Traditional Chinese Medicine » Herbs

Boiling Herbs

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:12:14 +0000

Traditional Chinese medication, usually using herbs as its main ingredient. And its usually taste very awful, though it got good effect and reduce the pain. But don’t you know the importance of thing to get the best effect is on collecting it.

The herbs that usually used are coming from leaves, flowers, fruit, seed, or even roots. To collect it there are something that you should know as below:

1. Leaves collected during flowering and before fruit becomes ripe.
2. Flowers were collected before or immediately after bloom.
3. Fruit picked in a ripe state.
4. Seeds were collected from yan g ripe fruit perfectly.
5. Roots, rhizomes , tubers , and bulbs was collected during the process of plant stops.

Ingredients that have been collected immediately washed, preferably with running water. Once clean, can be utilized when needed use the freshest ingredients. However, it can also be dried to be stored and used when needed at any time.

Drying aims to reduce water content and preventing decay by fungi or bacteria. Thus, the material can be kept much longer in a jar or a sealed container. Dry material is also easily crushed if you want to create powder.

Boiling is generally carried out in soil pots, ceramic pots, or a panic email. Ceramic pots can be purchased in traditional Chinese medicine stores. Panic of iron, aluminum or brass should not be used for boiling. It is reminded that these materials can cause sediments, low concentrations of drug solution, the formation of toxic or side effects due to chemical reaction with the ingredients.

Use clean water to boil. Fresh water should be used, unless otherwise specified. How to boil the ingredients as follows. Materials incorporated into the potting soil. Add water until the material completely submerged and the water level about 30 mm above it. Boiling begins when the water had seeped into the medicinal ingredients.

Do boiling with fire according to manufacture instructions. If the flame is not specified, it is usually done by boiling over high heat until the water is boiling. Furthermore, the fire reduced the cooking water to prevent overflow or dry up too quickly. However, sometimes a big fire and a small flame is used alone when boiling danger of drugs. For example, drugs are efficacious tonic generally boiled over a low heat so efficacious substance can be completely removed in the cooking water.

Similarly, medicinal plants that contain toxins that need to be boiled with a small fire in a long time, about 3-5 hours to reduce toxicity. Flame is mostly used for medicinal herbs which are intended to be a fast boiling and evaporation of excess of substances that are active components of plants can be prevented.

Seacucumber and Malaria

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:37:01 +0000

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium and invade human erythrocytes. Treatment consists of eradication of malaria causes malaria vectors (mosquitoes Anophelini) and medical treatment to patients. However, when this happens a lot of vector resistance to pesticides and anti-malarial drug resistance is widespread and progressive. Development of vaccines for prevention efforts are also made, but until now there is no vaccine that can be used.

The malaria parasite’s life cycle consists of exogenous sexual phase (sporogoni) in Anophelini mosquitoes and asexual phase (skizogoni) in vertebrate hosts including humans. In Anophelini mosquitoes, Plasmodium will happen ookinet formation of micro-and makrogametosit in the midgut and then will develop into sporozoites that ended in the mosquito salivary glands Anophelini.

Sea cucumber (Cucumaria echinata) is one of the class Holothuroidea Invertebrate sea. These animals contain many beneficial substances, such as: collagen, mineral, mucopolysaccharide, vitamins, protein lectin, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), dekosaheksaenoat acid (DHA) and amino acids. Lectins are proteins that bind specifically carbohydrates. Lectin CEL-III (Cucumaria echinata lectin-III) is one type lectin specific form of galactose / N-acetylgalactosamine (Gal / GalNac) isolated from Cucumaria echinata body fluid.

CEL-III has hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity against malaria parasites by forming ion-permeable through the pores in the membrane of target cells (erythrocytes) by the binding of carbohydrate chains by N-terminal part of CEL-III. CEL-III also acts as a poison against the ookinet and induce cells to undergo apoptosis. So that CEL-III can inhibit the life cycle of the parasite in the mosquito Anophelini.

This is done by way of establishment of transgenic mosquitoes that combines Anophelini sea cucumber lectin gene with part of a mosquito gene so that the mosquito would release lectin into its gut during feeding. CEL-III protein on the malaria vectors is expected to be the best solution in the treatment of malaria interventions.

