ebony plum

　　Prunus mume is the nearly mature fruit of Prunus mume (Sieb.) Sieb.et Zucc. of the Rosaceae plant. Mainly produced in Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and other places. In summer, the fruits are harvested when they are nearly mature. They are dried at low temperature until the skin becomes wrinkled and the color turns black. Used for core removal or charcoal frying.

　　[Medical Properties] Sour, astringent, flat. Returns to the liver, spleen, lung, and large intestine meridians.

　　[Efficacy] It astringes the lungs and relieves coughs, astringes the intestines and relieves diarrhea, relieves ascariasis and relieves pain, produces body fluids and quenches thirst.

　　【application】

　　1. Chronic cough due to lung deficiency. The taste is sour and astringent, and its nature is astringent. Entering the lung meridian can astringe lung qi and relieve coughs. It is suitable for patients with lung deficiency and long-term cough with little phlegm or dry cough without phlegm. It can be used the same as almonds and almonds, such as Yifu Powder ("Shiyi Dexiao Prescription").

　　2. Chronic diarrhea, chronic dysentery. This product is sour and astringent and enters the large intestine meridian. It has good astringent intestinal effect to stop diarrhea and dysentery. It is a commonly used medicine for the treatment of chronic diarrhea and dysentery. It can be used the same as Chebula, such as Guchang Wan ("Principles of Syndrome and Treatment"). Its function of puckering the intestines and stopping dysentery is combined with Coptis chinensis, which detoxifies and stops dysentery. It can also be used for damp-heat diarrhea and pus and blood in the stool, such as Wumei Wan ("Shenghui Prescription").

　　3. Ascariasis, abdominal pain and vomiting. When the ascariasis is sour, it will calm down. This product is extremely sour and has the effects of relieving ascariasis and relieving pain, soothing the stomach and relieving vomiting. It is a good medicine for relieving ascariasis. It is suitable for ascariasis syndrome caused by abdominal pain, vomiting, and cold limbs caused by roundworms. It is often used in combination with Asarum, Sichuan pepper, coptis, and aconite, such as Wumei Pill ("Treatise on Febrile Diseases").

　　4. Deficiency of heat and thirst. This product has a neutral acidity, is good at producing body fluids, and relieves polydipsia. To treat deficient heat and quench thirst, it can be taken alone as a decoction, or used in combination with trichosanthin, Ophiopogon japonicus, and ginseng, such as Yuquan powder ("Shen Shi Zunsheng Shu").

　　In addition, after stir-fried with charcoal, this product is more astringent than sour, has strong astringent power, can solidify the flow and stop leakage, and can be used to treat persistent metrorrhagia, bloody stools, etc.; external application can eliminate sores, and can treat extruded gyrus, head sores, etc.

　　[Usage and Dosage] Decoct and take, 3 to 10g. Large doses can be used up to 30g. Appropriate amount for external use, mash or stir-fry charcoal and grind into powder for external application. It is suitable to stir-fry charcoal to stop diarrhea and bleeding.

　　[Precautions for use] It is not suitable to take it if there is external evil or internal heat accumulation.

　　[Abstract from ancient books]

　　1. "Shen Nong's Materia Medica": "It lowers qi, removes heat, annoyance and fullness, calms the mind, relieves limb pain, withers, dead muscles, removes blue and black hemorrhoids, and corrodes the flesh." ”

　　2. "Compendium of Materia Medica": "It astringes the lungs and astringes the intestines, relieves chronic cough and diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and vomiting of roundworms." ”

　　3. "Materia Medica Seeking Truth": "Wumei is sour and warm... it enters the lungs and is astringent, the intestines are astringent, the tendons and bones are soft, the insects are suppressed, the dead muscles, evil flesh, and evil moles are removed, and the flesh is pierced and pulled out... Carbuncle poison can be applied, stroke trismus can be opened, roundworms can be cured by attacking dizziness, and thirst can be quenched. I would rather not stop for a while because of the sourness and astringency."

　　【Modern Research】

　　1. Chemical composition: This product mainly contains citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, carbohydrates, cereals, wax-like substances and oleanolic acid-like substances.

　　2. Pharmacological effects: This decoction has an inhibitory effect on a variety of pathogenic bacteria and skin fungi in vitro; can inhibit the movement of isolated rabbit intestines; has a mild gallbladder contraction effect and promotes bile secretion; has an inhibitory effect on the activity of roundworms in vitro; has an antagonizing effect on protein anaphylactic shock and histamine shock in guinea pigs, but has no antagonizing effect on histamine asthma; and can enhance the body's immune function.

　　3. Clinical research: According to clinical reports, when Wu Mei Ku Zhi Injection is injected into the core of internal hemorrhoids, initial internal hemorrhoids, leaf-shaped internal hemorrhoids, wreath-shaped internal hemorrhoids, and varicose mixed hemorrhoids are cured within an average of 2 weeks (Jiangsu Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1980, 5:29). 74 cases of acute hepatitis and chronic hepatitis were treated with thick decoction of black plum, taken immediately, and oral administration of vitamins B and C, etc., and all achieved good results (Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, 1986, 6, 11: 694). In addition, this medicine is still used for chronic colitis, bacillary dysentery, diarrhea in infants and young children, biliary ascariasis, cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, etc.