Herbal Textual Research on Pharbitidis Semen in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

By consulting the ancient and modern literature， the textual research of Pharbitidis Semen has been conducted to clarify the name， origin， distribution of production areas， quality specification， harvesting， processing and so on， so as to provide reference for the development and utilization of the relevant famous classical formulas. Through textual research， it can be seen that Pharbitidis Semen was first published in Mingyi Bielu（《名医别录》）， and all dynasties have taken Qianniuzi as the correct name. Based on the original research， the main source of Pharbitidis Semen used in previous dynasties is the dried mature seeds of Pharbitis nil， which is consistent in ancient and modern times. The white Pharbitidis Semen appearing in Compendium of Materia Medica（《本草纲目》） from Ming dynasty is similar to the present P. purpurea. It is produced all over the country， and the quality is better if the particles are full and free of impurities. In ancient times， the harvesting time was mostly in the September. Now it is autumn. The fruits are ripe and harvested， dried to remove impurities for standby. In ancient times， the processing methods of Pharbitidis Semen were mainly wine steaming， steaming and frying until half cooked and grinding the head and end. In modern times， they have been simplified to stir-frying method. The nature， taste， meridian tropism and their effects also change supplements with the deepening of practice. Before the Ming dynasty， they were all bitter， cold and toxic. In the Ming dynasty， there appeared the characteristics of pungent， hot and small poisonous. The efficacy has evolved from controlling low Qi， curing foot edema， removing wind toxin， and facilitating urination to facilitating water and defecation， eliminating phlegm and drinking， and eliminating accumulated insects. The main clinical contraindications are those with weak spleen and kidney， those with weak spleen and stomach， pregnant women， and should not be used with croton and croton cream. Based on the textual research， it is suggested that when developing the classic famous formula with Pharbitidis Semen as the main raw material in the future， it is clear that the source should be the dried mature seeds of Pharbitis nil（black product is its black-brown seeds， white product is its beige seeds）. The processing requirements indicated in the original formula are all processed according to the requirements， and the raw product is recommended to be used as medicine if not specified.