It's another spring, spring comes and autumn comes, and everything begins to turn green and rejuvenate. In the continuous spring rain, plants that have accumulated energy for a whole winter are full of vitality under the moisture of rain. In the south of the Yangtze River, both willows with thousands of silk tapestries and peach blossoms with swaying branches have begun to announce that everything is about to enter the season of spring and flowers.

Although there are still 2 days before Qingming Festival, the unique Qingming Festival in the south has already given off an attractive fragrance. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, most of them use the tender seedlings of Ai Qing (wild Artemisia argyi) to make Qingming Festival, but in some areas, besides Ai, there are also tender seedlings of Artemisia capillaris very similar to Ai to make Qingming Festival. In this issue, the pharmacist will introduce you to this wormwood.

There is a jingle in the line of traditional Chinese medicine: "March wormwood and April wormwood, May cut it for firewood". Artemisiae Scopariae was born in Chen Gen in spring, so it was named after Chen or Artemisiae Scopariae. In summer, Artemisiae Scopariae became Artemisia, which never died after winter, so it was also called Artemisiae Scopariae. Artemisiae Scopariae picked in March tastes slightly bitter, but its efficacy is excellent. Artemisiae Scopariae in Chinese pharmacies are all harvested in this season. In April, Artemisiae Scopariae grows into Artemisia scoparia, which is the best time to eat.

As early as the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Hua Tuo had discovered that Artemisiae Scopariae picked in March could treat "plague yellow disease" (infectious jaundice hepatitis). After April, Artemisiae Scopariae grew into Artemisia scoparia, and its effective components decreased sharply, and its efficacy also decreased greatly. Then in May, it could not be used as medicine.

Herba Artemisiae Scopariae, a perennial and semi-shrubby herb in Compositae, is also widely distributed in China, mainly growing on the riverbanks, wet sandy land near the coast, roadsides and low slopes in low altitude areas. The plant has a strong aroma. The Qingming Tuan made of its tender leaves, the fragrant leaf juice seeping into the rice flour, and the salty meat stuffing of mustard and shredded bamboo shoots are really a very delicious and fragrant gourmet snack. In early spring, the basal leaves of Artemisia capillaris are densely planted, often in a rosette shape, and both sides of the leaves are silky brown or grayish yellow. In the later stage, the hairs on the lower leaves of the stem fall off, and the leaves are pinnately divided for 2 to 3 times, and the lobes are longer than those of Artemisia argyi. When they grow up, the leaves above the middle of the plant are almost narrow or slender. Stay in summer and autumn, and open pale yellow flower heads.

Herba Artemisiae Scopariae has been recorded in the earliest pharmaceutical work "Shennong Materia Medica Classic", which is a very frequently used Chinese medicine in TCM clinic. It is called the important medicine for treating jaundice, and basically Herba Artemisiae Scopariae will be used in the prescriptions for promoting gallbladder function and treating hepatitis. This medicine has been thoroughly studied and recorded in medical books of past dynasties, and Yinchenhao Decoction, which is made up of Yinchen as the main medicine in Treatise on Febrile Diseases by famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing, is a classic prescription for treating damp-heat jaundice in traditional Chinese medicine.

Herba artemisiae scopariae is bitter, pungent and slightly cold. Efficacy: clear away damp heat and relieve jaundice. Used to treat jaundice, oliguria, wet sores and itching; Infectious icteric hepatitis.

Author: Jiangnan Wang Pharmacist