Capillary Wormwood Herba Artemisiae Scopariae (English) Capillary Wormwood Herb

Also known as Artemisia arborescens, Artemisia annua, Artemisia velvet, and Wormwood mugwort.

Source: The seedlings of the Asteraceae plant Artemisia capillaris Thunb.

Plant form: perennial herb or semi-shrub. The stem is upright, 0.5-1m high, with a lignified base, a yellowish-brown surface, longitudinal stripes, and many branches; it has brown filamentous hairs when young, and becomes nearly hairless when grown. The first to third leaf feathers are deeply lobed, and the lower lobes are wider and shorter, often covered with short silk hairs; the middle leaf lobes are as slender as a hair, about 1mm wide; the upper leaf feathers are split, 3-lobed or unlobed, and nearly hairless. The flower heads are small and numerous, densely packed into a compound raceme; the involucre bracts are 3 to 4 layers, hairless, the outer layer is oval, the inner layer is elliptical, the center is green, and the edges are membranous; the flowers are yellow, tubular, and the outer layer has 3 flowers. ~5, female, fertile, inner flowers bisexual 5~7, sterile. Achenes are oblong, about 0.8mm long, hairless. The flowering period is from September to October, and the fruiting period is from October to December.

Born on hillsides and roadsides. Distributed throughout the country.

Collection: Harvest the seedlings in spring when they are 6 to 10cm tall, remove old stems and impurities, and dry in the sun.

The chemical composition contains 6,7-dimethylsculetin (6,7-dimethylsculetin) and volatile oil. The oil is mainly a-pinene and capillin. Capillene, capillanol, capillarisin, chlorogenic acid, etc.

Nature and flavor: Slightly cold in nature, pungent and bitter in taste.

Functions and Indications: Clearing away dampness and heat, reducing jaundice. Used for jaundice, oliguria, itching eczema, and infectious jaundice hepatitis.

Note: The seedlings of Artemisia scoparia Wadldst.et Kit. of the same genus are used as artemisia for medicinal purposes.

Source: The dry above-ground parts of Artemisia capillaris Thunb. Harvest the seedlings in spring when they are 6 to 10cm tall or in autumn when the flower buds have grown. Remove impurities and old stems and dry them in the sun. Those harvested in spring are called "Mian Yin Chen", and those harvested in autumn are called "Yin Chen Hao".

Preparation method: Remove residual roots and impurities, and grind or chop. Mian Yinchen is sifted to remove dust.

Characteristics

Mianyinchen: mostly curled into balls, gray-white or gray-green, the whole body is densely covered with white hairs, as soft as velvet. The stem is small, 1.5-2.5cm long and 0.1-0.2cm in diameter. Obvious vertical lines can be seen after removing the white hairs on the surface; it is brittle and easy to break. The leaves are petiolate; after being flattened, the leaves are divided into one to three pinnate shapes. The leaves are 1 to 3 cm long and about 1 cm wide; the small lobes are oval or slightly oblanceolate or strip-shaped, with sharp apex. The smell is fragrant and the taste is slightly bitter.

Artemisia vulgaris: stems are cylindrical, multi-branched, 30-100cm long, 2-8mm in diameter; the surface is lavender or purple, with vertical stripes, and pubescent; it is light and brittle. The cross section is off-white. The leaves are densely packed or often fall off; the lower leaves have two to three backs with deep pinnate lobes, and the lobes are strip-shaped or thin, and both sides are densely covered with white pubescence; the stem leaves have one to two backs that are fully pinnately lobed, with the base embracing the stem and filamentous lobes. inflorescence; the flower head is oval, mostly cone-shaped, 1.2 to 1.5 mm long, 1 to 1.2 mm in diameter, with short stalks; the bracts are 3 to 4 layers, oval, with 3 lobes on the outside; There are 6 to 10 female flowers in the inner layer, and there can be as many as 15 flowers in the inner layer. There are 2 to 10 bisexual flowers in the inner layer. Achenes are oblong, yellow-brown. The aroma is aromatic and the taste is slightly bitter.

The nature and flavor are bitter, acrid and slightly cold. Returns to the spleen, stomach, liver, and gallbladder meridians.

Usage and dosage: 6~15g. Appropriate amount for external use, decoction and fumigation.

Storage in a cool, dry place away from moisture.

Remarks (1) For jaundice caused by damp-heat fumigation, it can be used alone or decoctioned in large doses for oral administration; it can also be used in combination with rhubarb and gardenia.

If the difficulty in urination is significant, it can be combined with Alisma, Polyporus, etc. This product is very effective in reducing jaundice, so in addition to being used for damp-heat jaundice, it can also be used for yin-jaundice symptoms caused by cold and dampness or yang deficiency in the body. However, it must be used together with herbs that warm the body and dispel cold, such as aconite, dried ginger, etc., in order to remove yin-cold and reduce jaundice.

Excerpt from "Chinese Pharmacopoeia"

Therapeutic soup is made of artemisia and fried croaker, simmered over high heat for one hour and drank, which can soothe the liver and clear away liver heat. Therapeutic soup commonly used by Cantonese people

[Medicinal materials, production and sales] Herba Artemisiae scopariae is mainly produced in Shaanxi, Hebei, Shanxi and other provinces. The product is commonly known as Mian Yin Chen, and those produced in Shaanxi are called Xi Yin Chen, with the best quality. In addition to supplying this province, it is also shipped and sold to southern provinces. Most of the other varieties produced in provinces and regions are produced and sold by themselves.