Pinyin: Zaojiao
Aliases
Ji Qizi, Da Zaojia, Chang Zaojia, Xuan Dao.
Source
Legume family plant Gleditsia sinensisGleditsia sinensisThe dried ripe fruit of Lam.
Botanical Description
Tree, up to 15 m tall. Spines stout, usually branched, up to 16 cm long, cylindrical. Branchlets glabrous. Leaves 1-pinnate, 12-18 cm long; leaflets 6-14, oblong-ovate, oblong-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 3-8 cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide, apex obtuse or acuminate, base oblique-rounded or oblique-cuneate, margin finely serrate, glabrous. Flowers polygamous, in axillary racemes; calyx campanulate, with 4 lanceolate lobes; petals 4, white; stamens 6-8; ovary linear, hairy along the suture. Legume linear, not twisted, 12-30 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, slightly thick, blackish-brown, covered with white powder. Flowering April-May, fruiting September-October.
Habitat and Distribution
Born along roadsides, ditches, and near dwellings. Distributed in Northeast, North, East, and South China, as well as Sichuan, Guizhou, and other regions.
Harvesting and Processing
Cultivated plants bear fruit after 5-6 years; harvest when the fruit matures and turns black in autumn, then dry in the sun.
Medicinal Properties
This product is oblong, sword-sheath-shaped, and slightly curved, 15-20 cm long, 2-3.5 cm wide, and 0.8-1.5 cm thick. The surface is dark purplish-brown to blackish-brown, covered with a gray powdery bloom, with raised areas where the seeds are located. The base is gradually narrowed and slightly curved, with a short fruit stalk or fruit stalk scar. There are distinct longitudinal ridges on both sides, and it rattles when shaken. The texture is hard. When cut open, the pericarp cross-section is yellow and fibrous. The seeds are numerous, flat-elliptical, yellowish-brown, and smooth. The odor is distinctive and strongly irritating; the powder is sternutatory upon inhalation. The taste is pungent.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains fiscetin, fisetin, betulinic acid, betulin, friedelin, and other components.
Pharmacology
Expels Phlegm; antibacterial. Toxicity: has hemolytic effects and other cytotoxic effects on tissue cells, particularly on the central nervous system.
Properties and Channel Entry
Acrid, salty, warm, and toxic. Enters the Lung, Liver, Stomach, and Large Intestine channels.
Functions and Indications
Expels phlegm and stops cough, opens the orifices and unblocks closures, kills parasites and dissipates nodules. Indications: phlegm cough with wheezing and fullness, lockjaw due to wind-stroke, copious phlegm and drool with obstruction, coma and mutism, epilepsy, throat obstruction, constipation and urinary retention, carbuncles, swelling, scabies, and tinea.
Dosage and Administration
Internal: 1-3 g, mostly used in pills or powders
Precautions and Contraindications
Those with weak constitution, pregnant women, and those with hemoptysis or hematemesis should not take.
Prescriptions
1. For cough with counterflow qi raising, constant spitting of turbid phlegm, able only to sit but unable to sleep: *Zaojia* (Gleditsia sinensis) 240 g (scrape off the skin, fry with lard), grind into powder, make into honey pills the size of *wutong* seeds, take three pills with jujube paste decoction, take three times during the day and once at night. (From *Jinkui Yaolue*, Zaojia Pill) 2. For pediatric toxic qi attacking the cheeks causing redness and swelling: *Zaojia* (remove the seeds) 60 g, *Tiannanxing* (raw) 6 g, one *ge* of glutinous rice, grind into powder. Mix thoroughly, mix with ginger juice and apply topically. (From *Puji Fang*) 3. For fish bone stuck in the throat for a long time: Take a small amount of *Zaojia* powder, blow into the nose to induce sneezing, and the bone will come out. (From *Shenghui Fang*) 4. For soft tissue abscess and cellulitis: Take one *Zaojia* (over one *chi* long), pound it, boil it thoroughly with vinegar, grind into paste, and apply externally. (From *Zhizhi Fang*) 5. For difficult urination and defecation, with obstruction and stagnation: Burn *Zaojia*, grind finely. Take 9 g with congee, and it will relieve immediately. (From *Zhenglei Bencao*, quoting Sun Zhenren's Formula)
