1. Aliases

Fishing Vine, Double Hook, Hook Vine Hook, Square Hook Vine, Inverted Thorn, Golden Hook Vine.
2. Plant morphology
Gouteng: Vine. Up to 10 meters long. The small branches are square prism shaped, smooth, and have white powder when young. The abnormal branches are hooked, 1-2 centimeters long, and bend downwards. Leaves opposite; The leaves are papery, elliptical in shape, 6-10 centimeters long and 3-6 centimeters wide, with a pointed tip at the tip and a wide wedge-shaped base, entire; Stipules 2-lobed. The head inflorescence is single axillary or the raceme is terminal; Calyx has medium coarse hairs; The corolla is yellow. The capsule is conical in shape and has sparse pubescence. The flowering period is from June to August, and the fruiting period is from October to November. Hua Gou Teng: Vine. Branchlets square, hairless. The leaves are membranous, elliptical, 9-14 centimeters long and 5-8 centimeters wide, with no hair on both sides. The stipes are not cracked at all, wide triangular to semi-circular, sometimes slightly concave at the top, and the head inflorescence crosses the calyx, with a diameter of 2-4 centimeters. Sparse to numerous small bracts between flowers. The peduncle of the inflorescence is 5-8 centimeters long, hairless, and the calyx lobes are linear and rectangular in shape, covered with short pubescence. The small capsule is rod-shaped. The flowering period is from May to July, and the fruiting period is from October to November.
3. Origin distribution
Hook vine: grows under moist forests or shrubs. Distributed in Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan and other places. Hua Gou Teng: Born in sparse forests or moist secondary forests at high altitudes in mountainous areas. Distributed in Hubei and various provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River.
4. Harvesting and processing
Cut the stem segments with hooks in autumn and winter, remove the remaining leaves, and dry them in the sun.
5. Characteristics of medicinal herbs
Cylindrical or quasi square cylindrical, 2-3 centimeters long, with a diameter of 0.2-0.5 centimeters. Surface reddish brown to purplish red with fine longitudinal stripes, smooth and hairless; Some yellow green to grayish brown individuals may have white spotted skin pores covered with yellow brown soft hairs. On most branches, there are two downward curved hooks (sterile peduncle), or only one side has a hook and the other side has a raised scar; The hook is slightly flat or round, with a slender tip at the tip and a wider base; On the branches at the base of the hook, there are dotted marks and circular stipe marks after the petiole falls off. Durable in texture, with a yellow brown cross-section, fibrous skin, and yellow white or hollow pulp. Odorless, with a light taste.
6. Nature, taste, and meridian tropism
Cold in nature and sweet in taste. Guigan Meridian and Pericardial Meridian.
7. Effect and function
Clearing heat and calming the liver, calming the wind and calming the shock. A wind calming and antispasmodic drug belonging to the subcategory of liver calming and wind calming drugs.
8. Clinical applications
Dosage 3-12 grams, decoct or add powder. Used to treat headaches, dizziness, convulsions, preeclampsia, and hypertension.
9. Pharmacological research
Pharmacological experiments have shown that it has the effects of lowering blood pressure, affecting hemodynamics, enhancing myocardial electrophysiology, and combating arrhythmias; Inhibiting platelet aggregation and anti thrombotic formation; It has sedative and anticonvulsant effects, as well as smooth muscle contraction.
10. Chemical composition
Contains alkaloids such as crocodine, isocrocodine, crocodine, and dihydrocrocodine. In addition, it contains components such as camptothecin, hyperoside, triterpenoid, isodehydroglucanine, isooglucanine IV, oxide, levorotatory, epicatechin, scopolamine, etc.
11. Taboos for use
Those who are most capable of stealing qi and suffer from spleen and stomach deficiency and cold should take it with caution.
12. Compatibility prescription
① Spotted rash: Divide the hook and purple grass into equal parts. Above is fine powder, take one dose or 1.5-3 grams per dose. Warm wine is mixed without time. (Purple Grass Powder in the Direct Formula of Pediatric Medicine Syndrome)
② Treatment for facial nerve paralysis: 60g of hookworm vine and 125g of fresh Polygonum multiflorum vine. Boiled in water. (Zhejiang Folk Commonly Used Herbs)
③ Treatment for vomiting blood: 10 grams each of Gouteng, Ge Shan Xiao, and Niao Bu Luo. Boiled in water. (Compilation of Xiangxi Miao Medicine)
④ To treat children's night crying: 6g of hookworm vine, 7 cicada molts, and 1 Zha of rush grass. Boiled in water. (Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine)
⑤ Treatment for hypertension, dizziness, and neuropathic headache: 6-15 grams of Gouteng. Boiled in water. (Guangzhou Army's Handbook of Common Chinese Herbal Medicine)
The content of the article is for clinical reference only. Non professionals in traditional Chinese medicine are not allowed to try medication.