The efficacy and function of Pipa leaves

Everyone knows that loquat has the effect of relieving cough and reducing phlegm, so many people will go to the pharmacy to buy some loquat juice to drink when they have a cold and keep coughing. Some people also grow loquat plants at home. They are only planted in the south because loquat needs a warm growing environment, and the cold weather in the north is not suitable for its growth. Loquat leaves are particularly broad, so what are the effects and functions of loquat leaves?

The efficacy and function of loquat leaves

1. Clear the lungs, reduce phlegm and relieve cough

Used for lung heat and cough. This herb is bitter in nature and can reduce the pressure, while it is cold in nature and can clear the lung qi and relieve cough. For treating lung heat cough, it is often used together with mulberry leaves, Peucedanum chinense, etc. For treating dryness-heat cough and asthma, it is used with mulberry bark, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Adenophora Root, etc. If the cough is caused by lung deficiency and persists for a long time, it can be used together with yin-nourishing and lung-moisturizing drugs such as donkey-hide gelatin and lily.

2. Reduce nausea and stop vomiting

Used for vomiting and hiccups due to stomach heat. This product can clear stomach heat and reduce stomach qi to stop vomiting and hiccups. It is often used together with tangerine peel, bamboo shavings, etc. In addition, it can also be used for thirst caused by fever and diabetes, for its ability to clear the stomach and quench thirst.

3. Antitussive, expectorant and antiasthmatic effects

The hydrocyanic acid produced by the hydrolysis of amygdalin in the body has an antitussive effect, the water decoction or ethyl acetate extract has expectorant and antiasthmatic effects, the volatile oil contained in its leaves has a mild expectorant effect, and there are also reports that loquat leaves have a strong antitussive effect but a poor expectorant effect.

4. Antibacterial effect

Experiments show that the water decoction or ethyl acetate extract of this product has antibacterial effects on white or aureus Staphylococcus, Pneumococcus, and Shigella flexneri. However, some people believe that loquat leaves have no antibacterial effects and can stimulate the growth of Staphylococcus aureus.

5. Other functions

It has been reported that loquat leaf ethanol cold-infused extract has an anti-inflammatory effect on carrageenan-induced paw swelling in rats when applied topically, while warm-infused extract topical administration or oral administration or cold-infused extract oral administration has no anti-inflammatory effect.

How to choose loquat leaves

The leaves are oblong or obovate, 12-30cm long and 3-9cm wide. The apex is pointed, the base is cuneate, the upper part of the edge is sparsely serrated, and the base is entire. The upper surface is gray-green, yellow-brown or reddish-brown and shiny, while the lower surface is light gray or brown-green and densely covered with yellow hairs. The main vein is prominent on the lower surface, and the lateral veins are pinnate. The petiole is very short and covered with brown-yellow hairs. Leathery and brittle, easily broken. It has a faint smell and a slightly bitter taste.

Medicinal recipes of loquat leaves

1. To treat cough and phlegm in the throat: 5 qian of loquat leaves, 0.2 qian of Fritillaria cirrhosa, 2 qian of almonds, and 2 qian of tangerine peel. Grind it into powder and take one or two coins each time with boiled water.

2. Treat lung heat and cough: 9 grams of loquat leaves, 12 grams of mulberry bark, and 6 grams of scutellaria baicalensis, decocted in water and taken orally. Or take 12 grams of honey-roasted loquat leaves and 15 grams of honey-roasted mulberry bark, decocted in water and taken.

3. Treat wind-heat cough: 9 grams each of loquat leaves, bitter almonds, mulberry bark, chrysanthemum, and burdock seeds. Decoction.

4. To treat lung-wind cough: 30g dried loquat leaves, 15-18g each of coriander and peucedanum, and 5 pieces of mugwort. Decoction in water, add brown sugar, and take in the morning and evening.

5. To treat dry cough: 9 grams of dried loquat leaves (dehaired), 9 grams of dried mulberry leaves, and 15 grams of Imperata root, decocted in water and taken orally.

6. Treatment of whooping cough: 15 grams of loquat leaves, 15 grams of mulberry bark, 9 grams of Lycium bark, and 3 grams of licorice. Decoction in water.

7. To treat vomiting: 2 loquat leaves, 5 persimmon calyxes, 6 grams of calamus, and a handful of cinnamon bamboo (the second layer of cinnamon bark scraped off). Decoction.