1. Alias
Dodder seeds, silk seeds, and yellow vine seeds.
2. Plant morphology
Annual parasitic herb. The stem is slender and thread like, orange yellow in color, with many branches, wrapped around other plant bodies, and bears suckers everywhere, invading the host's body. Leaves degenerate into triangular scales. Flowers white, clustered; Bracts oval in shape; Calyx cup-shaped, apex 5-lobed, lobes ovate or elliptical; Corolla bell shaped, 5-lobed, lobes triangular; 5 stamens, short filaments, alternate with corolla lobes. 1 pistil, upper ovary, 2 chambers, 2 ovules per chamber, 2 styles, stigma head shaped. The capsule is flattened spherical, about 3 millimeters long, brown in color. The flowering period is from July to September, and the fruiting period is from August to October.
3. Origin distribution
Born along mountain slopes, fields, wastelands, and shrubs, it often parasitizes leguminous, Asteraceae, and Chenopodiaceae plants, especially soybeans. Distributed in most parts of the country. The medicinal herb Dodder is mainly produced in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other places.
4. Harvesting and processing
In mid October, when the shell of the dodder fruit turns yellow and one-third of the soybean plants have dried up, the host is cut off, dried, threshed, and cleaned. Separate the pure dodder seeds from soybeans and store them separately. Preparation: Remove impurities, wash, and dry in the sun. Wine dodder cake: take clean dodder seeds and put them into a pot, add proper amount of water and boil them until they crack, turn them over constantly. When the water is sucked out and becomes thick Congee, add yellow wine and white flour, mix them well, take them out, press them into large pieces, cut them into cubes, and dry them (100kg for each dodder, 15kg for yellow wine and 15kg for white flour).
5. Characteristics of medicinal herbs
It is spherical or oval in shape, with a slightly flattened bulge and a diameter of 1-1.5 millimeters. One end protrudes slightly in a beak shape, leaning towards one side. There are light colored dots in the slightly concave area, and a strip-shaped navel in the center. The surface is light brown or grayish yellow, slightly rough. Hard in texture. After soaking in boiling water, the surface becomes sticky. When heated and boiled until the seed coat ruptures, a yellow white, long, coiled embryo resembling silk is exposed. Odorless, with a slightly bitter taste.
6. Sexual Taste Returning to the Classics
Flat in nature, spicy and sweet in taste. Return to the liver meridian, kidney meridian, and spleen meridian.
7. Effect and Function
Tonifying the kidneys and nourishing essence, nourishing the liver tomorrow. It belongs to the category of tonifying yang drugs under the category of tonifying deficiency drugs.
8. Clinical application
Used for kidney deficiency, lower back pain, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, cloudy urine, dribbling, and frequent urination; Fetal restlessness and threatened miscarriage; Insufficient liver and kidney function, blurred vision, and decreased visual acuity. In addition, this product can also be used for spleen deficiency, insufficient food intake, and constipation. It is often used in combination with Atractylodes macrocephala, Yam, Poria cocos, and Codonopsis pilosula. Oral administration: decoction: dosage 10-15 grams, or added into pill powder. External use: Stir fry, grind, adjust and apply.
9. Pharmacological research
It has an excitatory effect on the hypothalamus pituitary gonads; Promote hematopoiesis; Enhance immune function; Prevention and treatment of myocardial ischemia; Inhibit tumor occurrence; Anti liver damage, etc. Dodder seed extract and tincture can enhance the contractility of isolated toad hearts, reduce heart rate, and lower blood pressure in anesthetized dogs.
10. Chemical composition
Containing components such as quercetin, astragaloside, hyperoside, quercetin - β - O-D-galactose-7-O - β - glucoside, kaempferol-3-0- β - D-glucopyranose, kaempferol, new dodder glycoside, and dodder polysaccharide. It also contains dodder amine, dodder glycoside A, dodder glycoside B, arbutin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and p-coumaric acid. It also contains trace elements such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, copper, manganese, selenium, molybdenum, as well as essential amino acids such as valine, methionine, and isoleucine for the human body.
11. Usage taboos
Those with yin deficiency and excessive fire, strong yang without wilting, and dry stool are prohibited from taking it.
12. Compatibility prescription
① Treating urinary discomfort: equal parts of roasted seeds in front of the car and dodder seeds. At the end, refine honey into pills and take them after consumption. (Quoted from "Yu Jin Yue Ling" in "Medical Formula Collection" and "Ju Jing Wan" in "Yu Jin Yue Ling")
② To treat spleen and kidney deficiency and loose stools: 9g each of Dodder Seed and Stone Lotus Seed, 12g Poria cocos, and 15g Yam. Fry and serve. (Anhui Chinese Herbal Medicine)
③ Treatment for arthritis: 6g Dodder Seed, 9g Eggshell, 15g Beef Bone Powder. Grind noodles, take 6 grams each time, 3 times a day. (Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Liaoning)
④ Treating acne on the face: Mash the dodder seeds, grind the juice and apply it. (Behind the Elbow)
⑤ Treating vitiligo: Soak 9g of dodder seeds in 60g of 95% ethanol, take the juice 2-3 days later, apply externally, 2-3 times a day. (Qingdao Herbal Medicine Handbook)
⊙ The content of the article is for clinical reference only. Non TCM professionals are not allowed to test drugs.