Ziziphus jujuba seed is sweet, sour and flat, and it belongs to the heart, liver and gallbladder. Ziziphus jujuba seed can nourish the heart and soothe the nerves, and is mainly used for symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, dreaminess, palpitation and easy shock caused by deficiency of heart, blood and heart. For example, Suanzaoren Decoction in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber says: "You can't sleep due to fatigue, and Suanzaoren Decoction is the main one." (Suanzaoren Decoction consists of Suanzaoren, Poria, Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong and Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata)
Although Semen Ziziphi Spinosae can treat insomnia, it is not suitable for all insomnia.
From the above analysis, we can also know that Ziziphus jujuba seeds are only suitable for insomnia caused by deficiency of heart, liver and blood. Insomnia is a common symptom, especially for the elderly. However, the causes of insomnia are very complicated. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, there is not only one type of heart, liver and blood deficiency. This is also a big difference between Chinese medicine and western medicine. Sleeping pills such as Shule Anding can be widely used in insomnia patients, but Ziziphus jujuba seeds are only suitable for insomnia patients with heart, liver and blood deficiency. Besides deficiency of heart, liver and blood, the common causes of insomnia are hyperactivity of liver yang, stagnation of liver qi, qi deficiency of heart and gallbladder, internal disturbance of phlegm heat, hyperactivity of heart fire, hyperactivity of fire due to yin deficiency and other reasons.
In fact, in the clinical treatment of insomnia, as long as the cause is identified, sometimes there is no need to use so-called sedative drugs such as Ziziphus jujuba seed, keel and oyster to achieve the same therapeutic effect. Once, I used Wendan Decoction (Zhuru, Pinellia, Chenpi, Poria, Fructus Aurantii Immaturus, and Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata) to treat an old man's insomnia, and the effect was very good, but there was no so-called "soothing" Chinese medicine in it. The key lies in syndrome differentiation and recognition of the crux of insomnia.
If we only use Ziziphus jujuba seeds with the thinking of western medicine, we will use them when we see insomnia. If we don't analyze the specific reasons of insomnia, the effect will definitely be bad. Remember, without Chinese medicine thinking, Chinese medicine and prescriptions will lose their souls.
The medicinal part of Ziziphus jujuba seed is the mature seed of Ziziphus jujuba, but its real taste is light, not sour, and the real sour is the pulp. Semen Ziziphi Spinosae can also stop sweating, and is often used together with Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis, Fructus Corni, Radix Astragali, etc. to treat spontaneous sweating and night sweats due to physical weakness, which conforms to the convergence characteristics of sour drugs. It can be seen that the taste of traditional Chinese medicine is not all the true taste of medicine, and some are determined according to the efficacy of medicine.
Regarding the usage of Ziziphus jujuba seeds, is it better to use them raw or fried? Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica said: "Its benevolence is sweet and moist, so it is well used to treat the syndrome of gallbladder deficiency, insomnia, polydipsia and sweating; Raw medicine for treating gallbladder heat and sleeping well, all of which are sufficient for Jue Yin and Shao Yang. " It means that raw Ziziphus jujuba seeds can treat insomnia, while fried seeds can treat insomnia. Practice has proved that this statement is wrong, and there is not much difference between speculation and raw use. Some doctors also think that jujube meat can treat insomnia, while jujube seed can treat insomnia, just like ephedra sweating, while ephedra root can stop sweating. Different parts have different effects, which can be used for reference.
(Shen Xiangli, 202 1 year/month 1 day)