Ginseng in Chinese medicine

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:59:10 +0000

The Ginseng plant grows in rich woods throughout eastern and central North America, especially along the mountains from Quebec and Ontario, south to Georgia. It was used by the North American Indians. It is a smooth perennial herb, with a large, fleshy, very slow-growing root, 2 to 3 inches in length (occasionally twice this size) and from 1/2 to 1 inch in thickness. Its main portion is spindle-shaped and heavily annulated (ringed growth), with a roundish summit, often with a slight terminal, projecting point. more
At the lower end of this straight portion, there is a narrower continuation, turned obliquely outward in the opposite direction and a very small branch is occasionally borne in the fork between the two. Some small rootlets exist upon the lower portion. The color ranges from a pale yellow to a brownish color. It has a mucilaginous sweetness, approaching that of liquorice, accompanied with some degree of bitterness and a slight aromatic warmth, with little or no smell. The stem is simple and erect, about a foot high, bearing three leaves, each divided into five finely-toothed leaflets, and a single, terminal umbel, with a few small, yellowish flowers. The fruit is a cluster of bright red berries.

To evaluate how “cold” or how “hot” in human body is a state of art. For instance, traditionally, the bitter melon was considered as a mild “Ying” or “cold” type of food. In Chinese medicine point of view, it will help fighting diseases caused by too much “Yang” or too “hot” in the body system. The water melon is considered as an extremely “cold” food. For people with serious illness resulting from “too hot” (such as stomach cancer), the water melon may cause adverse effect. Why? Think about putting hot water into iced cold glass that causes the glass to crack. The body will not be able to take it. The above is just a simple example of how Chinese medicine works and what the basic concept behind it was. It does not make sense to many scientists however; it does work in many cases.

There are several types of ginseng available: Asian ginseng, also called panax ginseng, American ginseng, Siberian ginseng and Japanese ginseng. Panax ginseng, which is grown especially in Korea, China and Japan, is the most widely used. American ginseng grows commonly in wooded areas from Quebec to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Oklahoma. Siberian ginseng grows in forests of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Only Asian ginseng and American ginseng is known for their exceptional curative properties. These two species of ginseng look very similar and have also similar chemical compositions. These days, North American Ginseng is cultivated in British Colombia, Ontario, and Wisconsin, and is a valuable export. North American ginseng is often considered the most valuable and beneficial.

For the past few years, The Chinese government and the Taiwanese government spend a great deal of resources trying to figure out “how it works” and “why it works”.
There will be many years before people are able to completely figure out what make Chinese medicine works. The Chinese do not know either. Not yet and not completely anyway, but they will find out.

Ningxia Wolfberries, Green Tea, and Ginseng!

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:54:23 +0000

Three plants have been revered in ancient and modern China for their healing properties: ginseng, green tea, and the Ningxia wolfberry. Ancient China is renowned for its rich tradition of natural medicine. Dozens of herbs and spices play a part in the Chinese lexicon, for cooking and for healing. In modern China, three of the most revered plants are ginseng, green tea, and wolfberry. Ginseng was revered in historical China because the root’s forked shape resembled “a little man.” In fact, its name is derived from the Chinese renshen meaning “man root.” It is used as a general tonic and to boost energy and vitality, and is especially good for men. Chinese and Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) is said to carry “yang” or masculine energy, and promotes circulation and warmth; American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), however, has “yin” or feminine energy.
Many people are surprised to learn that green tea is brewed from the same plant as black tea (Camellia sinensis). Only the processing of the leaves differs. Green tea is higher in antioxidants and polyphenols than other teas, and has been promoted to boost the immune system, fight cancer, improve heart health and more. Although the benefits of the polyphenols, catechins and other compounds in green tea have been shown to be helpful, human testing is still ambiguous about whether green tea has the health benefits that sellers claim. No effects of green tea have been scientifically established, perhaps because the caffeine content outweighs potential benefits. However, it remains one of the primary exports of Chinese culture – tea is still of noted ritual importance in China and Japan.

Wolfberry, known in other regions as “goji,” is a fruit whose significance belies its fragile appearance (see picture, above). Wolfberry has been shown to be the most potent antioxidant fruit known. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in excess of most other known fruits and vegetables. It has been touted to boost energy levels, combat chronic fatigue, improve eyesight and fight cancer and chronic illnesses.

What separates the wolfberry from ginseng and green tea is that although the former could be owned only by the nobility and Emperors of China, the wolfberry (Lycium barbarum) belongs to all. In poor rural areas of China, where the diet consisted mainly of apricots, walnuts, goat’s milk, and lots of wolfberries, there are records of people routinely living well over a hundred years. Lifespans are still longest in the Ningxia region of China, where the most potent variety of the fruit is grown. The Ningxia wolfberry is the only variety of wolfberry to appear in the Chinese medical text the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China.