1. Alias

Shanhai Snail, Sheep Milk, Codonopsis pilosula, Sheep Milk Ginseng, and Milk Grass.
2. Plant morphology
Perennial herbaceous or slightly woody vine with tangled roots, completely hairless or occasionally covered with sparse soft hairs on stems and leaves, with white milk, enlarged roots, spindle shaped, grayish yellow, scattered with numerous pores. Single leaf, small on the stem, alternate; Born on small branches, often clustered at the top of 3 or 4 branches, with short stalks, soft leaves, diamond shaped ovate, narrowly ovate or elliptical, 3-10 cm long and 1.5-4 cm wide. Flowers bloom in summer, yellow green or white, with purple spots. One or two flowers grow at the top of the branch, and the stem is often very long, about 1-9 centimeters long. The calyx tube is hemispherical, the eaves are 5-lobed, and the lobes are ovate triangular, measuring 1.3-3 centimeters long; The corolla is broad bell shaped, 2-4 cm long, 2-3.5 cm in diameter, with 5 shallow lobes at the eaves, triangular lobes, and rolled back; The stamens have diamond-like filaments. The lower half of the capsule is hemispherical, with a beak at the top; The seeds are small and have wings.
3. Origin distribution
Born on the banks of mountains, valleys, streams or under forests, prefers slightly damp environments, and is distributed in eastern, central and southern parts of China.
4. Harvesting and processing
Harvesting in autumn. Dig out the roots, remove the fibrous roots and residual stems, sun dry or semi dry, rub once a day until completely dry, or slice fresh and sun dry.
5. Characteristics of medicinal herbs
It is spindle shaped, inverted egg shaped spindle shaped or nearly cylindrical, unbranched or slightly branched, 6-15 cm long, 2-6 cm in diameter, gray brown or gray yellow, with deep wrinkled longitudinal lines and many bud eyes, and remnants of stems at the top. There are dense and obvious ring lines below, and the ring lines gradually become sparse downwards. Slightly brittle in texture, easy to break, uneven in cross-section, porous cracks, varying in slice size, with a grayish yellow or light brown cut surface, and no clear distinction between the skin and wood parts. Qi is subtle, with a sweet and slightly bitter taste.
6. Sexual Taste Returning to the Classics
Warm in nature, sweet in taste. Returning to the Spleen Meridian and Lung Meridian.
7. Effect and Function
Nourish blood and milk, clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and discharge pus. Belonging to the category of clearing heat and detoxifying drugs.
8. Clinical application
Dosage: 15-30 grams; Apply an appropriate amount externally, fry and wash with water. After treating diseases such as body weakness, insufficient breast milk, abscesses, sores, and mastitis.
9. Pharmacological research
Sedation, anticonvulsant, analgesic; Improve the impairment of memory acquisition, memory reproduction, and memory consolidation caused by medication; Anti fatigue, can lower blood pressure and stimulate breathing; Antitumor, antioxidant, antibacterial, cough suppressant, enhancing the body's immune system, etc.
10. Chemical composition
This product mainly contains triterpenoid saponins, sheep milk saponins A, B, C, alkaloids, volatile oils, polysaccharides and other components.
11. Usage taboos
At the onset of external infection, use with caution for those without sweat. Use with caution for those with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, diarrhea and low appetite.
12. Compatibility prescription
① Treatment for physical weakness, dizziness, and headache: 60g of Four Leaf Ginseng. Boil 2 eggs in water to extract the juice, then serve the eggs and soup. (Hubei Journal of Chinese Herbal Medicine)
② Weakness of Qi and Blood after Treatment: 15g of Four Leaf Ginseng and 15 g of Rehmannia glutinosa. Fry and serve. (Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine)
③ Treatment for cough and phlegm: 60g of Four Leaf Ginseng, 9g of Platycodon grandiflorus and 9g of Trichoderma lucidum each. Boil it in water. (Hunan Pharmaceutical Journal)
④ Treatment of lung abscess: 90g of Four Leaf Ginseng, 90g of Winter Melon Seeds, 30g of Coix Seed, 60g of Reed Roots, and 6g of Platycodon grandiflorum. Boil in water, take 3 times a day: (Jilin Chinese Herbal Medicine)
⑤ Treatment for milk moth, intestinal abscess, and lung abscess: 15 grams each of Four Leaf Ginseng and Dandelion. Fry and serve. (Zhejiang Folk Herbal Medicine)
⑥ Treat various types of carbuncles, swollen toxins, breast abscesses, and scrofula: 120 grams of fresh roots of Four Leaf Ginseng. Boil in water and take continuously for 3-7 days. (Commonly Used Herbs in Zhejiang Folk Medicine)
⑦ Tongru: 60g Four Leaf Ginseng, 9g Tongcao and 9g Mutong. Boil meat. (Hunan Medicinal Chronicles) ⑧ Treating Yin deficiency headache, women's vaginal discharge: 45g of Four Leaf Ginseng and 120g of lean pork. Stew soup, decoct medicine with soup and take it. (Jiangxi Folk Herbal Medicine)
⊙ The content of the article is for clinical reference only. Non TCM professionals are not allowed to test drugs.