1. Alias
Purple grass root, soft purple grass root, purple root, purple pill, and earth blood.
2. Plant morphology
Perennial herb, 15-25 cm tall, with coarse and hard hairs covering the entire plant. The root is straight and slightly conical in shape, containing purple material. The root head is often twisted together with the branch root, and the outer skin is dark reddish purple with many cork like structures. The stem is upright, with a single or basal branch. Basal leaves lanceolate or linear, 5-10 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, entire margin, sessile; The stems and leaves are relatively short. Scorpion tail shaped inflorescence with dense stem tips, bracts and leaves shaped, with hard hairs; Calyx with 5 lobes; Fragmented narrow strip; Corolla purple or light purple, tubular, 5-lobed, tube nearly equal to calyx, base without hair ring, throat without appendages; Five stamens, born at the throat of the corolla tube (short stem) or in the middle of the tube (long stem); The ovary is superior, with 4 lobes, and the top of the style is 2 lobes. Small nuts are oval in shape with wart like protrusions. The flowering period is from June to July, and the fruiting period is from August to September.
3. Origin distribution
Born on rocky slopes and grassy slopes in high mountains. It is distributed in Xinjiang, Xizang and Inner Mongolia.
4. Harvesting and processing
Digging roots in spring and autumn, removing soil and residual stems, and drying in the sun.
5. Characteristics of medicinal herbs
Irregular cylindrical shape, often twisted, measuring 7-20 centimeters in length and 1-2.5 centimeters in diameter. The surface is purple red or purple brown, the skin is loose, in the form of strip like flakes, often overlapping more than 10 layers, and easy to peel off. There are visible divergent stem residues at the top. Lightweight, soft in texture, easy to break, uneven in cross-section, small in size, yellow white or yellow in color. Qi is unique, with a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
6. Sexual Taste Returning to the Classics
Cold in nature, sweet and salty in taste. Returning to the Heart Meridian and Liver Meridian.
7. Effect and Function
Cooling blood, promoting blood circulation, detoxifying and clearing rashes. A heat clearing and blood cooling medicine classified under the category of Qingre medicine.
8. Clinical application
Take 5-9 grams and decoct in water. Apply an appropriate amount externally, boil ointment or soak in vegetable oil and rub. Used to treat conditions such as excessive blood heat and toxicity, purple black rashes, measles opacity, ulcers, eczema, and burns caused by water and fire.
9. Pharmacological research
It has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, sedative, analgesic, anti pathogenic microorganism, anti-tumor, anti fertility, excitatory and smoothing effects. Currently, it is believed that purpurin and acetyl purpurin are the main components of anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition, the effects of anti gonadotropins GLH and FSH are at least partially attributed to the action of shikonin, which accounts for 20% to 3% of the dry weight of purple grass.
10. Chemical composition
Containing shikonin, acetyl shikonin, and polysaccharide components. It also contains components such as β '- dimethylacryloyl acanin, deoxypurpurin, isobutyrylpurpurin, and oxalic acid.
11. Usage taboos
People with gastrointestinal deficiency, cold and loose stools are prohibited from taking it and should not wash it with water.
12. Compatibility prescription
① Treatment of Five Dan Heat Yellow: 9 grams of purple grass and 30 grams of aged grass. Boil it in water. (Essentials of Herbal Cutting)
② Treating carbuncles and closed stools: equal parts of purple grass and melon seeds. Boil and take with new water. (Straight Point Square)
③ To treat white baldness in children: apply purple grass decoction. (Holy Blessing Formula)
④ To treat insect bites: Apply purple grass oil on it. (Holy Blessing Formula)
⑤ Treating (acne) sores quickly and promoting bowel movements: divide purple grass, wood fragrance, Poria cocos, and Atractylodes macrocephala into equal parts, and stir fry a small amount of licorice. Add glutinous rice and fry. (Zhizhi Fang Zicao Muxiang Soup)
⊙ The content of the article is for clinical reference only. Non TCM professionals are not allowed to test drugs.