The Health Benefits and Functions of Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig)
The Health Benefits and Functions of Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig)
Guizhi, also known as Cinnamon Twig, is the slender branch of the plant Cinnamomum. It has a warm and mildly pungent taste. It enters the heart, lung, and bladder meridians and is known for its ability to induce sweating, expel exterior pathogens, warm and open the meridians, and promote the circulation of Yang energy.
It is commonly used in clinical practice for:
Treating exterior syndromes due to wind and cold.
Alleviating cold and damp pain, menstrual cramps, and dysmenorrhea.
Addressing conditions caused by stagnation of phlegm and dampness, such as coughing, wheezing, and urinary difficulties.
Health Benefits and Functions of Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig)
The efficacy of Cinnamon Twig:
It induces sweating, relieves muscle tension, warms the meridians, and promotes circulation. It is used to treat exterior conditions associated with wind and cold, soreness and pain in the shoulders, back, and limbs, chest congestion, and phlegm retention.
Cheng Wuji: It relieves muscular pain, dispels pathogenic factors, expels cold, and regulates lung function.
"Medical Origins": "Mastering the Secret of Treatment": It treats headaches caused by wind-cold, opens meridians, expels superficial pathogenic factors, and alleviates skin disorders and rheumatism (last two words according to "Utilizing the Materia Medica").
"Annotated Classic of Materia Medica": It dispels superficial pathogenic factors.
It regulates liver and lung qi, alleviates headaches, and relieves pain in the muscles and joints.
"Compendium of Materia Medica": It specifically targets the upper body, shoulders, and arms. It can direct the medicine to the painful area, eliminating phlegm and blood stagnation between the joints.
"Essentials from the Golden Cabinet": It warms the meridians, induces sweating, and relieves muscle tension.
"Revised Materia Medica": It warms the middle, circulates blood, strengthens the spleen, dries dampness, and reduces swelling.
It treats cold extremities with numbness, painful muscle contractions, and conditions resulting from exposure to cold.
The actions of Cinnamon Twig:
Antibacterial Effects: Guizhi alcohol extracts can inhibit Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro, with effective concentrations of 25 milligrams per milliliter or lower. It also has inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus albus, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella choleraesuis, and Vibrio cholerae (using the plate hole method).
Antiviral Effects: Guizhi decoction (1:20) has inhibitory effects on the Asian influenza A subtype H3N2 (A/Jing/68-1) and ECHO11 virus in primary human embryonic kidney cell tissue cultures. It also has an inhibitory effect on the influenza virus in chicken embryos when applied as a 70% alcohol extract.
Diuretic Effects: When administered intravenously to anesthetized dogs at a dose of 0.25 grams of Wu Ling San, which contains Guizhi, per kilogram of body weight, there is a noticeable increase in urine production. When Guizhi is administered intravenously alone at a dose of 0.029 grams per kilogram, it exhibits more significant diuretic effects compared to the other four herbs in Wu Ling San. Therefore, Guizhi is considered one of the primary diuretic components in Wu Ling San, and its action may be similar to that of mercurial diuretics.
Guizhi, also known as Cinnamon Twig, is the slender branch of the plant Cinnamomum. It has a warm and mildly pungent taste. It enters the heart, lung, and bladder meridians and is known for its ability to induce sweating, expel exterior pathogens, warm and open the meridians, and promote the circulation of Yang energy.
It is commonly used in clinical practice for:
Treating exterior syndromes due to wind and cold.
Alleviating cold and damp pain, menstrual cramps, and dysmenorrhea.
Addressing conditions caused by stagnation of phlegm and dampness, such as coughing, wheezing, and urinary difficulties.
Health Benefits and Functions of Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig)
The efficacy of Cinnamon Twig:
It induces sweating, relieves muscle tension, warms the meridians, and promotes circulation. It is used to treat exterior conditions associated with wind and cold, soreness and pain in the shoulders, back, and limbs, chest congestion, and phlegm retention.
Cheng Wuji: It relieves muscular pain, dispels pathogenic factors, expels cold, and regulates lung function.
"Medical Origins": "Mastering the Secret of Treatment": It treats headaches caused by wind-cold, opens meridians, expels superficial pathogenic factors, and alleviates skin disorders and rheumatism (last two words according to "Utilizing the Materia Medica").
"Annotated Classic of Materia Medica": It dispels superficial pathogenic factors.
It regulates liver and lung qi, alleviates headaches, and relieves pain in the muscles and joints.
"Compendium of Materia Medica": It specifically targets the upper body, shoulders, and arms. It can direct the medicine to the painful area, eliminating phlegm and blood stagnation between the joints.
"Essentials from the Golden Cabinet": It warms the meridians, induces sweating, and relieves muscle tension.
"Revised Materia Medica": It warms the middle, circulates blood, strengthens the spleen, dries dampness, and reduces swelling.
It treats cold extremities with numbness, painful muscle contractions, and conditions resulting from exposure to cold.
The actions of Cinnamon Twig:
Antibacterial Effects: Guizhi alcohol extracts can inhibit Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro, with effective concentrations of 25 milligrams per milliliter or lower. It also has inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus albus, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella choleraesuis, and Vibrio cholerae (using the plate hole method).
Antiviral Effects: Guizhi decoction (1:20) has inhibitory effects on the Asian influenza A subtype H3N2 (A/Jing/68-1) and ECHO11 virus in primary human embryonic kidney cell tissue cultures. It also has an inhibitory effect on the influenza virus in chicken embryos when applied as a 70% alcohol extract.
Diuretic Effects: When administered intravenously to anesthetized dogs at a dose of 0.25 grams of Wu Ling San, which contains Guizhi, per kilogram of body weight, there is a noticeable increase in urine production. When Guizhi is administered intravenously alone at a dose of 0.029 grams per kilogram, it exhibits more significant diuretic effects compared to the other four herbs in Wu Ling San. Therefore, Guizhi is considered one of the primary diuretic components in Wu Ling San, and its action may be similar to that of mercurial diuretics.
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