Red Shin Powder, as a traditional Chinese medicine, is believed to have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling. It is used to treat dysentery, leukorrhea, headaches caused by blood heat, irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, breast abscess, and injuries. Now let's learn more about the plant morphology of Red Shin Powder and its application in prescriptions.
【Effects and Functions of Red Shin Powder】
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Red Shin Powder has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling. It is used to treat dysentery, leukorrhea, headaches caused by blood heat, irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, breast abscess, and injuries.
1. "Compilation of Folk Commonly Used Herbs": "Clears heat in the three burners. Treats dizziness."
2. "Hunan Materia Medica": "Analgesic."
3. "Practical Selection of Chinese Herbal Medicines in Guangxi": "Reduces swelling and detoxifies. Treats snake bites, abscesses, unknown swellings, and mastitis."
4. "Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Sichuan": "Clears heat, promotes blood circulation. Treats internal injuries, headaches caused by blood heat, excessive menstrual bleeding, amenorrhea, cough caused by deficiency fire, dysentery with red or white stools, abscesses, and ulcers."
【Plant Morphology of Red Shin Powder】
1. Red Shin Powder
Annual or perennial herb, 30-50cm tall. Thin and weak yellow rhizome, black-brown fibrous roots. Slender stem, erect or oblique, slightly branched, purple, segmented or sparsely covered with fine white hairs, or nearly hairless.
Leaves opposite; leaf stalk short, winged, with leaf ears at the base, upper leaves nearly stalkless; stipules sheath-like, membranous, up to 1cm long, hairy or hairless at the edge; leaf blade ovate, pinnately lobed, 5-8cm long, 3-8cm wide;
The top lobe is larger, triangular-ovate, gradually pointed at the apex, 1-3 pairs of lateral lobes, nearly truncate at the base, hairless or hairy on both sides, with purple-black markings in the middle on the upper surface, and fine marginal hairs.
Inflorescence in heads, clustered at the top of the branches, usually in pairs, peduncles with glandular hairs; calyx 5-lobed, pink, green along the back;
Stamens 8, filaments shorter than calyx lobes; stigma globose, 3-lobed. Achene ovoid, 3-ribbed, black-brown with fine dots. Flowering period from July to August.
2. Lackwaist Polygonum
The difference between this variety and Red Shin Powder is that the inflorescence is smaller, with a diameter of 5-7mm, several of which are clustered into a cone shape. The base of the leaf usually has 1 pair of lobes, hairless or sparsely covered with soft hairs on both sides.
【Application in Prescriptions of Red Shin Powder】
1. Treatment of dysentery: Take one or two Lackwaist Polygonum, decoct in water and take orally.
2. Treatment of abdominal pain: Take five qian of Lackwaist Polygonum, one qian of Agastache rugosa, decoct in water and take orally.
3. Treatment of leukorrhea: Take six qian of Lackwaist Polygonum, three qian each of Chinese fir pulp and sandalwood pulp, decoct in water and take orally; add white sugar for leukorrhea; add brown sugar, rose petals, and gelatin for red leukorrhea.
4. Treatment of abscess: Crush a piece of Lackwaist Polygonum and apply it topically.
5. Treatment of injuries: Decoct Lackwaist Polygonum in water and mix with wine for oral administration. (①Prescriptions are taken from "Hunan Materia Medica")
6. Treatment of mastitis: Crush the whole plant of Red Shin Powder or potato and buckwheat, mix with wine lees and apply externally. ("Practical Selection of Chinese Herbal Medicines in Guangxi")
