What is the function of "safflower" in traditional Chinese medicine, and is it harmful to human body?

Safflower [scientific name of Chinese herbal medicine] flo safflower. (British) safflower is also known as grass red, thorn safflower, Du safflower and Jin safflower. Product name: Du Honghua: produced in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Good quality. Huaihonghua: Also known as Huaihonghua. Produced in wen county, Qinyang, Wuzhi and Mengxian (Old Huaiqing House). The quality is also good. Scattered safflower: produced in Shangqiu, Henan. The quality is also good. Safflower: produced in Shandong. Sichuan safflower: produced in Sichuan. South safflower: produced in the south of China (refers to the kind produced in Nanchong, Sichuan). Crocus sativus: produced in Shaanxi. Cloud safflower: produced in Yunnan. Most importantly, it is best to be red and yellow, bright, dry and soft. Safflower cake: also known as business card safflower. Mud safflower while it is hot, spread it into thin slices, and dry it for medicine. The source is the tubular flower of Carthamus tinctorius in Compositae. The plant is an annual herb with a height of about1m. The stem is erect and the upper part is multi-branched. The leaves are oblong, pointed at the top, sessile, stipe at the base, pinnate teeth at the edge, spikes at the end of the teeth, and hairless on both sides; The upper leaves are smaller and form bracts around the inflorescence. The head is the end and arranged in an umbrella shape; The total bract has several layers, the outer layer is green, ovate-lanceolate, with spikes on the edge, and the inner layer is oval, white and membranous; They are all tubular flowers, first yellow, then orange-red; Achene oval, about 5 meters long, glabrous, or scaly. 1 year-old herb, flowering in May-July, bearing fruit in July-September, 30-90cm high, alternate leaves, oval or needle-shaped, hard in texture, smooth and hairless on both sides, with barbed teeth on the edge, head flower, bisexual tubular flower, orange corolla, containing carthamin, which can be used as a red dye for textile. Flowers can also be used as menstrual drugs, which have the functions of breaking blood and promoting blood circulation, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and are mainly used to treat women's irregular menstruation. It not only has medicinal value, but also can extract oil from seeds. It is an important oil crop, and the oil content of achene is 34 ~ 55%. Oil contains oryzanol 0.5%, 80 mg per kilogram of oil, and is rich in phospholipids. Safflower oil contains high unsaturated fatty acids, and its linoleic acid content is as high as 70-80%, which has a good health care effect on human cardiovascular system. At the same time, safflower oil contains more vitamin E( 146mg/ 100ml), which is incomparable to oils. Safflower oil can not only be eaten directly by people, but also has a good health care function. At the same time, it can also be developed into linoleic acid capsules, vitamin E and cosmetics. Safflower protein in safflower oil meal is also a high value-added product. Millet (Compositae), scientifically known as safflower, is native to parts of Asia and Africa, from central India along the Middle East to the upper Nile and Ethiopia. Plant height 0.3? 6? 5 1.2m ( 1？ 6? 54 feet); Safflower, orange, yellow or white, can be extracted from dried flowers (an important family of red textile dyeing, but it has only been used in parts of southwest Asia since the emergence of synthetic aniline dyes). Safflower can also be used as a mixture to flavor saffron. Because safflower oil will not turn yellow for a long time, it is now used in the production of varnishes and pigments. However, safflower oil is rich in polyunsaturated fat and has high edible value. Mainly used for making margarine, salad oil and edible oil. The residue after refining can be fed to livestock. Safflower is mainly produced in India and has been introduced to the United States, Australia, Israel, Turkey and Canada as an oil crop. Safflower seed oil contains high linoleic acid, which has the functions of reducing blood lipid and serum cholesterol, softening and dilating arteries, preventing atherosclerosis, increasing blood circulation, regulating heart and aging endocrine system. Safflower seed oil is also a good oil for industry and medicine. It can also be used as paint, spray paint and coating for precision parts, and it is also the raw material for manufacturing alkyd resin. Used as antioxidant and stabilizer for vitamins A and D in medicine. The pressed oil cake is rich in protein and can be used as concentrated feed for livestock. The growth period of safflower is short, and it usually