds, based on the clinical experience of doctors in the past dynasties, if it is summarized in one sentence, as the "Medicinal Properties Fu" said, "leeks are aphrodisiac and white turbidity". Leek seeds can be used alone or in combination, and the clinical effect of leek seeds can be better exerted when used together. For the compatibility of leek seeds, generally speaking, it can be used for the treatment of kidney deficiency and impotence, waist and knee cold pain, which can be used alone, or can be compatible with traditional Chinese medicine such as Xianmao, Morinda officinalis, and Epimedium weed; if it is used for the treatment of dream slippery essence, it can be compatible with traditional Chinese medicine such as Rehmannia rehmannia, dodder seed, psoralen, etc.; if it is used to treat bladder deficiency and frequent urination, it can be compatible with traditional Chinese medicine such as Yizhiren, deer horn cream, keel, etc.; if it is used to treat impotence, premature ejaculation and spermatozoa caused by kidney deficiency, it can be compatible with traditional Chinese medicine such as Epimedium and Suoyang.
With the wide application of leek seed in clinical practice, modern pharmacology has also carried out in-depth research on it. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that leek seeds have the effect of improving sexual function, enhancing immunity, anti-high and anti-low temperature effects, antioxidant effect, anti-aging effect, anti-mutagenic effect, enhancing acetylcholinetransferase activity, treating toothache, treating enuresis, treating hiccup[2]. Other studies have found that leek seeds have effects on the endocrine system, the immune system, the peripheral nervous system, free radical scavenging, liver protection, antibacterial and antiviral effects, antitumor effects [3], and anti-fatigue effects [4]. I have to say that a leek seed that can grow all over the countryside has so many wonderful clinical effects, which is really a mixed feeling.
Generally speaking, leek seeds can be used to treat intractable hiccups, tooth decay pain, impotence and spermatozoa, enuresis and frequent urination, waist and knee pain [3], kidney deficiency and impotence, spermatozoa, kidney deficiency and frequent urination and enuresis, kidney deficiency and abdominal cold, spermatozoa, premature ejaculation, excessive leucorrhoea [5], kidney deficiency and frequent urination and enuresis, women's low libido, boredom with sexual intercourse [6] and other diseases. In a word, leek seeds, a wonderful Chinese medicine, are a panacea for tonifying the kidney, and a miracle medicine for yang, and can be used by both men and women, which is really wonderful! However, although leeks are good, they cannot be greedy, and it needs to be remembered in clinical practice that people with yin deficiency and fire and hyperyang are not suitable to use, and those with spleen and stomach deficiency and pregnant women are also not suitable to use.
bibliography
[1] Lan Jinxu, Wang Jing, Zhang Fei, et al. Modern Chinese Medicine,2020,22(11):1879-1887.
[2] Zhang Jiao, Wu Haili, Zhang Aqin.Research progress on pharmacological activity of leek seeds[J].Jiangsu Science and Technology Information,2016,(10):72-73.
Predictive analysis of chemical composition, pharmacological effects and quality markers (Q-Marker) of leek seeds[J].Pharmacology and Clinical Medicine of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2023,39(11):121-128.
[4] Dare Zhuoma, Xu Yida, Shen Jing.Extraction and anti-fatigue effect of leek seed saponin[J].China Health Care,2023,41(18):8-12.
Family Medicine,2014,(12):51.
[6] Li Huan, Zhang Mengfei, Miao Mingsan.Modern research and thinking of leek seeds[J].Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2017,32(3):430-432.
[This graphic and text is exclusively and originally produced by "Shenxiyuan" new media. Author: Shen Xi Yuan (the spiritual home of global Chinese medicine practitioners, the museum of Chinese medicine life science), without authorization, please do not reprint or copy]