Herbal Textual Research on Inulae Flos in Famous Classical Formulas
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251461
- VernacularTitle:经典名方中旋覆花的本草考证
- Author:
Caixia LIU
1
;
Yue HAN
1
;
Yanzhu MA
1
;
Lei GAO
1
;
Sheng WANG
1
;
Yan YANG
1
;
Wenchuan LUO
1
;
Ling JIN
1
;
Jing SHAO
1
;
Zhijia CUI
1
;
Zhilai ZHAN
2
Author Information
1. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences，Gansu University of Chinese Medicine，Lanzhou 730000，China
2. State Key Laboratory for Quality Ensurance and Sustainable Use of Dao-di Herbs，National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica，China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences，Beijing 100700，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Inulae Flos;
famous classical formulas;
herbal textual research;
origin;
producing area;
processing methods;
nature， flavor and efficacy
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(3):210-221
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
In this paper， by referring to ancient and modern literature， the textual research of Inulae Flos has been conducted to clarify the name， origin， production area， quality evaluation， harvesting， processing and others， so as to provide reference and basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing this herb. After textual research， it could be verified that the medicinal use of Inulae Flos was first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing of the Han dynasty. In successive dynasties， Xuanfuhua has been taken as the official name， and it also has other alternative names such as Jinfeicao， Daogeng and Jinqianhua. The period before the Song and Yuan dynasties， the main origin of Inulae Flos was the Asteraceae plant Inula japonica， and from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the present， I. japonica and I. britannica are the primary source. In addition to the dominant basal species， there are also regional species such as I. linariifolia， I. helianthus-aquatili， and I. hupehensis. The earliest recorded production areas in ancient times were Henan， Hubei and other places， and the literature records that it has been distributed throughout the country since modern times. The medicinal part is its flower， the harvesting and processing method recorded in the past dynasties is mainly harvested in the fifth and ninth lunar months， and dried in the sun， and the modern harvesting is mostly harvested in summer and autumn when the flowers bloom， in order to remove impurities， dry in the shade or dry in the sun. In addition， the roots， whole herbs and aerial parts are used as medicinal materials. In ancient times， there were no records about the quality of Inulae Flos， and in modern times， it is generally believed that the quality of complete flower structure， small receptacles， large blooms， yellow petals， long filaments， many fluffs， no fragments， and no branches is better. Ancient processing methods primarily involved cleaning， steaming， and sun-drying， supplemented by techniques such as boiling， roasting， burning， simmering， stir-frying， and honey-processing. Modern processing focuses mainly on cleaning the stems and leaves before use. Regarding the medicinal properties， ancient texts describe it as salty and sweet in taste， slightly warm in nature， and mildly toxic. Modern studies characterize it as bitter， pungent， and salty in taste， with a slightly warm nature. Its therapeutic effects remain consistent across eras， including descending Qi， resolving phlegm， promoting diuresis， and stopping vomiting. Based on the research results， it is recommended that when developing famous classical formulas containing Inulae Flos， either I. japonica or I. britannica should be used as the medicinal source. Processing methods should follow formula requirements， where no processing instructions are specified， the raw products may be used after cleaning.
