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Ampelopsis japonica (Thunb.) Makino
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English Name |
Japanese Ampelopsis, Japanese Snakegrape |
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Latin name |
Ampelopsis japonica (Thunb.) Makino |
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Family & Genus |
Vitaceae, Ampelopsis |
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Description |
Deciduous climbing woody vines, ca. 1m long. Tubers stout, fleshy, ovate, oblong or long spindle-like, dark brown, several together. Stem multi-branched, young branches with pale purple, smooth, with thin stripes; dendrils alternate with leaves. Palmate leaves alternate; petioles 3-5cm long, slightly pale purple, smooth or slightly with thin hairs; leaves 6-10cm long, 7-12cm wide; leaflets 3-5, pinnate or pinnately incised, lobes ovate to elliptic-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, apex acuminate, base cuneate, margin with deep serrations or incisions, middle lobe longest, two sides relatively small, middle axis with wide wing, lobes base with joints, glabrous on both sides. Cymes small, alternate with leaves, peduncles 3-8cm long, slender, usually winding; flowers small, yellow-green; calyx 5 lobed; both petals and stamens 5; flower disc margin slightly divided. Berry spherical, diameter ca. 6mm, white or blue upon maturation, with pinhole-shape concave points. Flowering: May to June, fruiting: September to October. |
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Distribution |
Growing in mountains, on barren slopes and in thickets. Can be cultivated. Distributed in North, Northeast, East and South-central China, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Sichuan and etc. |
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Part Used |
Medical part: Earthnut and fruits. Chinese name: earthnut: Bailian. Fruits: Bailianzi. |
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Harvest & Processing |
Earthnut: excavated in spring and autumn, removed stems, fibrous roots, washed, straightly cut into two segments, four segments or oblique segments, sun-dried. Fruits: harvested mature fruits in autumn, used fresh or sun-dried. |
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Chemistry |
Earthnut contains visicidity and starch, tartaric acid, β-sitosterol, fumaric acid, daucosterol. Leaves contain gallic acid, 1, 2, 6-tri-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, 1, 2, 3, 6-tetra-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, 1, 2, 4, 6-tetra-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside, etc. |
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Pharmacology |
Anti-bacteria and anti-cancer. |
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Properties & Actions |
Root tuber: bitter, pungent, little cold. Fruits: bitter, cold.Earthnut: clearing heat and detoxifying, regulating blood circulation and relieving pain, promoting tissue regeneration and close wound. Fruit: clearing heat and removing carbuncle. |
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Indications & Usage |
Root tuber: pyocutaneous disease and swelling, scrofula, scalding injuries, wet sores, pyrexial malaria, hematodiarrhoea, hemorrhoidal hemorrhage, prolapse of hemorrhoids, leucorrhea, injuries from falls, traumatic hemorrhage. fruits: pyrexial malaria, toxic heat and ulcerative carbuncle.Earthnut: oral administration: decocting, 3-10g. External: appropriate amount, powdered for dusting or application. Fruit: oral administration: decocting,6-10g. External: appropriate amount, powdered for application. |
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Examples |
1. Frostbite on ear, or itching or pain: amoorcorn tree bark and Japanese ampelopsis, 0.5 liang. Grind into a powder, first wash sores with solution, then smear with sesame oil preparation.
2. Rosacea: Japanese ampelopsis, apricot seed, kaolinite in equal amounts, grind into a powder, prepare with egg albumen and smear, wash clean in daytime.
3. Stoping hemorrhage and dissipating edema: mature fruits of Japanese ampelopsis, remove peel, leave white villi, or seeds, and grind into powders, and apply externally. |
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