English
Chinese
“The southern hawthorn is different from the northern hawthorn. There are many wonderful gold cakes made. The color is as sweet as rouge and as honey, and it has the function of relieving digestion and digestion.” ――Qing Dynasty. Yang Jingting’s “Miscellaneous Odes of Dumen”
The golden cake mentioned in the poem is the hawthorn cake sold outside. The poem also explains the carmine red color of hawthorn and its effect in detoxifying alcohol and helping digestion. Hawthorn is also called carmine because its color is red like rouge.
According to the third edition of the Taiwan Chinese Pharmacopoeia, hawthorn (http://en.whatsintcm.com/dt_articles/%e5%b1%b1%e6%a5%82/) is a Rosaceae plant Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge or Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge var. majorN .Dry ripe fruits of E.Br. It is mainly produced in Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi and other places. A small part of it is also cultivated in Taiwan, but it is mainly pear. It is usually harvested in autumn when the fruits are mature. This plant was first recorded in the book “Erya”. It is mainly called “湹” and used for medicinal purposes. The “Shen Nong’s Materia Medica” written by Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty and the “New Materia Medica” of the Tang Dynasty call hawthorn “red melon”, and the “Illustrated Materia Medica” of the Song Dynasty calls it “Tang”. “梂子”. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen said: “Red melon, Tangga, and hawthorn are all the same thing.” He also said, “It was rarely used in ancient prescriptions. Zhu Shi of Danxi began to use hawthorn, and then it became an important medicine.” Therefore, hawthorn became widely used after the Yuan Dynasty. use. Because of its ruddy color, it is also called carmine or red fruit. It grows in the mountains, so it is also called mountain red. When purchasing, the best ones are those with large slices, red skin, small seeds, thick flesh, slightly fragrant smell, and sour taste. According to different clinical uses, there are different processing methods. The most common ones are to dry the slices, remove impurities, sieve out the fallen core and fruit stem, and dry them; in addition, put the hawthorn slices in a pot and stir-fry them over a slow fire. When the surface color deepens and there are slight burnt spots, take it out and let it cool, which is called fried hawthorn; you can also stir-fry it with a strong fire until the surface turns brown and the inside is yellowish brown. Fry until the surface is burnt brown and the inside is burnt brown, spray a little water to extinguish the sparks, spread it out and let it cool, which is called burnt hawthorn. In addition, a new drying method on the market is freeze-dried hawthorn, which usually removes the core in the middle. , and is hollow to ensure complete drying. Because it is dried at low temperature, the active ingredients can be completely preserved. And because it is rich in vitamins and minerals, it is also called a natural multivitamin, so some people will buy it directly. Hawthorn is eaten as a snack. However, there are some confusing products in the market that are the mature fruits of the same plant, the bird pear. They can be identified in several ways. From the appearance, the skin of the hawthorn is usually brownish-red, with obvious off-white lenticels. The skin of the bird pear is yellowish brown or slightly close to reddish brown, and the pores are lighter in color and not obvious. The authentic hawthorn fruit stalks are usually symmetrical into straight cylindrical hollows, and the core is light yellow and hard in texture. Finally, it smells slightly hawthorn. It has a sour smell, while Bird Pear has a pear aroma. The above identification methods can definitely make a difference.
The most commonly heard name for hawthorn in history is candied haws. It is said that during the Shaoxi period of the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Guangzong’s favorite concubine fell ill, with a sallow complexion and thin skin, and no desire to eat. The imperial doctor used many expensive medicines, but they were ineffective. Finally, a charlatan came to the palace to help her. After diagnosing her pulse, the concubine boiled hawthorn with brown sugar and ate five to ten pieces before each meal. After the concubine took this method, she recovered soon. Later, this way of eating was introduced to the people and became known as candied haws. However, with the progress of the times, the candied haws on the market now also use strawberries, tomatoes, etc. as the base, and they are also very delicious.
In addition to helping digestion and eliminating indigestion, hawthorn can also improve women’s menstrual irregularities. Modern pharmacological research has shown that hawthorn can improve hypertension. Hawthorn is a commonly used food among the public. Therefore, the government regulates sulfur dioxide residues and heavy metal arsenic. There are certain standards for the detection of cadmium, mercury, lead and aflatoxin, so the public can eat it with confidence.
【Picture provided] Professor Zhang Xianzhe’s “Illustrated Book of Authentic Medicinal Materials“http://en.whatsintcm.com
【About the Author】
Chen Dazhen
Education: China Medical University, PhD, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Current position: Assistant Researcher, Medical Intelligence Center, Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University
Member of the National Traditional Chinese Medicine School Common Textbook Compilation Committee, Chinese Medicine Discipline
Distinguished Lecturer, Industrial Research Institute
Post-baccalaureate Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Part-time Lecturer
Department of Pharmacy, Jianan University of Pharmacy, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Heluo Pharmacopoeia www.whatsinTCM.com Co-founder