Xuanshen, also known as Yuanshen, is mainly used as dried rhizome in medicine. It has a slightly sweet taste and has good therapeutic effects on hot diseases, especially for symptoms such as sore throat and dry mouth. Now let's learn about the efficacy and function of Xuanshen together!
【Efficacy and Function of Xuanshen】
1. Clearing heat and cooling blood
Xuanshen is cold in nature and can clear the heat in the blood. It is used to treat diseases where heat enters the blood, often combined with Shengdi and Danpi, such as Qingying Tang.
2. Nourishing yin and generating fluids
Xuanshen is rich in fluids and can clear heat and nourish yin. It is used for symptoms of heat diseases that damage body fluids, such as dry mouth, dry stool, and polydipsia.
3. Detoxifying and purging fire
It is used for various hot diseases with excessive heat toxins, and it has the effect of clearing heat, purging fire, and detoxifying. It is used to treat fever, throat swelling, red eyes, ulcers, and gangrene.
4. Softening hardness and dispersing masses
Xuanshen has a salty taste and can soften hardness and disperse stagnation. It is used to treat swollen masses caused by phlegm-fire stagnation, such as Xiaolu Pill.
【Methods of Consumption of Xuanshen】
1. Xuanshen Tea
Ingredients: Xuanshen, Ophiopogon, Platycodon, 1.5 grams each, Licorice, 5 grams.
Procedure: Grind the herbs into fine powder, wrap them in gauze, and brew with boiling water.
Efficacy: Suitable for chronic smokers with symptoms of lung yin deficiency and cough.
2. Xuanshen Magnetic Wine
Ingredients: 150 grams of Xuanshen, 150 grams of magnetic stone (burned red and quenched in vinegar 7 times, finely ground and soaked in water), 1000 ml of white wine.
Procedure: Cut Xuanshen into pieces, put it in a bag together with the magnetic stone, put it in a container with wine, seal it, soak for 7 days, and filter out the residue. Take 10 ml on an empty stomach before bedtime.
Efficacy: Nourishing yin, purging fire, and suppressing yang. Suitable for scrofula with cold and heat symptoms.
【Precautions for Using Xuanshen】
It is not suitable for use in cases of low blood and dizziness, excessive coldness, fullness, blood deficiency with abdominal pain, and spleen deficiency with diarrhea.
When using Xuanshen clinically, medication should still be based on the symptoms. It should not be taken if there is dampness in the spleen and stomach or if there is spleen deficiency with diarrhea.
The combination of Chinese herbs has its own taboos. "Leigong Paozhilun" states: "Do not let it come into contact with copper, as it can choke the throat and blind the eyes."
"Bencao Jingji Zhu" states: "Dislikes Astragalus, dried ginger, jujube, and dogwood."
The dosage should be strictly controlled, based on the condition and individual dose. Overdosing should be avoided. The dosage of Xuanshen should be adjusted according to the changes in the condition and individual differences, but the maximum dosage should not exceed 15 grams.
