hawthorn

　　Hawthorn is the mature fruit of the Rosaceae plant Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.var.major NEBr. or C. pinnatifida Bge. It is mainly produced in Henan, Shandong, Hebei and other places, with Shandong having the largest output and good quality. Mostly cultivated products. Harvest when the fruits are ripe in autumn. Slice and dry. Use raw or fried.

　　[Medical Properties] Sour, sweet, slightly warm. Returns to the spleen, stomach and liver meridians.

　　[Efficacy] Digest food and resolve accumulation, promote qi and disperse blood stasis.

　　【application】

　　1. Diet stagnation syndrome. This product is sour and sweet, lukewarm but not hot. It has good functions in digestion and digestion. It can cure various dietary stagnation, especially the digestion of greasy meat stagnation. It can be used by anyone who suffers from abdominal distension, belching, sore throat, abdominal pain and loose stools due to stagnant meat consumption. For example, "Simple Recipe" can be taken as a single decoction to treat meat-eating. If combined with radish seed, Shenqu, etc., it can enhance the function of digestion and accumulation. If combined with the scent of wood and green bark, it can promote qi and eliminate stagnation, and treat stagnant abdominal distension and pain, such as Yongqi Powder ("Principles of Syndrome and Treatment").

　　2. Diarrhea, abdominal pain, and hernia pain. Hawthorn enters the liver meridian, can promote qi, dissipate stagnation and relieve pain, and stir-fry can also stop diarrhea and dysentery. To treat diarrhea and abdominal pain, you can use burnt hawthorn alone and decoct it in water, or use hawthorn charcoal to grind it before taking it, such as the prescription ("Medical Notes Series"); it can also be used with agarwood and betel nut. To treat hernia pain, it is often used with orange core and lychee core.

　　3. Chest and abdominal pain caused by blood stasis and dysmenorrhea. This product is warm in nature and enters the blood points of the liver meridian, can circulate qi and blood, and has the function of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis and relieving pain. To treat stagnant chest and hypochondriac pain, it is often used with Ligusticum chuanxiong, peach kernel, and safflower. If it is used to treat postpartum abdominal pain due to blood stasis, persistent lochia, dysmenorrhea or amenorrhea, Zhu Danxi’s empirical prescription is to use this product alone, add sugar and water and decoct it; it can also be used with Angelica sinensis, Cyperus rotundus and safflower, such as Tongyu decoction ("Jingyue Complete Book").

　　Modern use of this product alone to treat coronary heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, bacillary dysentery, etc. has good effects.

　　[Usage and Dosage] Decoction, 10-15g, maximum dose 30g. Raw hawthorn and fried hawthorn are mostly used for digestion and blood stasis, while burnt hawthorn and hawthorn charcoal are mostly used for stopping diarrhea and dysentery.

　　[Usage Precautions] Use with caution in those with weak spleen and stomach without stagnation or excessive gastric acid secretion.

　　[Abstract from ancient books]

　　1. "Newly Revised Materia Medica": "The juice is mainly used for water control. It can be used for bathing the head and washing sores and itches on the body. ”

　　2. "Daily Materia Medica": "Resolves food accumulation, relieves qi stagnation, strengthens the stomach and widens the diaphragm, and eliminates blood and qi blockages." ”

　　3. "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Changes diet, eliminates meat accumulation, syndromes such as phlegm, fluid retention, fullness, acid swallowing, blood stagnation, swelling and pain. ”

　　【Modern Research】

　　1. Chemical composition: Hawthorn contains flavonoids, triterpene saponins (ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, maslinic acid, etc.), saponin tannins, free acids, fatty acids, vitamin C, inorganic salts, red pigments, etc.

　　2. Pharmacological effects: The fatty acids contained in it can promote fat digestion, increase the secretion of gastric digestive enzymes to promote digestion, and have a certain adjustment effect on gastrointestinal function. Its extract can dilate coronary arteries, increase coronary flow, protect myocardial ischemia and hypoxia; and can strengthen the heart, lower blood pressure and resist arrhythmia; it can also lower blood lipids and resist atherosclerosis. It reduces serum bile and triglycerides, which may be achieved by increasing the concentration of high-density bile and its subcomponents in the serum and increasing the excretion of bile. In addition, hawthorn can also resist platelet aggregation, antioxidant, enhance immunity, diuretic, sedative, contract uterus, inhibit bacteria, etc.

　　3. Clinical research: According to reports, satisfactory curative effects have been achieved with hawthorn or appropriate combinations in the treatment of indigestion, infant anorexia, infant diarrhea, bacillary dysentery, abdominal pain, postpartum stasis and other diseases. In recent years, clinical reports have also reported that 89 cases of middle-aged and elderly hyperlipidemia were treated with Jiangzhile (each tablet contains 0.5g of hawthorn). The results showed that the effective rates of lowering bile and triglycerides were 69.49% and 80.28% respectively, and could improve symptoms such as loss of appetite, fatigue, and high blood pressure (Henan Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1990, 4:23); prepared with hawthorn and kudzu root extracts The Xinxuening Tablets were used to treat 186 cases of coronary heart disease and angina pectoris, with an effective rate of 89.87%, and had good blood pressure and blood lipid lowering effects (Chinese Patent Medicine, 1994, 7:25); 90g of raw hawthorn was decoctioned and taken daily (reduced for children), and 105 cases of acute and chronic pyelonephritis were treated with good results (Shaanxi New Medicine, 1975, 1:35). In addition, it can treat hepatitis, overdue menstruation, lower limb soft tissue injuries, stubborn hiccups, vocal cord polyps, chilblains, etc.

　　4. Adverse reactions: Eating too much hawthorn can cause hyperacidity. There are also reports of gastrolithiasis and small intestinal obstruction caused by eating too much hawthorn. Although commercially available hawthorn tablets can promote appetite and aid digestion in children, they contain a lot of sugar. If consumed in large amounts, blood sugar levels will be maintained at a high level, which will affect appetite and may lead to malnutrition, anemia, etc. over time. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine believes that hawthorn should only be used without supplementation, and those without stagnation or with weak spleen and stomach should use it with caution or not (China Food News, 2001, 02.01).

　　[Others] Research on the effects of different processing temperatures on hawthorn organic acids and gastrointestinal propulsion function suggests that when used for digestion, the processing temperature is best controlled between 160°C and 200°C (Journal of Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2001, 1:46).