takes only 120 days from sowing to harvesting. Strong adaptability, not strict with soil requirements. The taproot is developed (2 meters deep) and has the ability of drought resistance, cold resistance and salt tolerance, which is suitable for cultivation in northern and northwest China. Safflower is planted all over the country. Summer flowers are picked when they are orange-red, dried in the shade, dried in the sun or dried in the sun. The tubular flower is 1 ~ 2 cm long, and the surface is red, yellow or red. Corolla tube is slender, apex 5-lobed, lobes narrow, 5 ~ 8 mm long; Stamens 5, anthers aggregated into tube, * * * with white; The stigma is slender and cylindrical, and the top is slightly forked. Soft. The gas is slightly fragrant and the taste is slightly bitter. Chemical constituents include carthamin, neocatecholamine, carthamin, safflower polysaccharide, palmitic acid, cinnamic acid and lauric acid. It is warm in nature and pungent in taste. Function is mainly used for promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis and relieving pain. Used for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, lochia, abdominal lump, and traumatic injury. The ancients often used a handful of safflower when the blood was in the body: gauze bags were boiled twice a day and soaked in feet, which was suitable for various varicose veins, peripheral neuritis and blood circulation. Not good, legs and feet are numb or blue. The fruit is called white apple seed, which contains "safflower seed" oil, which can reduce cholesterol and hyperlipidemia; Softening and dilating blood vessels, preventing aging and regulating endocrine. Medicinal Carthamus tinctorius: [Source] This product is the dried flower of Carthamus tinctorius in Compositae. [Plant Morphology] Annual or biennial herbs, 30 ~ 90 cm high. Leaves alternate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 4 ~12cm long and1~ 3cm wide, with an acuminate apex, irregular serrations at the edge and spikes at the tooth tips; Almost sessile, slightly supporting stem. The capitulum is terminal, with a diameter of 3-4 cm. The total bracts are multi-layered, the outermost layer is 2-3 leaflike, with unequal sharp teeth on the edge, several layers of ovals on the inner surface and short spines on the upper edge. They are all tubular flowers, bisexual, and the corolla is yellow at first and gradually turns orange. Achene is white, obovate, about 5 mm long, with four edges without hair. The flowering period is from May to July, and the fruiting period is from July to September. [Characteristics of Medicinal Materials] Flowers gather into irregular clusters. Red or red and yellow. The length of a single flower is about 1.5cm, the corolla tube is slender, the top is 5-lobed, and the lobes are narrow and linear, with a length of 5 ~ 7 mm Stamens 5, anthers aggregated into tubular, yellow. The stigma is long and cylindrical, and the top is slightly forked. Soft. It has a special aroma and a slightly bitter taste. After soaking, the water turns golden yellow and the flowers don't fade. [Usage and dosage] Oral: decocted, 3- 10g. Nourishing blood and enriching blood should be used less; Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis should be used more. Indications: promoting blood circulation and dredging channels, removing blood stasis and relieving pain. Can be used for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, lochia, abdominal mass, traumatic injury, and sores. 【 Precautions 】 Pregnant women should use it with caution. Identification of the original medicinal materials: dry tubular flower, about 65438 0.5 cm long, orange-red, narrow tube, 5 cracks at the top. Lobes are narrowly linear, 5 ~ 7 mm long, 5 stamens, yellow anthers, tubular, higher than lobes, with stigma exposed in the center. It has a special aroma and a slightly bitter taste. It is best to have long flowers, bright red colors and soft texture. Microscopic identification: powder: reddish brown. ① Secretory cells are long and tubular, with a diameter of 5 ~ 66 microns, and their cavities are filled with yellow secretions. ② Pollen grains are round, oval or olive-shaped, with a diameter of 39 ~ 60 microns, with three germination holes, and the dentate process of the outer wall can be seen under the light microscope. ③ Calcium oxalate is square or rectangular and exists in parenchyma cells. ④ The epidermal cells of the style differentiate into single cell hairs. In addition, there are corolla epidermal cells, pollen sac inner wall cells, anther basal cells and connective reticular cells. This product is red and yellow in color, bright in color, without branches and leaves, soft in quality and soft to the