Medicinal herb Guanmutong, also known as Aristolochia contorta or Northeast Guanmutong, is the dried stem of Aristolochia contorta, a plant in the Aristolochiaceae family. Although Guanmutong is effective in treating oral ulcers, it is also highly toxic. Therefore, it is important for us to have a detailed understanding of Guanmutong!
【Efficacy and Functions of Guanmutong】
Guanmutong clears inner heat, promotes urination, and regulates menstruation and lactation. It is used for treating oral ulcers, restlessness with red urine, edema, painful and difficult urination, excessive vaginal discharge, amenorrhea, insufficient lactation, and damp heat arthralgia.
"Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China": "Purges heat, reduces fire. Treats oral ulcers and urinary retention."
Guanmutong can also be used to treat painful and difficult urination by combining it with Plantago asiatica. For edema, it can be used together with Poria cocos and Morus alba bark.
When using Guanmutong to treat oral ulcers, it can be combined with other Chinese herbal medicines such as Rehmannia glutinosa, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Phyllostachys nigra leaves.
【Identification of Guanmutong】
1. The powder of Guanmutong is pale yellow. Most of the fiber cells are bundled, elongated and prismatic, with a diameter of 11-20μm. The cell walls have distinct reticulate pores, and the pore openings are in the form of slanting cracks or intersecting crosses. The dividing fibers have a diameter of 21-42μm, and the oblique pores are obvious. Stone cells are rare, and they are square or polygonal with thick walls.
Calcium oxalate cluster crystals have a diameter of about 40μm. The large reticulate duct has a diameter of about 328μm, mostly fragmented, with reticulate pores in a tight arrangement; the tube cells with reticulate pores are rare.
2. Take 1g of Guanmutong powder, add 20ml of 70% ethanol, heat reflux for 15 minutes, let it cool, and filter. Take a drop of the filtrate and place it on filter paper. After drying, observe it under ultraviolet light (365nm), it shows a sky blue fluorescence; add 1 drop of dilute hydrochloric acid to the spot, it shows a yellow-green fluorescence after drying, and it shows a sky blue fluorescence again after fumigation with ammonia vapor.
【Precautions for Taking Guanmutong】
Guanmutong should not be used by patients with kidney disease, pregnant women, or newborns. It is generally not suitable for children and the elderly. This herb should not be used for long periods of time, and kidney function should be regularly checked.
Guanmutong is a commonly used Chinese medicinal herb with the function of clearing heat and eliminating dampness. It used to be a major ingredient in the widely used Chinese patent medicine Long Dan Xie Gan Wan.
However, Guanmutong contains aristolochic acid, which has a strong toxicity to the kidneys and can damage renal tubular function, leading to renal failure. Due to the close relationship between the three, although the names of the events may vary, they refer to almost the same thing.
The toxic component in Guanmutong, aristolochic acid, can cause acute renal failure and even death when taken in large amounts.
