灯心草的本草考证

Herbal Textual Research on Junci Medulla

灯心草为灯芯草科灯芯草属植物,其茎髓、全草均能入药,是治疗心烦少眠、尿少涩痛、口舌生疮、高热口渴等的民间传统中药材,具有清凉镇静及利尿之功效。通过查阅本草文献,对灯心草名称、基原、功效、产地及采收加工炮制方法进行考证发现,灯心草别名较多,历代本草记载其基原为灯心草科植物灯心草的干燥茎髓,古今应用品种基本一致;明确了灯心草的药性及功效,其味甘、淡,性微寒,利水通淋、清心降火;对含灯心草的方剂进行归类,其中以治疗喉痹的方剂为主;灯心草产区自宋代起为长江中下游以南地区和陕西一带,清代后期转向江苏苏州和江西省,中华人民共和国成立后,灯心草产地逐步扩大至全国,江苏、四川、贵州等地有栽培,以江苏苏州为佳;灯心草的炮制方法有生品、火烧灰、灯心炭、朱砂拌制品和青黛拌制品等,其目的是使其某一方面的疗效得到增强。

Junci Medulla has been used as a folk medicine in treating insomnia, urethritis, pyrexia, and fever sore in China. We conducted herbal textual research on the appellation, original plant, efficacy, producing areas, harvesting, and processing of Junci Medulla. There were many aliases of Junci Medulla. The records in the past dynasties show that Junci Medulla is the dried medulla of Juncus effusus L., and the varieties used in ancient and modern times are basically the same.Junci Medulla is sweet, plain, and slightly cold, with the effects of promoting urination, relieving stranguria, clearing heart,and reducing fire. The prescriptions containing Junci Medulla were classified, which were dominated by those treating pharyngitis. Since the Song Dynasty, the producing area of Junci Medulla was in the south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Shaanxi Province. In the late Qing Dynasty, it turned to Suzhou of Jiangsu Province and Jiangxi Province. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the producing area of Junci Medulla gradually expanded to the whole country. This herb is mainly cultivated in Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Guizhou, and that grown in Suzhou of with Jiangsu has the best quality. The processing methods of Junci Medulla include air drying, burning, baking, and mixing with Cinnabaris or Indigo Naturalis, which aim to enhance the curative effect in a certain aspect.