Menolyte
Che Qian Cao
HERBA PLANTAGINIS (PLANTAIN HERB)
Che Qian Cac is the dried whole plant of Plantago asiatica L. or Plantago depressa Willd. (Plantaginaceae). It is collected in the summer and dried in the sun.
CHEMISTRY
The plant contains plantagin, aucubin, ursolic acid, b-sitosterol, n-hentriacontane and plantaglucide which is composed of methyl D-galacturonate, D-galactose, L-arabinose and L-rhamnose1.
PHARMACOLOGY
Expectorant and Antitussive Effects
Oral administration of the decoction of the herb to anesthetized cats increased the intratracheal secretion. This action peaked 3-6 h after medication and lasted for 6-7 h. Plantagin promoted mucus secretion of the bronchi and trachea and also depressed the respiratory center, causing deep and slow respiration1.
Antimicrobial Activity
The 1:4 aqueous extract of the herb in vitro inhibited Trichophyton concentricum, Microsporum lanosum and Nocardia asteroides. In the agar well experiment Staphylococcus aureus was highly sensitive to the extract, Shigella sonnei moderately sensitive and Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi slightly sensitive. The ethanolic extract of the herb was lethal to leptospira at 15 mg/ml1.
FUNCTIONS AND APPLICATIONS
Traditional Description
Che Qian Cao has a sweet taste and a cold property, acting on the liver, kidney, lung and small intestine channels. It has the functions of:
(i) inducing diuresis and relieving dysuria, used for edema with
oliguria, urinary infection with difficult and painful urination;
and
(ii) removing heat and counteracting toxicity, used for spitting
of blood, epistaxis, carbuncles and sores.
Applications
Respiratory infections
The herb has been used in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infection, whooping cough and bronchitis and exhibited antitussive and expectorant effects. In a trial involving 175 patients of chronic bronchitis who were over 50 years old and were given the tablets made from the extract of the herb at the daily dose corresponding to 30 g of the herb for 1-2 weeks, the aggregate effective rate was 77.7%. In another report, 20 chronic bronchitis patients were given subcutaneous injection of the herb extract, the symptoms of cough and expectoration were relieved after 10 days of treatment
Acute icteric hepatitis
In 85 cases of acute icteric hepatitis taking the decoction of 60 g of the herb daily, the aggregate effectiveness was 98.8%. Appetite was restored in 5-7 days and jaundice subsided in about 14 days; liver functions were recovered in 96% of the cases. In another trial involving 219 cases treated with the herb, the cure rate was 95.4%'.
Intestinal infections
Daily doses of 60-120 ml of the 100% decoction of the fresh Plantago leaves in 43 cases of acute and 45 cases of chronic bacillary dysentery reduced fever in an average of 1.3 and 1.8 days, respectively. Abdominal pain as well as pus and blood stool disappeared in about 10 days. The stool culture of some formerly positive patients turned to negative; sigmoidocolonic abnormalities were also reversed. The aggregate effective rate was 84%. The decoction was also effective to bacillary dysentery in children. Symptoms disappeared in a mean of 2 days and frequency of bowel movement normalized'.
Urinary tract diseases
The herb at doses of 15-30 g has been used in combination with other herbs in the treatment of renal edema, chronic pyelonephritis, dysuria and nephrolithiasis1.
DOSAGE
9-30g.
REFERENCE
1. Wang, Y.S. (1983) Pharmacology and Applications of Chinese Mareria Medica, pp. 186-190. Beijing: People's Health Publisher.