The pinyin of shepherd’s purse is jì cài.

Shepherd's purse, the name of Chinese medicinal material. This product is the whole plant with roots of the cruciferous plant Capsella sativa. Harvested from March to May, washed and dried. The main functions are: harmonizing the spleen, diuresis, hemostasis, and improving eyesight. Treat dysentery, edema, gonorrhea, chyluria, hematemesis, hematochezia, hemorrhage, menorrhagia, red and painful eyes.

Annual or biennial herb, 30 to 40 cm tall, with a slender, white main root, straight downward, branched, and upright stem. The root leaves are clustered, the stem leaves are oblong or linear-lanceolate, the top is almost linear, the base is an ear-shaped clasping stem, the edges are notched or serrated, or nearly entire, and the leaves are single or branched on both sides. The hair is fine and pubescent, with sparse white long eyelashes on the edge.

There are many flowers, and the top is axillary and racemes are formed; the calyx is 4-piece, green, spreading, ovate, truncate at the base, with white edges; the petals are obovate, clawed, 4-piece, white, cross-shaped Open, about 2.5 mm in diameter; stamens 6, with green glands at the base; pistil, ovary triangular-ovate, style extremely short. 6-8 mm long, 5-6 mm wide, with remaining styles.

Dry whole grass, roots with fibrous branches, bent or partially broken, light brown or milky white; leaves from the roots are pinnately split, curled, brittle and brittle, gray-green or withered yellow; The stem is slender, branched, yellow-green, bent or partially broken, and sparsely triangular fruits near the top have thin stalks and are light yellow-green. The smell is slight and the taste is light. Dry ones with nearly green stems and no weeds are preferred.

Chemical composition

Shepherd's purse contains organic acids such as oxalic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, pyruvic acid, p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and fumaric acid; arginine, aspartic acid, proline Acid, methionine, leucine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, cystine, cysteine ??and other amino acids; sucrose, sorbose, lactose, glucosamine, sorbitol, mannitol, calendula Flower alcohol and other sugars.

Potassium accounts for 34.39% of inorganic substances, calcium is 15.09%, sodium is 13.44%, iron is 10.24%, chlorine is 3.70%, phosphorus is 3.63%, and manganese is 0.2405%. It also contains choline, acetylcholine, tyramine, strychnine, saponins, flavonoids: rutin, hesperidin, luteolin 7-rutinoside, dihydrofeseso, quercetin-3-methyl ether , cotton cortin hexamethyl ether, geranin, and acacia B.