Perhaps we are unfamiliar with the "Dishao Gua", but it is actually a highly resilient Chinese herb. The whole plant is harvested in summer and autumn and has the effects of replenishing qi and promoting lactation, clearing heat and reducing fire. It can be used to treat lung diseases. The fruit of the Dishao Gua can be eaten or used as medicine. Let's learn about the nutritional value of Dishao Gua!
【Morphological Characteristics of Dishao Gua】
This wild plant is distributed in Northeast China, North China, Northwest China, and Jiangsu; as well as in North Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. It is very common in the wild in northern China.
Dishao Gua is a drought-resistant plant that can grow in grassland vegetation from typical grasslands to grassland desertification in northern China.
It mainly grows in sandy and gravelly soils, but can also grow in loamy soils. It grows on slopes, sand dunes, dry valleys, wastelands, and field edges at altitudes of 200-2000 meters.
Dishao Gua belongs to the family Convolvulaceae and is a perennial upright or semi-upright herb. You can often see it when weeding, as it is easy to find when it is young.
In spring, they grow on well-cultivated yellow soil together with catgrass, wild peas, thistles, and bitter buckwheat. From the shape of the plant, Dishao Gua looks somewhat similar to field bindweed. They both grow upright at first and have narrow leaves.
In fact, the leaves of Dishao Gua are even narrower and thicker than field bindweed. When the stems and leaves are broken, a milky liquid will come out, which is the most distinguishing feature compared to field bindweed.
【Methods of Consuming Dishao Gua】
The fruit of Dishao Gua can be eaten when it is fresh. It has a texture similar to that of a thatched needle, and inside it is fluffy with some moisture and a slightly sweet taste.
When Dishao Gua is old, the entire shell loses moisture and cracks open, and the hairy seeds inside will fall off. If it is too old, it cannot be eaten anymore because the fluffy substance has become cotton-like and completely dry.
You can think of it like the seeds of kapok, which are also elongated and contain a bunch of fluffy material, with the seeds hidden inside the fluff.
Dishao Gua grows quite abundantly on grasslands and is liked by camels and sheep, making it a good plant for animal feed.
The tender fruit of Dishao Gua can be eaten directly. It has a fragrant aroma, crisp and sweet taste, and is very nutritious. It is a very healthy and green wild fruit.
【Nutritional Value of Dishao Gua】
The whole plant contains 1.5% rubber and 3.6% resin, which can be used as industrial raw materials.
Dishao Gua has slender stems with low lignification, soft texture, and is conducive to animal grazing.
When fresh, Dishao Gua is favored by camels, goats, and sheep. These animals especially like to eat its tender pods. After drying out and losing its leaves, its palatability decreases.
From a chemical composition perspective, Dishao Gua has a relatively high nutritional value. Its protein content is similar to purple clover and comparable to wheat bran.
It is also rich in crude fat and ash, especially its calcium content is relatively high, close to that of common legume forage, and it contains very little indigestible nutrient crude fiber (Table 153-1).
Not only does Dishao Gua have a relatively rich protein content, but the quality of its protein is also good.
In terms of the quantity of the 9 essential amino acids it contains (Table 153-2), it is comparable to alfalfa hay and contains nearly half as much as wheat bran.
According to analysis, Dishao Gua contains 9 elements as shown in the table (Table 153-3). Except for aluminum, all of them are essential for animal nutrition. Their content is relatively high in terms of ash, nitrogen, calcium, sulfur, aluminum, phosphorus, iron, silicon, low in potassium and sodium.
Dishao Gua can be considered as a plant of medium or good forage quality. Its fruit and seeds can also be used as medicine, and the tender fruit can be eaten.
It is known as "Sha Nai Cao" in Chinese medicine, and "Dou Ge Nu" in Mongolian medicine. It has a sweet taste, warm property, and functions to promote lactation, regulate blood, reduce inflammation and pain, and stop diarrhea. The whole plant contains 1.5% rubber and 3.6% resin, which can be used as industrial raw materials.
