Chigengteng – 匙羹藤 – Australian Cow-plant

Description

Chigengteng – 匙羹藤 – Australian Cow-plant

English Name : Australian Cow-plant, Miracle Fruit, Australian Gymnema, Australian Gymnema, Taiwan Cow-plant

Science Name / Latin Pharmaceutical Name: Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) Schult.

– Part Used Medical part: roots, or tender branches and leaves. Chinese name: Wuxueteng.

– Family & Genus: Asclepiadaceae, Gymnema

• • Description: Woody climber, 4-5m long, whole plant with latex. Sprout hairless or covered by tiny soft hairs, old branch gradually turning hairless; bark greyish brown, with lenticels, sprout covered by tiny hairs. Leaf opposite; petiole 3-10mm long, covered by short soft hairs, tip with fasciate glands; leaf thickly papery, invert ovate or elliptic, 3-8.5cm long, 1.5-4cm wide, tip shortly acuminate, basal part broad wedge shaped, upper surface covered by short soft hairs or only middle vein covered by hairs, lower surface covered by tomentums or only vein covered by hairs; lateral vein 4-5 pairs, curved, ascending; petiole 0.3-1.2cm long. Raceme covered by short soft hairs. Peduncle 2-3mm long; sepals 5, lobe ovate, with tricholoma; corolla greenish white, lobe ovate, hairless, attachment extending out; stigma short cone shaped, stretching out. Pollinium 1 in each ventricle, long circular, upright; stigma extending out of anther. Follicle cleat shaped, usually solitary, ovate lanceolate, 5-9cm long, about 2cm in diameter, tip gradually pointed, base expanding, hairless. Seeds orbicularovate, tip whorled with white silky seed hairs, about 8mm long, seed hair about 3.5cm long. Flowering: April to November, fruiting: September to December. Chromosome 2n=22.
  • Distribution: Growing in mountain thin forests, or thickets. Distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Taiwan and Zhejiang. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and etc.
  • Part Used Medical part: roots, or tender branches and leaves. Chinese name: Wuxueteng.
  • Harvest & Processing, Roots: collected throughout the year, well washed, sliced, sun-dried or used fresh. Branches and leaves: collected in spring and used fresh.
  • Chemistry: Gymnema contains gymnemic acid, gymnenasaponin, gymnemaside, gypenoside, conduritol, gymnamine and gurmarin, etc.
  • Pharmacology: Blood-sugar-reducing.
  • Properties & Actions Taste little bitter, cool in nature, toxic.Removing wind, relieving pain, detoxifying and dispersing swelling.
  • Indications & Usage  Used for rheumatic arthralgia, swelling pain in the throat, scrofula, mammary abscess, sores and furuncles, eczema, unknown pyogenic infections, venomous snake bites.Oral administration: decocting, 15-30g. External application: appropriate amount, triturated for application.
  • Examples:
    1. Anthracia, cellulitis, furuncle: australian cow-plant root 30g, flos lonicerae 15g. Decoct in water and swallow.
    2. Unknown pyogenic infections, eczema: australian cow-plant root 30g, glabrous smilax 15g. Decoct in water and swallow.

Chigengteng – 匙羹藤 – Australian Cow-plant

中文名稱: 匙羹藤，武靴藤，小羊角扭，羊角藤，金剛藤
漢語拼音: Chigengteng
英文名稱: Australian Cow-plant, Miracle Fruit, Australian Gymnema, Australian Gymnema, Taiwan Cow-plant
– 拉丁學名: Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) Schult.
– 科屬歸類: 蘿藦科 Asclepiadaceae， 匙羹藤屬 Gymnema

• • 植物形態: 木質藤本，長達4-5米，全株具乳汁。幼枝被微柔毛，老漸無毛；莖皮灰褐色，具皮孔，幼枝被微毛。葉對生；葉柄長3-10毫米，被短柔毛，先端具叢生腺體；葉厚紙質，倒卵形或橢圓形，長3-8.5厘米，寬1.5-4厘米，先端聚短尖，基部寬楔形，上面被短柔毛或僅中脈被毛，下面被絨毛或僅脈被毛；側脈4-5對，彎拱上升；葉柄長0.3-1.2厘米。聚傘花序被短柔毛。花梗長2-3毫米；花萼5，裂片卵形，具緣毛；花冠綠白色，裂片卵形，無毛，附屬物伸出；柱頭短圓錐狀，伸出。花粉塊每室1個，長圓形，直立；柱頭伸出花藥之外。蓇葖果羊角狀，常單生，卵狀披針形，長5-9厘米，徑約2厘米，先端漸尖，基部膨大，無毛。種子卵圓形，先端輪生白色絹質種毛，長約8毫米，種毛長約3.5厘米。花期4-11月，果期9-12月。染色體2n=22。
  • 生境分佈: 生於山地疏林或灌叢中。 分佈於雲南、廣西、廣東、海南、福建、台灣及浙江。 藥材主產浙江、福建、台灣、廣東、廣西、雲南等地。
  • 藥用部位: 以根或嫩枝葉入藥。中藥名: 武靴藤。
    採收加工, 根: 全年均可采，洗淨，切片，曬乾或鮮用。枝葉: 春季採收，鮮用。
  • 主要成分: 武靴葉屬酸(gymnemic acid)，匙羹藤皂 (gymnenasaponin)，武靴藤皂苷(gymnemaside)，絞股藍苷(gypenoside)，牛奶菜醇(conduritol)，武靴葉胺(gymnamine)，武靴藤多肽(gurmarin)。
  • 藥理作用: 降糖。
  • 性味功能: 味微苦，性涼，有毒。祛風止痛，解毒消腫。
  • 主治用法: 用於風濕痺痛，咽喉腫痛，瘰疬，乳癰，瘡癤，濕疹，無名腫毒，毒蛇咬傷。內服: 煎湯，15-30克。外用: 鮮品適量，搗敷。
  • 應用舉例
    1. 癰，疽，疔: 匙羹藤根30克，銀花15克。水煎服。(福建藥物誌)
    2. 無名腫毒，濕疹: 匙羹藤根30克，土茯苓15克。水煎服。(福建藥物誌)