Yin Chen is both a wild vegetable and a medicinal herb. This wild vegetable is called "Chao San Twilight Four", it is a treasure in March, and it becomes artemisia in April.
Folk legend has spread the story of Hua Tuo's treatment of jaundice, and left "March Yin Chen April Artemisia, passed down to future generations to remember." March incineration to cure jaundice, April artemisia as firewood" warning. That is to say, it is better to use freshly grown seedlings, and after growing older, its effect is not good. As a reminder, March and April here are lunar calendars, not the customary solar calendar.
The medicine king Sun Simiao once said, "If a husband is a doctor, he must first know the source of the disease, know that he has committed a crime by eating, and the food cure will not be cured, and then he must prescribe medicine." For Yin Chen, a plant that is also a vegetable and a medicine, Meng Xie of the Tang Dynasty recorded in the "Dietary Therapy Materia Medica": "In the early spring, the grasses before this artemisia grow, and its leaves are flooded with vinegar, which is very beneficial to people." ”
Yin Chen, alias white artemisia, in Chen Artemisia, etc., Chen refers to the old roots of previous years. Yin Chen sends out new shoots on the roots of Chen every spring, and Zhang Xichun says that it "has the qi of less yang in the early spring." In the Ming Dynasty Chen Jiamu's "Materia Medica Mengxiao", it is recorded: "Yin Chen Artemisia. Everywhere ~ ~ after the fall of the leaves, the stem does not wither. In the spring, the old branches recur, so because of the name in Chen Artemisia. ”
The ancients' understanding of Yin Chen
The Shennong Materia Medica records that "the taste is bitter and flat." The main wind, wet, cold, hot evil gas, hot jaundice. Long service light body, good qi, resistant to aging", yin Chen is classified as the top product.
The "Famous Doctors' Catalogue" records that "Lord Yin Chen was yellow all over his body, and urinating was unfavorable". The so-called yellowing of the whole body is the common jaundice in our clinic, including acute and chronic jaundice hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and so on.
The "Materia Medica" records that "Yin Chen, whose main rheumatic cold and hot, evil qi hot knot, jaundice, yellowing of the whole body, unfavorable urination and head heat, are all damp and hot in Yangming and Taiyin are also sick." Bitter cold can dry and wet to remove heat, and when the damp heat goes, the symptoms will retreat. Dehumidifying heat dissipation knot essential medicine also. ”
The Compendium of Materia Medica says: "Yin Chen, the people of the past were more than vegetables... Today, on February 2, the Huaiyang people still pick wild Yin Chen Miao, and flour noodles are used as Yin Chen cakes to eat. The so-called "weed" is transplanting and planting. Whether ancient or modern, in addition to medicinal use, indole is also eaten as a wild vegetable.
Ling Yiyi's "Chinese Pharmacy" edited by Ling Yixuan's understanding of Yin Chen
【Sexual taste returns to the scriptures】 bitter, slightly cold. Attribution to the spleen, stomach, liver, bile meridians.
【Effect】Clear damp heat, reduce jaundice.
【Application】For jaundice. The bitter discharge of Artemisia annua decreases, the gongzhuan clears the damp heat and retreats jaundice, and where the damp heat is steamed and yellowed, each use is the main medicine.
Yin Chen can also be used for wet sores itching, yellow water, is taken from its wet heat and drain. Decoction can be taken internally or washed externally.
Modern research on the pharmacological effects of Inchen
1. Liver protection and choleretic effect
Yinchen extract has significant anti-hepatic fibrosis effects, including protecting the integrity of hepatocyte membranes and good permeability, preventing hepatocyte necrosis, promoting hepatocyte regeneration and improving liver microcirculation, enhancing liver detoxification function, etc.
Inchen and its components mainly play a choleretic effect by enhancing gallbladder contraction, enhancing liver cell function, promoting bile secretion, and increasing bilirubin and bile acid excretion.
2. Antibacterial and antiviral effect
Inchen has a certain inhibitory effect on various pathogenic microorganisms, especially on dysentery bacillus, Staphylococcus aureus, diphtheria bacillus, pathogenic skin fungi, etc. have a significant inhibitory effect.
Inchen and its components have inhibitory or killing effects on a variety of viruses such as herpes simplex virus, polio virus, influenza virus, hepatitis virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus and so on.
3. Antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect
The antipyretic and analgesic effects of Inchen are related to opioid receptors and adenosine receptors.
Inchen inhibits IgE-mediated mast cell detachment, and contains ingredients that exert anti-inflammatory effects through multiple inflammatory pathways or directly inhibit pain-sensing pathways.
4. Lower blood pressure, regulate lipids, regulate metabolism
Inchen can stimulate the central nervous system, dilate blood vessels, increase coronary blood flow, and thus play a hypotensive effect.
Inchen can reduce the cholesterol content in the blood, thereby playing a hypolipidemic effect, but also can prevent atherosclerosis.
Chlorogenic acid in Yin Chen can inhibit gluconeogenesis in the liver and regulate sugar metabolism in the body.
5. Anti-tumor effect
The main anti-tumor component of Inchen is Inchen Chromogenone, and the mechanism of action is to directly kill tumor cells.
In addition, Inchen also has anti-osteoporosis effect, neuroprotective effect, and has a certain anti-myocardial fibrosis effect.