Carrot

("Daily Materia Medica")

Synonyms are yellow radish ("Compendium of Materia Medica"), carrot and red radish ("Compendium of Materia Medica") "Suixiju Diet Spectrum"), clove radish ("Modern Practical Chinese Medicine"), golden bamboo shoots ("Guangzhou Flora"), carrot ("Lingnan Herbal Medicine").

The source is the root of carrot, a plant in the Umbelliferae family.

Plant form Carrot

Annual or biennial herb, more or less thorny. The roots are thick, fleshy, red or yellow. The stem is upright, 60-90 cm high, and multi-branched. The leaves are long-stalked, 2- to 3-pinnately compound, with narrow-lanceolate or nearly linear lobes; the base of the petiole is enlarged. The flowers are small, white or light yellow, and are compound umbels, growing on the tops of long branches; the involucral bracts are leaf-shaped, thin and deeply divided; there are many small umbels, spherical, and the flowers on the outer edge have larger and equal flowers. petal. The fruit is oblong, about 3 mm long, somewhat dorsally flattened, with spines along the spine. Flowering period is April.

It is cultivated all over the country.

The fruits (carrot seeds) of this plant are also used for medicinal purposes. Please refer to this article for details.

Collect the roots in winter, remove the stems, leaves and fibrous roots, and wash them.

Chemical components: The root contains α-, β-, γ- and ε-carotene, tomato hydrocarbon, hexahydrotomato hydrocarbon and other carotenoids; vitamin B1 (0.1 mg%), B2 (0.3 mg %) and anthocyanins. It also contains 3 to 15% sugar, 0.1 to 0.7% fatty oil, 0.014% volatile oil, umbelliferone, etc. The content of volatile oils in the roots decreases with growth, while the carotene content increases with growth. The volatile oil contains α-pinene, camphene, myrcene, α-phellandrene, bisabolene, etc. Still contains caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, and parahydroxybenzoic acid. Carrots often produce a bitter component after being refrigerated, which has been isolated and proven to be 3-methyl-6-methoxy-8-hydroxy-3,4-dihydroisocoumarin. Carrots also contain an ingredient that can lower blood sugar, which can be extracted from dried carrots using petroleum ether.

The leaves contain a large amount of carotene and can be used as raw materials for producing carotene. The leaves contain luteolin-7-glucoside 0.01%. The aboveground parts also contain carotene and pyrrolidine

The flowers contain anthocyanins, quercetin and kaempferol.

Pharmacological effects: The amorphous yellow component isolated from the petroleum ether extracted part of dried carrots is dissolved in almond oil and has obvious hypoglycemic effects when injected into humans, rabbits and dogs.

Its nature and flavor are sweet and flat.

① "Daily Materia Medica": "It tastes sweet and pungent, non-toxic."

② "Yinshan Zhengyao": "It tastes sweet, flat, non-toxic."

③ "Yilin Zhuan Yao": "It is slightly bitter when raw, but pure and sweet when cooked."

Returns to the lung and spleen meridian.

① "Materia Medica Qiuzhen": "Enter the lungs and spleen."

② "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Start with the Yangming Meridian of the Foot."

< p> Function: Invigorating the spleen and resolving stagnation. Treat indigestion, chronic dysentery and cough.

① "Daily Materia Medica": "Loose the middle qi and lower the qi, dispel evil stagnation in the stomach."

② "Compendium": "Lower the qi and nourish the middle, benefit the chest, diaphragm, intestines and stomach, It calms the five internal organs and makes people eat well. "

③ "Yilin Zhuan Yao": "Moisturizes the kidneys, strengthens the yang, warms the lower part, and removes cold and dampness. "Lingnan Medicine Collection Record": "Whenever you have measles, you should always drink it by boiling it in water. It can eliminate heat and detoxify. It can be used fresh or dried."

⑤"Modern Practical Chinese Medicine": "Cure for a long time "Dysentery"

Usage and dosage: Oral administration: decoction, raw food or puree. External use: Pound the juice and apply it.

Prescription ① Treat measles: four ounces of carrots, three ounces of coriander, and two ounces of water chestnuts. Add plenty of water and boil it into two bowls, which is the daily dosage.

② To treat chickenpox: four ounces of carrots, three ounces of chestnuts, three ounces of coriander, and two ounces of water chestnuts. Decoct and take.

③Cure whooping cough: four liang of carrots and twelve red dates with seeds. Take three bowls of water, boil into one bowl, and serve as desired. Take it more than ten times. (The selected recipe is from "Lingnan Herbal Medicine Chronicles")

Famous experts discussed ① "Materia Medica Seeking Truth": "Carrots are pungent in taste and loose in taste, sweet in taste and mild in quality, and heavy in quality. Therefore, it can widen the middle and lower parts of the body." Qi causes gastrointestinal evils and disappears with them.

But the book also says that nourishing the body and eating healthy food does not mean that if the body is deficient, it will be tonic, and if it is not eaten, it will be healthy. In fact, it is because the evil is removed and the body receives the benefit. "

② "Yilin Zhuan Yao": "Carrot is sweet and pungent, so it aphrodisiacs and warms the lower body, and its function is like Cnidium monnieri. "Remind you: Carrot This Chinese herbal medicine comes from the Internet, please follow your doctor's advice before use.