Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

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Latin Name: Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

Synonym Name: Nelumbium album Bercht. & J.Presl: Nelumbium asiaticum Rich.; Nelumbium caspicum Fisch. ex DC.; Nelumbium caspium Eichw.; Nelumbium discolor Steud.; Nelumbium indicum Poir.; Nelumbium javanicum Poir.; Nelumbium marginatum Steud.; Nelumbium nelumbo Druce; Nelumbium nuciferum Gaertn.; Nelumbium rheedii C.Presl  ; Nelumbium speciosum Willd.; Nelumbium tamara Sweet; Nelumbium transversum C.Presl; Nelumbium turbinatum Blanco; Nelumbium venosum C.Presl; Nelumbo caspica (Fisch.) Schipcz.; Nelumbo caspica Fisch.; Nelumbo indica Pers.; Nelumbo komarovii Grossh.; Nelumbo nelumbo (L.) H.Karst.; Nelumbo nucifera var. macrorhizomata Nakai; Nelumbo speciosa Willd.; Nelumbo speciosa var. alba F.M.Bailey; Nymphaea nelumbo L.; Tamara alba Roxb. ex Steud.; Tamara hemisphaerica Buch.-Ham. ex Pritz.; Tamara rubra Roxb. ex Steud.

Family: Nymphaeaceae; Genus: Nelumbo

English Name: Sscred Lily, East Indian, East Indian Lotus, Hindsacred Loutus

French Name: lotus sacré

Cambodia Name: chhuk

Germany Name: Indische Lotosblume

Indonesia Name: padma; seroja; terate

Italy Name: Loto d'Egitto

Laos Name: bwà

Netherlands Name: lotusbloem, Indische

Philippines Name: baino; sukan; sukaw

Thailand Name: bua-luang; sattabut; ubon

Vietnam Name: hoa sen; sen

Chinese name: 莲属

Description: Leaves: petiole to 2 m or more. Leaf blade to 6 dm or more. Flowers: tepals normally all caducous, pink, pink-tinged, or fading to white, 1-13 cm; anthers 1-2 cm. Fruits ovoid, 10-20 × 7-13 mm, mostly more than 1.5 times longer than wide; receptacle to 1 dm diam. at maturity, gradually tapered or rounded from flattened top to base, base rounded or very slightly obtuse-tapered, lateral surface rugose or only weakly striate. Flowering: June to August, fruiting: August to October.

A plant of the subtropics and tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,400 metres, it can also be grown in cooler climates that have a hot growing season of at least 5 months. In cooler climates, however, it should be grown in shallower water, though no less than 30 cm deep, which will warm up more quickly and encourage better growth and flowering. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 25 - 30°c, but can tolerate 10 - 40°c. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 2,800mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,000mm.

Grows best in a sunny position. Requires a rich loam. Succeeds in water up to 2.5 metres deep. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 6.5, tolerating 5.5 - 7.3.

Once established, plants can become invasive when growing in suitable conditions.

Yields of the roots vary from 3.5 - 4.5 tonnes per hectare. Higher yields can be obtained if the flowers are removed before seed is set.

Plants are resentful of root disturbance and should be planted into their permanent positions as soon as possible.

Most forms are not cold-hardy outdoors in the temperate zone but some, especially those from far eastern provenances are much hardier and will possibly succeed outdoors in favoured areas. The flowers have a sweet fruity perfume.

Distribution: Growing in paddy fields or ponds. Distributed in provinces in the southern and northern parts of China. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Hunan, Hubei, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and etc.

Part Used: Medical part: rhizome, leaves, tender leaves and radicle, flowers, receptacle, lotus seedpot, seed and seed coat. Chinese name: rhizome: Ou. Leaves: Heye. Tender leaves and radicle: Lianzixin. Flowers: Hehua. Radicle: Lianfang. Fruits: Shilianzi. Seed: Lianzi. Seed coat: Lianyi.

Harvest & Processing: Rhizome: excavated in autumn, winter and spring. Often used fresh. Leaves: collected from June to September when not flowering, removed the petioles, sun-dried to seventy to eighty percent dried, fold into semicircle, and sun-dried. Summer, also used fresh or use tender leaves. Tender leaf and radicles: peel off the lotus seed, taken the green radicles (lotus nut), and sun-dried. Flower: collected just opening bud or flowers and dried in shade. Receptacle: collected lotus seedpod in September and October when fruits become mature, removed the seed and stem, and sun-dried. Fruit: collected the lotus seed when it becomes mature, and sun-dried. Seeds: harvested lotus seedpod in autumn when fruits become mature, taken the fruits, removed pericarp, and sun-dried. Seeds coat: collected in September and October when fruits become mature, taken the seed, peeled, and sun-dried the seed coat.

Chemistry:

- Root contains catechol, D-gallocatechol, neochlorogenic acid, peroxidase.

- Leaf contains alkaloids, such as nuciferine, nornuciferine, anonaine. Aslo contains flavonoids, such as quercetin, leucocyanidin. 10-octacosanol, beta-sitosterol, 1-undecanol, 1-eicosanol, daucosterol, 6'-hydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxychalcone, 3,7,8-trimethoxy-1-hydroxy-xanthone, rhamnetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, chrysoeriol-7-O-beta-D-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl, hyperoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, astragalin, isorhamnetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)-[alpha-D-lyxopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucopyranoside], isorhamnetin-3-O-alpha-D-lyxopyranosyl-(1-->)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin, kaempferol, dehydronuciferine, roemerine, stigmast-7-en-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, stigmast-7-en-3beta-ol, and benzene-1,2-diol.

- Tender leaves and radicle contain alkaloids, such as liensinine, isoliensinine, lotusine. Also contains flavonoids, such as aluteolin-7-O-glucoside, hyperin.

