Aristolochia kwangsiensis

Aristolochia kwangsiensis W. Y. Chun & F. C. How ex C. F. Liang, Acta Phytotax. Sin. 13(2): 12. 1975.

(Aristolochia kwangsiensis Chun et F.C. How ex C.F.Liang; Photo fpcn.net)

Latin Name: Aristolochia kwangsiensis Chun et F.C. How ex C.F.Liang

Family & Genus: Aristolochiaceae, Aristolochia

Synonym Name: Aristolochia austroszechuanica S.S.Chien & C.Y.Cheng ex C.Y.Cheng & J.L.Wu

English Name: Guangxi Dutchmanspipe, Guangxi Birthwort, Kwangsi Dutchmanspipe, Kwangsi Dutchman’s-pipe, Guangxi Dutchman’s-pipe

Chinese Name: 广西马兜铃 guang xi ma dou ling

Vietnamese Name: Mã đậu linh quảng tây, Mã đậu linh lá to, Đại diệp mã đậu linh, Viên diệp mã đậu linh.

Description: Shrubs climbing. Stems terete, shallowly striate, densely dusty yellow to brownish hirsute. Petiole 6-15 cm, densely hirsute; leaf blade cordate to orbicular, 11-13 × 9-32 cm, papery, both surfaces moderately to densely hirsute, veins palmate, 2 pairs from base, base cordate or auriculate, sinus 3-5 cm deep, apex obtuse or acute. Racemes in axils of leafy shoots, 2- or 3-flowered. Pedicel pendulous, 2.5-3.5 cm, hirsute; bractlets subulate, 3-6 mm. Calyx limb dark purple, throat yellow, 4-5 cm; tube horseshoe-shaped, abaxially densely hirsute; basal portion of tube 20-35 × 3-10 mm; limb discoid-suborbicular, 3.5-4.5 cm in diam., distinctly 3-lobed; lobes broadly deltoid. Anthers oblong, ca. 2 mm. Gynostemium 3-lobed. Capsule cylindric, 8-10 × 2 cm, dehiscing basipetally. Seeds ovoid, 5 × 4 mm. Flowering: April to May. Fruiting: August to September.

Distribution: Growing in valley forests. Distributed in Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and etc. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi.

Part Used: Medical part: earthnut. Chinese name: Dabaijieshu.

Harvest & Processing: Excavated in summer and autumn, well washed, used fresh or sliced and sun-dried.

Chemistry:

Roots contain allantoin, aristolochic acid A, β-sitosterol, 6-methoxydenitroaristolochic acid methyl ester, 6-methoxyaristolochic acid A methyl ester and magnoflorine.

The essential oil: sabinene (34.8%), β-caryophyllene (8.8%) and terpinen-4-ol (8.6%)

Pharmacology: Pain-killing, spasm-clearing, leukocyt-increasing.

Properties & Actions: Bitter, cold. Activating qi-flow, relieving pain, clearing heat, detoxifying and arresting bleeding.

Indications & Usage: Spastic gastralgia, stomachache, acute gastroenteritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer, dysentery, injuries from falls, anthracia and swelling, traumatic hemorrhage, snake bites, bone tuberculosis. Internal: decocting, 6-9g; powdered, 1.5-3g. External: appropriate amount, stir-heated ones powdered and scattered on wounded part; fresh used, triturated for application.

Examples:     

1. Ulcerative carbuncle and pyogenic infection: roundleaf dutchmanspipe, fresh rhizome pestled and smeared onto lesions.

2. Acute gastroenteritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer, laryngopharyngitis: roundleaf dutchmanspipe, powder of dried root 0.5-3g, swallow with boiled water.

3. Hypertension: roundleaf dutchmanspipe root 15g, decoct in water and swallow half an hour after meals, 3 times a day.

References

- libproject.hkbu.edu.hk

- efloras.org

- theplantlist

- Le Thi Huong, Do Ngoc Dai, Tran Ding Thang, Isiaka Ogunwande; Chemical constituents of essential oils from some Vietnamese plants; Vol. 16, No 1 (2018) Special Issue devoted to 49th International Symposium on Essential Oils