touch. Chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicine: Carthamus tinctorius contains safflower yellow pigment and carthamin. Crocin is hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid to obtain glucose and crocin. It also contains15alpha, 20β- dihydroxy -δ4- Dean -3- one (15alpha, 20β- dihydroxy -δ4- pregnene -3- one). Another fatty oil called safflower oil is glyceride of palmitic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. The leaves contain luteolin -7- glucoside. It also contains xylan, picroside, etc. Flowers contain carthamin, carthamin and neocarthamin. Pale yellow flowers contain new anthocyanins and trace anthocyanins; Dark yellow flowers contain red shoes; Orange-red flowers contain crocin and crocin quinone glycoside. The change of safflower corolla from yellow to red is due to the changes of these components, and the main commodity is safflower quinone glycoside. It is also reported that crocus sativus contains 0.839% safflower and crocus sativus contains 0.483% safflower. It is also reported that the platelet aggregation inhibitor in safflower is adenosine, which also contains safflower polysaccharide. It is reported that flowers contain safflower yellow A, kaempferol, quercetin, kaempferol -3- glucoside, quercetin -3- glucoside, cucurbitacin -7- glucoside and kaempferol -3- rutin. Dyeing function of safflower Carthamus tinctorius (also known as red and blue grass) can be directly dyed on fibers, so it plays an extremely important role in red dyes. Red was once a popular color in Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, Jong Li's poem "The color of safflower covers thousands of flowers, but the blood of orangutans is not added" vividly outlines the extraordinary gorgeous effect of safflower. According to modern scientific analysis, safflower contains yellow pigment and red pigment, of which yellow pigment is easily soluble in water and acidic solution and has no dyeing value; However, red pigment is easily soluble in alkaline aqueous solution, and can precipitate in neutral or weakly acidic solution to form bright red lake. The ancient people used safflower to brew red dye like this: after picking the safflower stained with dew, they "smashed" it into slurry and then soaked it in water. Twist out the yellow pigment (that is, yellow juice) with a cloth bag, so that most of the remaining thick juice is red pigment. After washing with sour millet or rice washing water, the residual yellow pigment can be further removed to obtain bright red pigment. This method of extracting safflower pigment was called "flower killing method" by the ancients and spread to Japan and other countries in Sui and Tang Dynasties. If you want to use safflower for a long time, just cover it with Artemisia annua (which has antibacterial effect) overnight, knead it into a cake, then dry it in the shade and make it into a "safflower cake" for preservation. When you use it, you only need to fry it in dark plum water, and then clarify it several times with alkaline water or plant ash, and you can dye it. "Safflower Cake" became popular after the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In addition, safflower can also be used as rouge. [Edit this paragraph] Resource distribution Safflower is distributed and cultivated in most parts of China, mainly in Henan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Gansu and Yunnan. Location: Fengqiu, Yanjin, Yucheng, Xihua, Changyuan and Ningling. Sichuan Pingchang, Jianyang, Suining, Anyue, Ziyang and Tongjiang; Xinjiang Jimsar, Dongsha, Qitai, Hutubi, Huocheng, Mojisha, Shule and Chabuchar. In addition, Shandong Juye, Dingtao and Jiaxiang; Anhui Bozhou, Wuwei; Nantong, Rugao and Jintan, Jiangsu; Cixi and Yuyao, Zhejiang; Anxi, Jinta and Dunhuang in Gansu; Weishan, Yunxian and Midu in Yunnan also have a certain output. The safflower produced in Fengqiu and Yanjin is of good quality and is an authentic product. [Edit this paragraph] Biological characteristics of medicinal plant cultivation like warm and dry climate, cold tolerance, drought tolerance, salt tolerance and ridge tolerance. The optimum temperature for germination is 25℃, and the seedlings can tolerate -5℃. The growth period of autumn sowing in the south is 200-250d, and that of spring sowing in the north is 120d. It is suitable to choose sandy loam with abundant sunshine, high geothermal dryness, deep soil layer, medium fertility and good drainage for cultivation. Avoid continuous cropping and avoid waterlogging in flowering period. Leguminosae and Gramineae are the best crops in the previous crop, which can be intercropped with vegetables. Cultivation techniques use seeds to propagate. The seeds can be selected by mixed