- Flower contains flavonoids, such as quercetin, luteolin, isoquercitrin, kaempferol.

- Receptacle contains flavonoids, such as hyperoside, quercetin, etc, also contains fat, protein, carotene.

- Seed contains fatty acids, such as myristic acid, palmitic acid, oleic.

- Seed coat contains alkaloids, such as nuciferine, nornuciferine and oxoushinsunine.

Pharmacology:

- Tender leaf and radicles: hypertension-reducing and anti-arrhythmia.

- Cancer, microbial infection, diabetes, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and obesity, have been associated with crude extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds.

Properties & Actions: Root stem: sweet, cold. Leaves: bitter, harsh, neutral. Tender leaf and radicle: bitter, cold. Flower: bitter, sweet, neutral. Receptacle: bitter, harsh, neutral. Fruits: sweet, harsh, little bitter, cold. Seeds: sweet, harsh, neutral. Seed husk: harsh, little bitter, neutral. Rhizome: clearing heat, promoting fluid, cooling blood, dissipating stasis and arresting bleeding. Leaf: clearing heat, relieving summer heat, sending up the lucid yang, dissipating stasis and arresting bleeding. Tender leaf and radicles: clearing heart, regulating liver, arresting bleeding and fixing sperm. Flower: dissipating stasis, arresting bleeding, removing damp and wind. Receptacle: dissipating stasis and arresting bleeding. Fruits: clearing damp-heat, clearing heart, inducing sedation, promoting digestion, astringing essence and antidiarrhea. Seed: anti-fright, inducing sedation, tonifying spleen, antidiarrhea, flourishing kidney and astringing sperm. Seed coat: astringing to arrest bleeding.

Indications & Usage: Rhizome: pyreticosis and dipsesis, hematochezia, vomiting and apostaxis. Leaves: constant thirst due to summer hygrosis, headache and vertigo, splenasthenic abdominal distention, loose stool, hematemesis and hemafecia, lochia post partum. Spire and seed root: restlessness and insominia, vertigo and conjunctival congestion, hematemesis, emissions. Flower: traumatic hematemesis, metrorrhagia and metrostaxia, bloody stranguria, damp sores with no vesication, scabies and pruritis. Torus: metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, hypermenorrhea, hemafecia, hematuria, prolapse of hemorrhoids. Fruits: dysentery with vomiting, dysphoria and insomnia, vomiting and jejunitis, emissions, leukorrhea, turbid urine. Seeds: palpitation and insomnia, splenasthenic diarrhea, emissions and leukorrhea. Seed peel: hematemesis, non-traumatic hemorrhage, hematochezia. Rhizome: oral administration: eaten directly or extracted juice or cooked for eating, appropriate amount. External application: appropriate amount, triturated for application. Leaf: oral administration: decocting, 3-10g (for fresh 15-30g); calcined dry leaves and powdered, 3-6g, or made as pills or powders. External application: appropriate amount, triturated for application or prepared decoction for washing. Young leaves and radicles: oral administration: decocting, 1.5-3g; or powdered. Not use in case of deficiency-cold of spleen and stomach. Flower: oral administration: powdered, 1-1.5g; or decocting, 6-9g. External application: appropriate amount: fresh flowers smashed for applying on the affected part. Receptacle: oral administration: decocting, 5-10g; or powdered. External application: powdered for application, or prepared decoction for fumigating and washing. Fruit: oral administration: decocting, 9-12g. Directly used for clearing damp-heat, used with seed for inducing sedation. Seed: oral administration: decocting, 6-15g; or made as pills or powders. Seed coat: oral administration: decocting, 1-2g.

Examples      

1. Tonifying deficiencies: sacred lily (remove peel), choose good ones, immerse in liquorfor one night, add into big pig tripe, cook in water, pick out and bake until dry. Grind the above drugs into a fine powder, prepare liquor paste into pills, as large as chick head. Take 50-70 pills each time, and swallow with warm liquor before meals.

2. Gastric weakness after diseases, indigetion: sacred lily, rice fruit, stir-fried, 4 liang each, tuckahoo 2 liang. Grind into powder, prepare with granulated sugar. Take approximately 1liang each time, and swallow with plain soup.

3. Warm disease of taiyin, excess perspiration, coma and delirium: kakuda figwort root 3 qian, lotus seed 5 fen, bamboo leaves 2 qian, weeping forsythia 2 qian, rhinoceros horn 2 qian (grind and infuse), dwarf lilyturf 3 qian. Decoct in water and swallow.

Edible Uses:

Root - cooked as a vegetable. It is also a source of starch or arrowroot. Much used and relished in Chinese cooking, the root has a mild flavour and a crisp texture, even after cooing. It can be cooked with other vegetables, soaked in syrup or pickled in vinegar. The root contains about 1.7% protein, 0.1% fat, 9.7% carbohydrate, 1.1% ash.

Young leaves - cooked or raw. Used as a vegetable. The leaves can also be used to wrap small parcels of food before cooking them.

Stems - cooked. A taste somewhat like beet. They are usually peeled before use.

Seed - raw or cooked. A delicate flavour. The seed can be popped like popcorn, ground into a powder and used in making bread or eaten dry. The bitter tasting embryo is often removed. The seed contains about 15.9% protein, 2.8% fat, 70% carbohydrate, 3.9% ash.

The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Petals can be floated in soups or used as a garnish.

The stamens are used to flavour tea.

Other Uses:

The leaves are used as plates for eating food off.

References

- Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

- efloras.org

- Theplantlist

- tropical.theferns.info

- Zhao XL, Wang ZM, Ma XJ, Jing WG, Liu A., Chemical constituents from leaves of Nelumbo nucifera; Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2013; 38(5):703-8.