Qianjiang Evening News Hourly News Reporter He Lina Correspondent Wang Wenting
"My mother-in-law gave me a box of saffron last night, which is precious, let me condition it, every time I soak three, the spots on my face can disappear!" 」 Juan'er, who had just married, mysteriously said to her girlfriend.
The girlfriend was surprised: "Isn't the safflower used to have an abortion?" It is said on TV that after drinking, you can't have children, and your mother-in-law should not be kind and do bad things! Besides, I soaked my feet with a bag of safflower last night, where is it?"
Who is right about these two girlfriends? And listen to Jiang Yan, a traditional Chinese medicine pharmacist in a hospital in Hangzhou, who said in detail: saffron and safflower are not the same kind of medicinal materials, although there is only a one-word difference, but there is a big difference in plant source, medicinal parts, and efficacy indications.
The difference between saffron and safflower
Saffron, also known as saffron, saffron, native to Spain, Greece, southern European countries and Iran and other places, and then introduced to Tibet through India, the source is the iris family plant saffron stigma, flat, sweet taste, blood and detoxification of the heart. The safflower is derived from the inflorescence of the asteraceae plant safflower, which is warm, spicy, active blood and stasis and has analgesic effect.
"Because saffron is only a pillar into medicine, the yield is extremely low, and because of its shortage of resources, 150,000 to 200,000 flowers can produce 1 kilogram after more than 400 hours of manual labor, so it has always been known as 'plant gold', so the price is much more expensive than safflower." Jiang Yan said.
Saffron = abortion artifact?
In the popular "Biography of Zhen Huan" a few years ago, the herb safflower was mentioned many times. In the play, saffron and safflower are used as contraceptives and abortion pills.
Consulting the ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine, there are indeed many records: safflower has the function of "stillbirth in the abdomen", but the premise is a large dose, and when used in conjunction with other kinds of blood-activating and stasis medicines such as peach kernel, curcuma and open medicine musk and ice chips. The 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia includes saffron and safflower in the use of medicines for pregnant women with caution. Single, small dose use will not cause miscarriage like costume dramas, and it is unlikely to lead to infertility. However, for safety reasons, it is recommended that pregnant women should not use saffron and safflower without authorization, and can be used under the guidance of Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Saffron can also be used in this way!
Saffron is often used for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, postpartum stasis lochia, warm and toxic spots, melancholy, throbbing and madness and other diseases. In addition, it has a certain effect on the treatment of miscarriage, central serous chorioretinopathy, pressure sores, elderly diabetic lower extremity ulcers and refractory wounds, depression, and early macular disease.
Those with the above conditions can be soaked in warm or boiling water, 1 to 2 times a week, 3 to 5 at a time, you can. Avoid pregnancy, pregnancy, menstruation, but also avoid taking other blood-activating stasis and anti-coagulation drugs, such as Sichuan root, salvia, aspirin tablets, warfarin, heparin, etc., so as not to cause bleeding.
Finally, a professional TCM pharmacist teaches you how to identify the authenticity of saffron:
1. Appearance: the complete saffron stigma is linear, the top is wider, the downward tapering is tail-shaped, the apex edge has an irregular tooth, purple red or dark reddish brown, slightly shiny, and the texture is light.
2. "Water test" test: taking a small amount of saffron and immersing it in water will dissolve the orange-yellow substance, which will plummet and gradually diffuse, dyeing the water yellow (note, not golden yellow or red), and finally there will be no precipitation.
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