Light-leaved Water Plantain is mainly used in medicine with its roots or whole plant. It grows in moist fields or by the side of water ditches, and is mainly harvested from spring to early winter. Let's now learn about the efficacy and usage of Light-leaved Water Plantain!
【Morphological Characteristics】
It is a perennial herb, 20 to 80 centimeters tall, with creeping roots at the lower part and square stems with hairs on the nodes.
The calyx is bell-shaped, 7.2 millimeters long, without hairs or with slight soft hairs on the outer surface, with 10 veins and 5 teeth, needle-like at the tips of the teeth, with cilia on the edges, 3 teeth on the upper lip and 2 teeth on the lower lip;
The corolla is pale red or pale purple, 14.5 millimeters long, the upper lip is inverted ovate, with short soft hairs on the outer surface and entire margin, and the lower lip is 3-lobed; stamens are 4, with 2 being strong; the stigma is 2-lobed at the top, shorter than the stamens.
The small nut is inverted ovate, 1.8 millimeters long, and smooth and black. It flowers from April to June and fruits from May to July.
【Medicinal Efficacy】
Light-leaved Water Plantain has the effects of clearing heat, resolving phlegm, and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. It is mainly used to treat cough due to wind-heat, throat pain and swelling, whooping cough, dysentery, and herpes zoster.
1. "Hangzhou Medicinal Plants": "A strong tonic for relieving fatigue."
2. "Folk Herbal Medicine in Zhejiang Province": "Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory."
3. "Medicinal Resources Catalog of Wenling County": "Nourishes yin, clears heat, eliminates phlegm. Treats wind-heat rising, throat pain and swelling, cough, loss of voice, and herpes fever sores."
【Applications of Prescription】
1. Treatment for whooping cough: 5 to 10 grams of Light-leaved Water Plantain, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar or white sugar, decoct with water and take orally.
2. Treatment for tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and other throat conditions: 30 grams of Light-leaved Water Plantain with roots or whole plant, or add 30 grams of Achyranthes bidentata and 15 grams of Forsythia suspensa, decoct with water, and use for gargling and swallowing.
3. Treatment for herpes zoster: Fresh roots of Light-leaved Water Plantain, crush and apply the juice to the affected area.
4. Treatment for dysentery: 30 to 60 grams of Light-leaved Water Plantain, decoct with water and take orally.
