Erythrina arborea

Erythrina arborea

(Guizhou herbal medicine)

[synonym] parrot leaf (Guizhou herbal medicine).

[source] it is the root, leaf and fruit of the legume Akebia.

[plant morphology] Akebia trifoliata

Deciduous tree, 7-8m high. There are short hard spines on stems and branches. Leaflets subreniform, 10-20 cm long, 8-19 cm wide, apex pointed, base nearly truncate. Raceme axillary, flowers densely distributed in the upper part of pedicel; calyx short, 2-lipped; corolla butterfly, red, 4 cm long; stamens 10, 5, 5, 5 short; ovary stipitate, with yellow hairs. The pod is fusiform and curved, with a beak at the top and a stalk at the base, about 10 cm long. Seeds black, reniform, shiny. The flowering period is from August to September. The fruiting period is October.

Born on hillsides or gullies. Distributed in Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places.

[collection] harvest in summer and autumn.

[chemical constituents] the seeds contain alkaloids: erythrinadine, erythrinatine and erythrinapine.

[pharmacological action] about half of the plants in this genus contain many kinds of curare like alkaloids, and the most studied one is β - Erythrina rhodine. These alkaloids and their derivatives all have the characteristics of competitive neuromuscular blockers, and they also block the ganglion. Different from curare, these drugs are tertiary amines and have a strong effect on the ultimate movement. For example, when they are converted to quaternary amines (iodine methylation), the blocking effect of neuromuscular is weakened, and the effect on ganglion is enhanced. This kind of medicine is effective orally, but the action time is very short, and can cause the heart rate to slow down significantly, and the blood pressure to drop, so it can not be popularized to clinical application. It has no effect on smooth muscle and can cause convulsion in conscious animals.

[flavor] bitter, pungent and smooth.

Functions and indications: clearing away heat and expelling wind, strengthening spleen and removing dampness.

[prescription selection] ① to treat head swelling and pain: appropriate amount of parrot leaves, mashing, baking on fire, and wrapping two temples.

② Cure dysentery: parrot leaf root two to three money, parrot leaf fruit one money. Simmer water clothes. (the following is Guizhou herbal medicine)