Chinese herbal medicine Wu Xiang Cao, the whole herb of the Labiatae plant Su Zhou Ji Zi, is mainly distributed in Suzhou, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and eastern Jiangxi. Do you know about the antibacterial effects of Wu Xiang Cao?
Image of Wu Xiang Cao
【Antibacterial Effects of Wu Xiang Cao】
In vitro experiments, the decoction of Wu Xiang Cao has certain antibacterial effects.
It has the strongest antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, and Proteus vulgaris. It also has good antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, and Salmonella paratyphi, but slightly less effective against Shigella flexneri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The active antibacterial ingredients are found in the leaves and stems, while the roots have little effect. After oral administration of the decoction to rats, their concentrated urine shows antibacterial effects in test tubes.
【Morphology of Wu Xiang Cao】
Wu Xiang Cao is an annual herbaceous plant, 12-50cm tall. The stem is erect, quadrangular, and sparsely covered with short soft hairs. Leaves are opposite; petiole is 2-7mm long, slightly covered with soft hairs; leaf blades are linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, 1.2-2.2cm long, 0.2-0.4cm wide, gradually pointed at the apex, narrowly wedge-shaped at the base, with fine serrations along the margin, entire near the base, sparsely hairy on the upper surface, and short stiff hairs on the veins on the lower surface, with glandular dots.
Umbels have 2 flowers, forming terminal pseudo-umbels on the main stem and lateral branches, 2-5mm long, sparsely flowered; bracts are small, arranged sparsely, nearly circular to ovate, 1.5-2.5mm long, tapering at the apex, covered with soft hairs on the upper surface, and densely covered with glandular dots on the lower surface; calyx is bell-shaped, about 3mm long, covered with soft hairs and glandular dots on the outer surface, with 5 teeth, bilabiate, with the posterior 3 teeth shorter and the anterior 2 teeth deeply divided; corolla is purple, 6-7mm long, covered with fine soft hairs on the outer surface, with the upper lip erect and slightly concave, and the lower lip 3-lobed, with the middle lobe larger; stamens are 4, fertile in the posterior pair, slightly protruding; ovary is 4-lobed, with the style base, and the style head 2-lobed. The fruit is a small nut, spherical, brown, with a reticulate pattern. Flowering period is from July to October, and fruiting period is from August to November.
【Discussions in Various Sources about Wu Xiang Cao】
1. "Zhejiang Folk Herbal Medicine": Opens the chest, regulates qi. Used to treat gastric pain and asthma.
2. "Hangzhou Medicinal Plants": Used to treat colds and hemoptysis.
3. "Zhejiang Folk Commonly Used Herbal Medicine": Detoxifies, reduces inflammation, diuretic, and analgesic. Used to treat heatstroke, colds, and stomach pain.