selection of healthy plants, and plants with strong growth, moderate height, low branches, many inflorescences, orange-red tubular flowers and no pests and diseases can be selected as seed-reserved plants. Safflower without thorns is mainly planted in the north, and safflower with thorns is mainly planted in the south. In recent years, safflower has been introduced to Xinjiang and northwest China for planting. Before sowing, soak the seeds in warm water at 52-54℃ for 65438 00 minutes, then cool them with cold water, and then take them out to dry and sow them. Seed dressing with 30% phenanthrene ester to eliminate seeds, or seed dressing with 0.3% carbendazim wettable powder or carbendazim, and then sowing in plastic particle bags 1-2 days. The sowing date is from mid-June 65438+ 10 to early June 165438+ 10 in the south, and from March to April in the north, which should be sooner rather than later. Hole sowing or drilling. When sowing in holes, the holes should be opened at a spacing of 40cm×25cm, with a depth of 6cm, and 5-6 seeds should be sown in each hole. The seed dosage is 22.5-30 kg1hm2. When drilling, open a ditch with a row spacing of 40 cm and a depth of 5-6 cm, spread the seeds evenly in the ditch, cover them with soil and suppress them slightly. 30-45kg seeds per1hm2. 15d or so. When the height of field management seedlings is 6-8cm, seedlings are fixed and 2 seedlings are left in each hole. Drill should be carried out according to the plant spacing of 10- 15cm. In case of plant shortage, seedlings should be replenished in time. During the growing period, intertillage should be used for weeding for 3 times, with top dressing and soil improvement. Fertilization should be applied with sufficient base fertilizer, early spring fertilizer and bolting fertilizer. The base fertilizer is completely decomposed compost or manure. Manure was applied twice at seedling stage, and human manure and calcium superphosphate were applied in March-April; In early April, ammonium sulfate and calcium superphosphate were applied to the buds; Urine with 1% before flowering. 3% calcium phosphate perfusion. Topdressing Chike outside the roots and spraying 0. 1%-0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate alone or in combination can promote more and bigger buds. In case of drought at seedling stage and flowering stage, it is necessary to water the soil to keep a certain temperature; In rainy season, ditch and drain in time. Removing the terminal bud after bolting will increase the number of branches and flower seedlings. If the cultivation is too dense or the land is thin, it is not suitable to pick the top. Pests and diseases control anthracnose of safflower, with stems, leaves and buds. Can be sick, purple or brown spindle lesions, gradually expanding, slightly depressed, and there are orange-red sticky substances, so that stems and branches wither, buds can not open. Prevention and control methods, the implementation of paddy-upland rotation. At the onset, 500-600 times of zineb or 500-600 times of wettable thiophanate-methyl can be sprayed. High humidity rust is easy to occur, so rotation should be carried out in hot and dry places, and seeds should be disinfected. Spray 15% triamcinolone acetonide 500 times at onset. Fusarium wilt of safflower damages the stem or taproot, destroys the wheel guide tissue and withers. When the disease may occur, the root can be irrigated with 50% thiophanate methyl 1000 times solution or 500-600 times solution of 50% carbendazim. Otherwise, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is harmful. Insect pests include Bactrocera dorsalis, and 90% trichlorfon crystal was sprayed with 800 times solution. Safflower refers to the pipe aphid, which harms stems, leaves and buds. Absorb plant analytic juice in late April, and spray 700-800 times of plant medicine or derris powder. Tobacco should be soaked in water (1: 10) for 24 hours, heated and boiled, and the residue should be carefully filtered. Clear liquid should be diluted and used, preferably with purple laundry detergent to increase adhesion and prolong drug effect. At present, syrphids are taken as natural enemies for control. [Edit this paragraph] Select Party 1. Red and blue flower wine prescription (synopsis of golden chamber) has the functions of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, benefiting qi and relieving pain. 2. Taohong Siwu Decoction (Medicine Zong Jin Jian), nourishing blood, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. 3. Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction (Lin Yi Gaicuo) has the effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, promoting qi circulation and relieving pain, and is mainly used to treat chest obstruction, chest pain, persistent headache, acupuncture local pain, etc. 4. Tongqiao Huoxue Decoction (Lin Yi Gaicuo) is used for promoting blood circulation and dredging orifices, mainly for treating headache and dizziness caused by head and face stasis, or vitiligo, as well as women's blood dryness and blood consumption and infantile malnutrition. 5. Shentong Zhuyu Decoction (Lin Yi Gaicuo) has the effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, dredging collaterals, and relieving pain. It is mainly used to treat shoulder pain, arm pain, lumbago and leg pain or general pain caused by qi and blood blocking meridians for a long time. 6. Fuyuan Huoxue Decoction ("medical invention") has the functions of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, soothing the liver and dredging collaterals, and is mainly used to treat traumatic injuries, and blood stasis is unbearable. [Edit this paragraph] Harvest and storage will bloom in late May, and the flowering period will be full from the end of May to the middle and late June, and it will be picked in batches. Choose sunny days at 6-8 o'clock every morning, and pick the tubular flowers when they are completely unfolded and golden yellow. If it is too late, the tubular flowers will wither and turn red and black, which is difficult to harvest, with poor quality and low yield. After harvesting, dry in the shade or dry at 40-60℃. [Edit this paragraph] 1. Herbal Medicine of Tang Dynasty: Treating mouth-ache, blood stasis and postpartum diseases. 2. "Kaibao Materia Medica": There is blood in the mouth after delivery, endless blood in the abdomen, colic, stillbirth, cooking wine. It also controls blood poisoning. 3. "Materia Medica": The throat is blocked and the juice is swallowed. 4. Outline: promoting blood circulation, moistening dryness, relieving pain, reducing swelling and dredging menstruation. 5. "Materia Medica": It is difficult to get out of acne due to blood heat, and it is difficult to disperse rash and stagnate blood. 6. "Herbal rejuvenation": diuresis and detumescence, birth and stillbirth. 7. "Herbal Supplement": safflower, breaking blood and nourishing blood. Too much will break blood, and too little will nourish blood. 8. Classic of Materia Medica: Red and blue flowers are essential drugs for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Those who suffer from postpartum blood fainting and vomiting, lack of blood relationship, rush to the heart, so the spirit faints and vomits, the heart enters the liver, and the evil blood drops, then dizziness and vomiting stop. Abdominal colic, due to endless blood, stillbirth, can not go down without promoting blood circulation; Blood stasis leads to blood circulation, so it can stop colic and stillbirth. Red and blue flowers are also drugs for promoting blood circulation, which can make the blood faint, that is, if used too much, it can stop blood circulation and die. 9. "Materia Medica": safflower, a medicine for breaking blood, promoting blood circulation and regulating blood. The main reason for the birth of the fetus is blood, or blood is annoying and dizzy, and the spirit is faint and speechless; Or lochia scratching the heart, umbilical cord and abdominal cramps; Or it is difficult to discharge mud; Or the afterbirth and stillbirth are all symptoms of labor, and there is no cure without safflower. If the postpartum blood is dizzy, the mouth "refers"; Or evil enters the blood room, and it is crazy; Or blood swelling, stiff servant death, are all postpartum symptoms, but you can't be sure without safflower. If amenorrhea is blocked by cold and heat, or the overdue abdominal pain is purple and black, or it is caused by blood stasis due to traumatic injury, or sores and swelling, it is a syndrome of disharmony between qi and blood, and it cannot be adjusted unless safflower is used. 10. "medicinal meaning": safflower, which is good at dredging meridians, is a qi-promoting drug in the blood, which can be used for purging and tonifying, and each has its own magical uses. If you spend three or four dollars more, it will be too pungent and warm, so that the blood will be separated. Use sappan wood to remove blood stasis, combine cinnamon to dredge meridians and close collaterals, and add cinnamon and peony to treat blood gas stinging the whole body or chest and abdomen, resulting in poor blood circulation. Less use of seven or eight points can soothe the liver and regulate qi, help the blood sea, greatly supplement blood deficiency, and make blood flow smooth; If you stop using two or three points, cooperate with your efforts to resolve the evil fire of the heart meridian, reconcile blood and nourish blood; The meaning of weight is neither shallow nor fresh. [Edit this paragraph] Pharmacological action 1. Effects on cardiovascular system: 1. 