Chinese Medicine Half Monthly Talk | Corydalis yanhusuo

· Interesting stories ·

When facing illness, unbearable pain and helplessness, everyone would wish there was a magic way to save them.

The ancients thought the same. Thus, a formula for relieving pain and rescuing people from difficulties was passed down: "If you feel like dying from heartache, quickly find Corydalis yanhusuo." Its source points to the oldest monograph on Chinese medicine preparation, "Leigong Paozhi Lun". This formula promotes Corydalis yanhusuo, a special painkiller. It was this famous saying that once made Li Shizhen, a great medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, use it to save lives when facing difficult cases.

The name of Corydalis yanhusuo has been modified several times. As early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was called "Xuanhu", and in the Tang Dynasty it was called "Xuanhusuo", which was recorded in the Tang Dynasty Chen Cangqi's "Compendium of Materia Medica". During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, it was renamed "Yanhusuo". Wang Haogu of the Yuan Dynasty explained the reason for the name change and said: "The original name is Xuanhusuo, and Xuan was changed to Yan to avoid the taboo of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty." However, Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty used four names before and after, Zhao Dechang, Zhao Yuanxiu, Zhao Yuankan, and Zhao Heng, none of which had the word Xuan, so where did the taboo come from? In fact, according to historical legends, Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty named his ancestor Zhao Xuanlang, who he had dreamed of, as "Saint Ancestor", so it was necessary to avoid taboos. The Chinese medicine Corydalis yanhusuo was therefore renamed Corydalis yanhusuo. This has not stopped yet, and later it was named "Yuanhusuo", and thus it is often referred to as "Yuanhu". Some people point to the origin of the name "Yuanhusuo" in the Ming Dynasty Jia Suoxue's "Pharmaceutical Chemistry", but the root is probably still the result of taboos in the Qing Dynasty: Although "Pharmaceutical Chemistry" was first written by Jia Suoxue in the late Ming Dynasty, it was actually revised by Li Yanshi in the Qing Dynasty and published in the 19th year of Kangxi. Therefore, after the Song Dynasty, Yanhusuo was restored to Xuanhusuo, and from the early Qing Dynasty, "Xuan" was changed to "Yuan". It is the same as the name change of "Xuanmingfen" and "Xuanshen": because of the taboo of Emperor Kangxi Xuanye. This is how a group of Yuanhusuo, Yuanmingfen and Yuanshen came into being. Today, "Yanhusuo" is the official name of the medicinal material in the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia", but it specifically encloses the synonyms of "Yuanhu".

Li Shizhen attached great importance to this excellent medicine for promoting blood circulation, qi circulation and relieving pain, and personally verified it. He praised it, saying: "Xuanhusuo can promote blood circulation and qi circulation, and it is also a first-class medicine." In the Compendium of Materia Medica, he described his personal experience of using it to treat diseases:

In the palace of King Jing in Qizhou, there was a woman named Hu, the wife of King Jingmu. She got angry when eating buckwheat noodles and suffered from stomach pain. The pain was unbearable and she had not had a bowel movement for three days. The imperial physician in the palace used a variety of drugs to treat her, such as vomiting, laxative, qi-promoting, and stagnation-removing drugs, but she vomited as soon as the drugs entered her mouth, and it did not work. Under such circumstances, when Li Shizhen was treating her, he was thinking carefully, and the sentence in "Thunder God Pao Zhi Lun" suddenly came to his mind. He then prescribed a convenient prescription, using only three grams of Yanhusuo powder, and taking it with warm wine. After taking it, the princess stopped vomiting, and after a while she defecated, and the stomach pain stopped. After that, the princess recovered quickly after medication.

Li Shizhen also realized the good effect of Yanhusuo in relieving pain throughout the body through clinical practice. He recorded a case in the Song Dynasty Fangshao "Bo Zhai Pian":

A patient had unbearable pain all over his body. Many famous doctors in the capital could not cure him. Some said he had a stroke, some said he had dampness, and some said he had athlete's foot. All the medicines he prescribed were ineffective. A doctor named Zhou Liheng determined that he had stagnation of qi and blood. He used Corydalis, Angelica, and Cassia to make a powder, which he took with warm wine. The patient took small doses frequently and the pain gradually stopped.

This is exactly the good analgesic effect of Corydalis yanhusuo. According to this, a patient named Zhao Ting in the Hanlin Academy suffered from limb cramps and body pain. After Li Shizhen used the above method to treat him, he was cured after taking it for a few times.

The application of Corydalis yanhusuo has a long history. Its name and the discussion of its analgesic effect were first seen in "Leigong Paozhi Lun". It was officially recorded in "Bencao Shiyi" in the Tang Dynasty: "Corydalis yanhusuo grows in Xi, from Andong Road, the root is like Pinellia, yellow in color." Li Shizhen explained that "Xi" means "Northeast Yi", indicating that the ancient Corydalis yanhusuo medicinal material was produced in the Northeast. The Northeast was the main production area of ​​medicinal materials in the Tang and Song Dynasties. After the Ming Dynasty, the main production area of ​​medicinal materials was Maoshan, Jiangsu. By the Qing Dynasty, the main production area of ​​medicinal materials had expanded to Hangzhou, Zhejiang. To date, Corydalis yanhusuo is one of the "Eight Zhejiang Flavors" of Zhejiang authentic medicinal materials. Today's Chinese patent medicines such as Huazheng Huisheng Tablets, Yangxue Qingnao Granules, Yuanhu Zhitong Tablets, Yuanhu Zhitong Capsules, and Jiawei Zuojin Pills all contain Corydalis yanhusuo in their formulas and are included in the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia".

· Source of medicinal materials ·

The dried tuber of Corydalis yanhusuo, a plant of the poppy family.

· Nature and flavor ·

It tastes spicy and bitter, and is warm in nature.

It enters the liver and spleen meridians.
· Efficacy and indications·

Promote blood circulation, promote qi circulation, and relieve pain.

It is suitable for chest and flank pain, abdominal pain, chest obstruction and heart pain, amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, postpartum blood stasis, and swelling and pain caused by falls.

For oral use: decoct in water, 3-10 grams; grind into powder and swallow, 1.5-3 grams at a time.

· Diet therapy recommendation ·

Boiled Eggs with Corydalis and Leonurus

Ingredients: 10 grams of Corydalis yanhusuo (Yuanhusuo), 30 grams of Leonurus japonicus, 15 grams of jujube, and 3 to 4 eggs.

Method: After the eggs are half cooked, take them out and peel them, then put them into the water with Yuanhu, Leonurus japonicus and jujube, and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Remove the dregs and eat the eggs and drink the soup.

This medicinal food has the effects of promoting blood circulation and regulating qi, removing blood stasis and relieving pain. It is suitable for dietary therapy to treat female patients with scanty menstruation, abdominal pain due to blood stasis, and purple tongue with petechiae.

Note: For patients with dysmenorrhea caused by blood stasis, you can start taking it one or two days before menstruation and take it for 1 week. Yanhusuo is a Chinese medicine that can be used for both medicine and food, and requires the guidance of a professional doctor.