外来药物没食子考辨

Gallnut and its identification as a herb in traditional Chinese medicine

没食子于北魏自波斯传入中国使用至今,其译名繁多。综合参考中外医学及历史文献,以没食子为对照,从墨食子、跋屡子以及五倍子相关的外语音译展开,从来源、含义的角度进行考辨。研究发现,墨食子之"墨"用于描述没食子不够恰当,"墨"既不符合没食子音译的语音演变,也不能准确体现没食子本身的医学含义。中医典籍中的跋屡子与没食子实为一物,但希腊-阿拉伯古籍中"Bullut"对应橡树群体及其虫瘿,而并非跋屡子。跋屡子应为"Omphacitis"。在外来医籍《西药大成》中,"没石子"对应Quercus infectoria属的虫瘿类药物,五倍子实际列于"没石子"附注部分,作为性质类似的拓展内容出现;而在本土医籍中,没食子与五倍子是明确的两味不同药物,但二者在药性上互为替代补充。

Gallnut(Mo Shi Zi),as one of the herbs popularly used in traditional Chinese medicine,came into China from Persia in the Northern Wei Dynasty.Gallnut was translated into different names from Persian into Chinese.This study attempted to identify its names,sources and nature by starting with Mo Shi Zi(没食子)and comparing with its relevant names Mo Shi Zi(墨食子),Ba Lv Zi(跋屡子)and Wu Bei Zi(五倍子).It was found that'墨',meaning black,in Mo Shi Zi(墨食子)did not make sense because it neither matched the pronunciation in translation nor interpreted the medical meaning of Mo Shi Zi(没食子).Mo Shi Zi(没食子)and Ba Lv Zi(跋屡子)were the same herb in traditional Chinese medicine.In Greek and Arabic classic books,Bullut referred to oak groups and their galls,but not Ba Lv Zi(跋屡子).Ba Lv Zi(跋屡子)in these books referred to Omphacitis.Mo Shi Zi(没食子)referred to insect galls in the family of Quercus infectoriain Xi Yao Da Cheng,a book from overseas,and Wu Bei Zi(五倍子)appeared in the annotated text of Mo Shi Zi(没食子)as a similar herb.It was found that in traditional Chinese medicine,Mo Shi Zi(没食子)and Wu Bei Zi(五倍子)were two different herbs,but could be interchanged in their medical nature.