the Chinese medicinal herb shenjincao
is also known as lycopodium clavatum, Dioscorea nipponica, and Shujincao.
whole grass with roots from LycopodiumclavatumL. of lycopodiaceae.
The plant is a perennial herb, with the lower part of the main stem prostrate and rooting everywhere. The vertical stem is 15-3cm high, and the upper part of the vegetative branch is multi-branched, with dense leaves. The leaves are linear, subulate or slightly sickle-shaped, arranged in a spiral shape, with a long awn tail at the top that is easy to fall off, whole or slightly serrate. Spore branches grow from biennial or triennial vegetative branches, which are much higher than vegetative branches. Sporangium spikes are rod-shaped and stipitate, usually 2 ~ 6 of them are arranged in a general way. Spore leaves are oval-triangular, with a long tail tip at the apex and a slightly serrated edge, and a lying sporangium is axillary. Spores are tetrahedral and spherical, with dense reticulation and small protrusions. Spores mature from July to August.
the distribution is in sparse forests and acidic soil beside streams at an altitude of 29-23m. Distributed in Northeast China, North China and East China.
when harvesting and processing the stems and leaves in summer and autumn, uproot them, remove dirt and impurities, and dry them in the sun.
medicinal properties the stolon of lycopodium is cylindrical, slender and curved, with a length of 2m and a diameter of 2-5mm. The surface is light green or yellow, tough and not easy to break; The section is light yellow, and there is a white wooden heart in the center. There are many yellow and white adventitious roots under the stolon. Bifurcated branches, dense leaves, linear subulate, often shriveled and bent; 3 ~ 5 mm long and .3 ~ .8 mm wide; Yellow-green or gray-green, the apex is awn-shaped, whole or slightly serrated, and the veins are not obvious. Branches sometimes have an erect rod-shaped sporangium spike. No breath, light taste. Yellow-green and impurity-free is preferred.
the taste is warm, slightly bitter and pungent. Liver meridian, spleen meridian and kidney meridian.
efficacy and function: expelling wind and cold, removing dampness and swelling, relaxing muscles and activating collaterals. It belongs to drugs for dispelling wind and dampness and strengthening bones and muscles.
Clinical application is used for arthralgia due to wind-cold-dampness, joint pain, skin numbness, limb weakness, edema and traumatic injury. The decoction is taken orally, and the dosage is 3-12g. Apply an appropriate amount externally to the affected area.
Pharmacological research is highly sensitive to Shigella flexneri and Shigella sonnei, and moderately sensitive to Shigella flexneri. However, another report pointed out that this product has no antibacterial effect. Subcutaneous injection of lycopodium aqueous extract and ethanol extract has obvious cooling effect on experimental fever rabbits. Animal experiments show that Lycopodium can significantly prolong the sleep time of pentobarbital sodium hypnotized mice; The alcohol extract (1g/ml) of this product has a long-lasting analgesic effect when fed to .5ml/mouse, but its effect is still weaker than the current strong analgesic.
the chemical constituents contain many alkaloids, triterpenoids and a small amount of flavonoids, acidic substances, lycopodine, nicotine, a- mangiferol, 16- oxolycotriol and other components.
the use of taboos is not clear.
Related prescriptions
① Treatment of joint pain: 9 grams of Lycopodium, 15 grams of Polygonum cuspidatum root and 9 grams of Sargentodoxa. Decoct with water. (Common Folk Herbs in Zhejiang)
② Treatment of joint pain and hand and foot paralysis: 3g of Lycopodium, 15g of Luffa, 15g of Parthenocissus tricuspidata and 9g of Dahuoxi. Half water and half wine are decocted. (Jiangxi Chinese Herbal Medicine)
③ Treatment of hepatitis, jaundice and dysentery: 5g of Lycopodium, decocted in water. Take it twice a day. (Herbology of Changbai Mountain)
④ Treatment of tuberculosis and cough: 9 grams of Lycopodium japonicum, 9 grams of Ardisia japonica and 9 grams of loquat leaves. Decoct with water. (Hunan Pharmacology)
⑤ Treatment of traumatic injury: 15g of Lycopodium, 9g of sappan wood, 9g of Eupolyphaga Seu Steleophaga and 6g of safflower. Decoct with water. (Selected Chinese Herbal Medicines from Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia) < P > ⑤ Treatment of traumatic sprain pain: 6g of Lycopodium, 6g of Sargentodoxa, 6g of an arrow and 18g of safflower. Soak in white wine. 9-15g each time, twice a day. (annals of Sichuan traditional Chinese medicine, 1982)
⑦ treatment of herpes zoster: grind Lycopodium japonicum (baked) into powder, mix green oil or sesame oil into paste, and apply it to the affected area several times a day. (Common Folk Herbs in Zhejiang)
Side effects
(1) Traditional literature
Compendium of Materia Medica: nontoxic.
(II) Toxicological test
LD5: The LD5 of lycorine in mice was 78g/kg by intraperitoneal injection, and 27.56mg/kg by intravenous injection plus or minus 1.16mg/kg.
toxic reaction: the symptoms of lycopodine poisoning include hyperactivity, tonic clonic spasm, paralysis, asphyxia, etc.
(3) Clinical observation
Lycopodium japonicum is nontoxic. There is no uncomfortable reaction after being decocted with water in the conventional dosage. Long-term use or large dose (below 3g) decoction has no obvious adverse reaction.
Lycopodine is an extracted monomer, which has certain neurotoxicity for injection. Lycopodium japonicum is a decoction piece of traditional Chinese medicine, and there is no such nervous reaction in a certain dose after decoction, but a larger dose may produce adverse nervous system reactions.
Adverse reaction: A case report of contact dermatitis caused by Lycopodium japonicum.