The difference between Akebia and Tongcao

The two medicinal herbs, Akebia trifoliata and Glechoma longituba, have different medicinal values, and there are differences between the two herbs. We can distinguish them from their shapes and medicinal values. Akebia is light brown and Tongcao is green. The therapeutic value of these two medicinal materials is also different. Akebia can treat milk obstruction, while Tongcao can clear away heat, promote diuresis and reduce swelling.

The difference between Akebia and Tongcao

Tongcao is also known as Tonghuagen, Datongcao, Baitongcao, Fangtong and Paotong. This product is the dried stem pith of the Araliaceae plant. Cut the stems in autumn, cut them into sections, remove the pith while they are fresh, straighten them, and dry them in the sun. It is cylindrical in shape, 20 to 40 cm long and 1 to 2.5 cm in diameter. The surface is white or light yellow with shallow longitudinal grooves. It is light, soft, slightly elastic, easy to break, with a flat cross section and a silvery white luster. There is a hollow or translucent film with a diameter of 0.3 to 1.5 cm in the middle. The longitudinal section is arranged in a ladder shape, and solid ones are rare. Odorless and tasteless.

Tongcao tastes sweet and light, and is slightly cold in nature. It enters the lung and stomach meridians. It has the effects of clearing away heat, promoting diuresis, ventilating and promoting lactation. It is used for red urine due to damp-heat, painful and astringent urine due to gonorrhea, edema, oliguria, and lack of milk. Use with caution in pregnant women.

Related compatibility of Tongcao

1. For patients with internal retention of dampness, difficulty in urination and edema, it can be used in combination with Poria peel, Alisma orientalis and Atractylodes macrocephala to enhance the effect of draining dampness and promoting diuresis.

2. For those who suffer from insufficient qi and blood, little milk, and milk blockage after childbirth, it can be used with pig's trotters, pangolins, Chuanxiong, angelica, etc. to enhance the effect of replenishing the deficiency and promoting milk secretion.

3. It is used for symptoms of internal damp-heat, short and red urine, or dribbling and painful urine. However, it has a light smell and a slow effect. It can be used together with Akebia, Talcum, etc.

4. For the treatment of damp-heat diseases, it can be used with coix seed, cardamom seed, bamboo leaf, etc.

5. For low milk supply, it can be boiled into a soup with pig's trotters, pangolin, Chuanxiong, licorice, etc.

Akebia, also known as: Mountain Tongcao (Shennong's Herbal Classic), Wild Papaya (Jiuhuang Herbal Classic), Tongcao, Fuzhi (Benjing), Dingweng (Wu Pu's Herbal Classic), etc.; deciduous woody vine, slender, cylindrical, twining stems, stem bark gray-brown, with round, small and raised lenticels; bud scales are arranged in a shingle-like manner, light reddish brown. The palmate compound leaves are alternate or clustered on short branches, usually with 5 leaflets, occasionally 3-4 or 6-7 leaflets; the petiole is slender, 4.5-10 cm long; the leaflets are papery, obovate or obovate-elliptical, 2-5 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide. Akebia is a negative plant that likes shade and humidity and is relatively cold-resistant. It often grows in the grass under forests on low-altitude hillsides. It is produced in various provinces and regions in the Yangtze River Basin and is distributed in Japan and North Korea. Mutong tastes sweet and is slightly cold in nature. It is effective in treating red urine caused by warm weather, painful gonorrhea, edema, oliguria, and lack of milk.