Flos and radix bombai
From HerbLab, herbal encyclopedia of Chinese traditional medicine
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Flos and radix bombai(木棉)
In Chinese Medical Dictionary it is described that: "The herb, sweet, warm and nonpoisonous, is mainly indicative for metrorrhagia and incised wound. "
Flos and Radix Bombai is the dried flower, bark and root of Bombox Malabarica L. of the family Bombacaceae. Belonging to deciduous arbors, it grows up to 25 meters, much higher than its neighboring trees.
Covered with deep grey bark, both its young trunks and old branches have short and strong conical thorns, which becomes thicker at the base. The branches are whorled and flat, growing upward in layers with palmate compound leaves (5 to 7 pieces). The leaves begin to grow in early spring with fascicle flowers borne at the end of the branches, the corolla appearing to be red or orange red. The large capsule, xyloid, elliptic and as long as 15 cm, becomes divided to 5 pieces when being ripe.
There are white filiform hairs in the petal, where many black and smooth seeds are stored. Flos and Radix Bombai is mainly distributed in the provinces of Southern China.
ANTICANCER PHARMACOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
Screening tests in vivo showed that the herb had an inhibitive effect on tumor. ,
EXPERIMENTAL FORMULAS
For cancer of the stomach
Flos and Radix Bombai (1150 grams) and lean pork (150 grams) are boiled in 5kg of water for 7-8 hours to the volume of one bowl and taken once daily. Usually the pain may become alleviated after a week's administration, but the prescription should Le continued till the patient is fully recovered. (Diagnosis and Treatment Based on Differentiation of Symptoms and signs)
HISTORICAL COMMENTS
It was recorded in Compendium of Medicinal Herbs that: "When burnt to ashes, the drug mainly cures metrorrhagia and incised wound. " "The oil of Flos and Radix Bombai, l)eing acrid, hot and slightly poisonous, is mainly used to cure pyrogenic infection, scabies, tinea and the injury of the eyes by fire."
In National Herbal Collection, it was reported: "The root of the herb, slightly bitter and cool, is used to dissipate hard mass and relieve pain, while the bark, also slightly bitter and cool, is effective for expelling pathogenic wind, removing dampness, promoting blood circulation and removing swelling."
THE HERBLAB.ORG'S NOTE
Southern China Tumor Hospital adopted the method of stewing lean pork with the bark of the plant to treat gastric and esophageal cancer and achieved an overall effective rate of 64 %. One of their patients with esophageal cancer who could not eat any food at all, was able to eat 100 grams of food after two months' administration. The tumor size was reduced from 8cm to 3cm in diameter. And the same treatment was given to three other patients with esophageal cancer and it was also found to have certain effect.