1. Inhibitory effect on heart: small dose of safflower decoction can slightly excite toad heart in vitro and rabbit heart in vivo, so that the heartbeat is strengthened and the amplitude is increased; A large dose can inhibit the heart, slow down the heart rate, weaken the myocardial contractility and reduce the cardiac output. 1.2. The experimental study on coronary blood flow shows that safflower water extract and water-soluble mixture safflower yellow can increase coronary blood flow and myocardial nutritional blood flow; However, the ethanol extract of safflower has no obvious or no effect on dilating coronary artery and increasing coronary blood flow. 1.3. The experimental study of experimental myocardial ischemia and myocardial infarction shows that safflower and its preparation have antagonistic effects on animal models such as rabbits, rats and dogs to varying degrees. Safflower has protective effect on acute myocardial ischemia induced by pituitrin in rats or rabbits. It can obviously reduce the degree, range and heart rate of acute myocardial ischemia in anesthetized dogs caused by repeated short-term occlusion of coronary artery blood flow, protect the edge and area of acute myocardial infarction to narrow the infarct range, reduce the elevation of ST segment of ECG in the edge area, and thus improve the oxygen supply and demand relationship of ischemic myocardium. 1.4. The study on the effect of safflower on blood vessels found that if Rockwell solution containing trace adrenaline or norepinephrine was infused into blood vessels, the isolated vascular smooth muscle of animals would contract and maintain a certain vascular tension, which may be similar to human blood stasis. Carthamus tinctorius can dilate the blood vessels in the hind limbs and ears of guinea pigs with increased tension, and the effect is obvious with the increase of dose. Safflower can also increase the blood flow of femoral artery in anesthetized dogs, but it can contract the normal isolated blood vessels of toad and rabbit. It shows that the vasodilating effect of safflower is related to the functional state of blood vessels and the dose of drugs. Its mechanism may be that it directly or partially antagonizes the vasodilation effect of α -adrenergic receptor, and has a weak direct contraction effect. 1.5. Effect of Carthamus tinctorius on cerebral edema caused by ischemic stroke in experimental animals: 63 Mongolian gerbils were injected with Carthamus tinctorius injection (containing crude drug LG 65438±0ml) intraperitoneally 30 minutes before operation, and the operation control group and sham operation group were set up to observe the effect of Carthamus tinctorius on ischemic cerebral edema and study the content of monoamine neurotransmitters in the same brain region. The results suggest that the mechanism of safflower alleviating ischemic brain edema may be related to its influence on the metabolic disorder of monoamine neurotransmitters in tissues. It is further confirmed that safflower can really reduce the incidence and mortality of stroke and protect the brain tissue of experimental chest infarction animals. 1.6. Hypotensive effect: Carthamus tinctorius decoction, Carthamus tinctorius yellow and other preparations have different degrees of rapid hypotensive effect on anesthetized cats or dogs, and the average blood pressure drops by about 20 minutes Hg, and then recovers after about 30 minutes. 1.7. The experimental study on the anticoagulant effect of safflower yellow shows that safflower yellow can significantly inhibit ADP-induced platelet aggregation in rabbits, and also has a very obvious depolymerization effect on ADP-induced platelets. When the dosage was 0.22g/ml, the aggregation inhibition rate and depolymerization rate reached 85.9% and 78.9% respectively. These effects of safflower yellow pigment are enhanced with the increase of dose. Safflower yellow has a very significant inhibitory effect on experimental thrombosis in rats, and the inhibitory rate is 73.4%. Because the thrombus formed on silk thread is based on platelet aggregation, the decrease of wet weight of thrombus is obviously the result of drug inhibiting platelet aggregation. This is consistent with the fact that safflower yellow can inhibit ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vitro. Safflower yellow can obviously prolong the recovery time of plasma calcium, prothrombin time and coagulation time in rabbits. It shows that it can affect the coagulation system in vivo and in vitro. In addition, safflower oil also has the function of lowering blood fat.