Wu Wenbo Shijiazhuang City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hebei Province
1. The source of the two, with different parts of the medicine: light bamboo and light bamboo leaves are two different plants.
1.1 Bamboo leaves (Shennong's Classic of the Materia Medica)
Leaves of Demergent Bamboo of the graminae family. The young leaves that are rolled but not released are called bamboo leaves curled heart.
(Pale bamboo: Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.) Munro var. henonis (Mitf.) Stapf ex Rendle.).
1.2 Temperate bamboo leaves (Materia Medica)
It is the dried stem leaves of Temperate bamboo leaves of the grass family Phyllostachys nigra.
(Lophatherum gracile Brongn.)
2. Difference in efficacy
2.1. The drug Lophatherum gracile is first appeared in Ben Cao Gang Mu. It is not the leaf of the light bamboo or the bitter bamboo (fresh bamboo leaf), but the leaf of another herb "light bamboo leaf". From this, we can see that before the Ming Dynasty, some of the commonly used formulas composed of bamboo leaves and other medicines, the bamboo leaves used in it are fresh bamboo leaves, not light bamboo leaves.
2.2. Fresh bamboo leaves and light bamboo leaves are able to clear the heart and eliminate vexation, urinary, but the effect of fresh bamboo leaves to clear the heart heat is better, and can cool the stomach, but also can be used to treat the wind-heat in the upper focus; light bamboo leaves diuretic effect is better, in order to seep dampness to drain heat is good.
2.3. Nowadays, most of the general pharmacies do not have fresh bamboo leaves, such as the prescription is only written bamboo leaves, all with light bamboo leaves. If fresh bamboo leaves are needed, they must be collected temporarily.
2.4. The root of the leaves of the mallow bamboo (also known as the broken bones), according to the literature, can break the blood and abort the fetus, which needs to be researched.
2.5.