Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae
From HerbLab, herbal encyclopedia of Chinese traditional medicine
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Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae（大枣）
Luo Guoyang of the Qing Dynasty commended: "Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae reinforces the Middle- jiao with its sweet taste and replenishes qi with its mild nature. The acquired qi would be supplemented with it and a long term administration could help to build up the body. " It is the dried ripe fruit of Chinese date, Ziziphus jujuba (Rhamnaceae). It has many varieties, but the red ones are used as a herb. Recently, it has been reported in Japan that the herb contains a lot of substance call cAMP, hence it is thought that the herb can promote immunity.
ANTICANCER PHARMACOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS
1. Tests in vitro proved that the hot water extract of the herb has an inhibition on the growth of JTC-26 with a rate of 90%, and it has also been found that the herb has a slight inhibition on the normal cells.
2. The intensity of its inhibition is closely related to its dose. Intense inhibition occurs to rats only when its concentration reaches 500μg/ml. No inhibition takes place when the concentration is less than 100μg/ml. EXPERIMENTAL FORMULAS
For Cardiac Cancer:
Zhi Zhi Prescriptions reported that: "Get a date and have its core removed, then insert the body of a mylabris (without its head and wings) into the date and have it roasted. The body of the mylabris is removed away before eating the processed date on an empty stomach."
For spitting blood in lung cancer:
Equal portions of Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae (burned) and Galla Chinensis (processed with tea through fermentation) are ground into powder and taken 10 grams each time with rice porridge.
HISTORICAL COMMENTS
Ri Hua Zhi Materia Medica commended: "Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae removes hypochondriac lump." Annotation on Shen Nong's Herbs said: "The herb, being sweet in taste, removes poison of any substance and is used to harmonize drugs used in a prescription."
Dutch Drug Mirror commended: "The sweetness of the drug functions to nourish the body, relieves poisoning and are indicative for cough, celostomia, sore throat, spitting blood due to long illnesses, infection of the blood, inflammation of the urinary tract and stranguria." Lao's Mirror of Medicine recorded: "The drug is very sweet so it is contraindicative for abdominal distension, malnutrition in children, diseases due to phlegm heat and toothache."
THE AUTHOR'S NOTE
The author often prescribes the following formula for stomach cancer and has found it effective:
Herba Agrimoniae 40g Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae 30g
The two herbs are decocted into a thick broth to be taken every 4 hours. A therapeutic course lasts for 40 days and the formula is found very effective for pain caused by stomach cancer. In 1981 Journal of Medicinal Plants reported that dates exported from China is rich in cAMP with a dried concentration of 100 to 500μg per gram. A Japanese scholar pointed out at the 15th Symposium on Chinese Medicinal Herbs that: "Cancer cells, containing low cAMP, may change to normal cells when cAMP is effused into them during culture." Undoubtedly, it is of benefit to increase the use of Fructus Ziziphi Jujubae in anticancer prescriptions.
