One Stalk of Snow Mountain Artemisia is a commonly used traditional Chinese herb in Tibet. The roots are dug from September to October, and after removing the roots, they are cleaned, sliced, and dried in the sun. One Stalk of Snow Mountain Artemisia is a medicinal herb with toxicity, so it should be used with caution and not used indiscriminately. Let's take a look at the main components of Snow Mountain Artemisia together with the editor!
One Stalk of Snow Mountain Artemisia
The original form of Snow Mountain Artemisia
It is a perennial herb, about 90 centimeters tall. The rhizome is inverted conical. The stem has appressed short pubescence. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, palmately divided, with shallow lobes that are almost pinnately lobed or coarsely toothed, green on the upper surface with a few short hairs and pale green on the lower surface with almost no hairs.
The inflorescence is terminal, with many flowers; bracts 2, linear, located above the middle of the peduncle; sepals 5, petaloid, yellow-green, with one petal on the upper surface helmet-shaped.
It grows on the edge of mountain forests and shrubs.
Processing of Snow Mountain Artemisia
Soak One Stalk of Snow Mountain Artemisia in cold water, change the water 2-3 times a day, soak until there is no numbing sensation when tasted, take it out, and boil it with licorice and black beans until there is no white core inside, then take it out and dry it.
Functions and indications of Snow Mountain Artemisia
It has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, and can dispel wind and remove dampness.
Main components of Snow Mountain Artemisia
One Stalk of Snow Mountain Artemisia
Aconitine: English name Aconitine
Alias: Fuzi Jing
Molecular formula: C34H47NO11
Molecular weight: 645.74
It is a diterpenoid alkaloid. It exists in various plants of the genus Aconitum, such as Aconitum napellus, Aconitum carmichaelii, Aconitum kusnezoffii, and Aconitum heterophyllum, etc. It is a colorless and transparent crystal with a melting point of 204°C and specific rotation of +19° (chloroform). It is soluble in chloroform, benzene, ethanol, etc. Aconitine is an ester compound that is easily hydrolyzed to lose one molecule of acetic acid, thereby reducing its toxicity. Further hydrolysis removes one molecule of benzoic acid to generate aconine, which has only 1/2000 to 1/4000 of the toxicity of aconitine.
The toxicity of Aconitum carmichaelii (the lateral root of Aconitum) is reduced after processing, which may be related to the property of reduced toxicity after aconitine is hydrolyzed by water. Aconitine has analgesic effects on various neuralgia and gout, but due to its high toxicity, it is no longer used in clinical practice.
Chinese medicine and folk medicine widely use various species of Aconitum to relieve heat and pain and treat rheumatism. Due to the high content of aconitine in Aconitum, caution must be exercised when using it. The toxic dose of aconitine (oral) is 0.2 milligrams, and the lethal dose is 2.5 milligrams.
Chinese medicine uses mung beans or honeysuckle to detoxify.
