Acid Vine Wood is the branches, leaves, or roots of the plant Acid Vine, which belongs to the Rubiaceae family. The fruit of Acid Vine is called Acid Vine Fruit in traditional Chinese medicine, and both Acid Vine Wood and Acid Vine Fruit have the effects of clearing heat and stopping bleeding. Now let's learn about the efficacy and function of Acid Vine Wood!
Image of Acid Vine Wood
Characteristics of Acid Vine Wood
Acid Vine Wood is a climbing shrub or vine, with small shrubs that grow up to 1-3 meters in height. The leaves are opposite, with petioles measuring 5-8mm in length. The leaf blades are firm and papery, inverted ovate or long ovate in shape, measuring 3-4cm in length and 1-1.5cm in width, occasionally reaching 7cm in length and 2.5cm in width.
The apex is round, blunt, or slightly concave, while the base is wedge-shaped. The leaf margins are entire, with a thin white powder on the back. The midrib is raised, and the lateral veins are not obvious. The inflorescence is cymose, axillary or lateral, growing on leafless branches from the previous year, measuring 3-8mm in length, and covered in fine hairs, with 3-8 flowers.
The calyx is fused at the base, reaching 1/2 to 1/3 of its length, with ovate or triangular lobes and acute apices, and glandular dots. The petals are white or yellowish, separate, and ovate or elongated. The apex is round or blunt, measuring about 2mm in length, with marginal hairs and glandular dots on the inside. The stamens degenerate in female flowers and slightly exceed the petals in male flowers. The filaments are erect, and the anthers have glandular dots on the back.
The pistils degenerate in male flowers and are slightly longer than the petals in female flowers. The ovary is bottle-shaped, and the style is slender, with a flattened or shield-shaped stigma. The fruit is spherical, with a diameter of about 5mm, and glandular dots are not obvious. The flowering period is from December to March of the following year, and the fruiting period is from April to June.
Image of Acid Vine Wood
Efficacy and Function of Acid Vine Wood
In traditional Chinese medicine, Acid Vine Wood is believed to have the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, dispersing stasis, and stopping bleeding. It is mainly used to treat red and swollen throat, bleeding gums, dysentery, diarrhea, ulcers, itchy skin, and painful hemorrhoids and injuries.
1. "Lu Chuan Ben Cao": It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It is used to treat oral inflammation, pharyngitis, gingivitis, ulcers, etc. It can also detoxify the poison of large tea, wood fungus, and croton.
2. "Nanning Pharmaceutical Gazette": It has insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, and digestion-promoting effects. It is externally applied to treat bruises, ulcers, and sores. It is also used internally to treat internal and external hemorrhoids (and for external washing), sore throat, and foot pain (cooked with dog's feet).
3. "Common Chinese Medicinal Herbs Manual" by the Guangzhou Military Region: It can promote blood circulation, relieve pain, astringe, and stop diarrhea. It is used to treat bruises, intestinal inflammation and diarrhea, and throat swelling and pain.
Image of Acid Vine Wood
Clinical Applications of Acid Vine Wood
1. For intestinal inflammation, dysentery, and throat swelling and pain, take 30g of Acid Vine Wood root, decoct in water, and drink the decoction.
2. For tinea capitis in children, take 1.5kg of Acid Vine Wood root, decoct in water to make a concentrated soup, and use it to wash the affected area with warm water twice a day. Repeat for 3 days.
3. For prolapse of the anus or uterus, take 30g of Acid Vine Wood root, 15g of castor bean root, and 25g of Lelu root (from the plant Oroxylum indicum), and cook with chicken meat. Take orally.
4. For dysmenorrhea and amenorrhea, take 30g of Acid Vine Wood root, decoct in water, and drink the decoction.
5. For bruises and swelling caused by injuries, take fresh Acid Vine Wood leaves, crush them, fry them in alcohol, and apply them hot to the affected area.
