Araceae, Chinese medicine name, also known as tiger ear, pointed tail taro, mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, with the effects of clearing heat and detoxification, dispersing masses and relieving pain. It is mainly used for the treatment of Treponema pallidum disease, initial stage of ulcers and abscesses, scrofula, cellulitis, chronic osteomyelitis, snake bites, and bee sting.
[Functions and Indications]
① "Selected Practical Chinese Herbal Medicines in Guangxi": "Detoxifies and reduces fever, reduces swelling and relieves pain. It is used for high fever that does not subside, snake bites, pulmonary tuberculosis, influenza, intestinal typhoid, cellulitis, unknown swelling and toxic bee stings."
② "Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Sichuan": "Detoxifies and disperses masses. It is used for the initial stage of scrofula and abscesses."
③ "Guangxi Medicinal Plant Directory": "Rhizome: used for the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis, Treponema pallidum disease, and burns; leaves: used for the treatment of toxic sores."
[Usage and Dosage]
Orally: decoction, 1-3 qian (1-2 liang of fresh product, it should be processed, it is recommended to decoct for more than 2 hours to avoid poisoning). Externally: pounded and applied.
[Pharmacological Effects]
Anti-snake venom effect: Administering Araceae water-alcohol precipitate at a dose of 100g/kg 30 minutes before injecting snake venom has a significant protective effect on cobra venom, king cobra venom, and Agkistrodon venom, with protection rates of 85.7%, 80%, and 30% respectively. However, it has no protective effect on Trimeresurus venom and Agkistrodon venom. It has also been found that sodium chloride (NaCl) also has a certain protective effect on cobra venom, indicating that the traditional experience of using salt-fried processed products for snake bites has some scientific basis.
[Clinical Applications]
1. Treatment of Treponema pallidum disease
Take half a jin of fresh Araceae rhizome, peel and slice it, stir-fry with a little salt until dry, add 1000ml of water, and decoct it into 250ml, which is the daily dose divided into 2 servings. Alternatively, use dried Araceae slices to make soaked pills, with each pill equivalent to 11g of raw herb, adults take 9-12 pills 3 times a day, and reduce the dosage for children until recovery. 103 cases were treated, with a cure rate of 93.20%. Except for poor efficacy in the case of pulmonary hemorrhage, the average body temperature returned to normal in 2.2 days for other types. During the treatment, only a few patients had side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and itching in the throat, which can be greatly reduced by adding an appropriate amount of salt and prolonging the decoction time (more than 2 hours) to reduce toxicity and side effects.
2. Treatment of snake bites
Take fresh Araceae rhizome, remove the outer skin, slice it, add a little salt, stir-fry until yellow and dry, grind it into powder, and fill it into capsules (3 minutes per capsule), or make sugar-coated pills (0.3g per pill). Adults take 3-4 pills or 1 capsule, 3 times a day. Critically ill patients can take 1 capsule every half an hour, and then change to 1 capsule every hour. Then gradually extend the interval between doses every 2-4 hours until the symptoms disappear. Adjust the dosage for children. 100 cases were treated, including 21 cases of hemolytic toxin type, 4 cases of neurotoxin type, and 75 cases of mixed toxin type. Except for 1 case of silver ring snake bite that was ineffective after 9 hours of rescue, the other 99 cases were cured. The shortest duration of treatment was 3 days with a total dosage of 10.8g, and the longest duration was 34 days with a total dosage of 145.8g. Among them, 4 cases of hemolytic toxin type had severe symptoms and received integrated treatment of Chinese and Western medicine. Araceae has certain therapeutic effects on hemolytic toxin, mixed toxin, and neurotoxin snake bites, especially for patients bitten by Daboia russelii, Naja naja, and Trimeresurus stejnegeri. Based on the above clinical applications, the dosage has been increased to 8 pills for adults and 4 pills for children, and no toxic reactions were observed.
3. Prevention of rice field dermatitis
Pound 20 jin of Araceae, mix it with 5 jin of lime, soak the mixture in water, filter out the residue after 3 days, and apply the liquid to the limbs and water-soaked areas before going to the fields.[2] #FormatImgID_0#
[Contraindications]
Raw Araceae is highly toxic and should not be taken orally. Oral administration should be processed and the dosage should not be excessive. External use should be cautious because applying it externally can cause blisters. Symptoms of poisoning: itching of the skin upon contact with the juice; blindness when the eyes and stems come into contact. Ingesting stems or leaves can cause itching and swelling of the tongue and throat, drooling, burning pain in the intestines and stomach, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, convulsions, and severe cases can cause suffocation, cardiac paralysis, and death.
