The Medicinal value of Leech

Abstract: the leech, commonly known as leech, has been recorded in the Classic of Shennong Materia Medica. It has high medicinal value. It grows and breeds in inland freshwater waters. It is a traditional Chinese special medicinal aquatic animal. Its dried products are used in traditional Chinese medicine after being soaked in traditional Chinese medicine. It has the effects of treating stroke, hypertension, clearing blood stasis, amenorrhea, falling injury and so on. Now let's take a look at the medicinal value of leeches.

The leech, commonly known as leech, has been recorded in the Classic of Shennong Materia Medica. It has high medicinal value. It grows and breeds in inland freshwater waters. It is a traditional Chinese special medicinal aquatic animal. Its dried products are used in traditional Chinese medicine after being soaked in traditional Chinese medicine. It has the effects of treating stroke, hypertension, clearing blood stasis, amenorrhea, falling injury and so on. Let's take a look at the medicinal value of leeches.

The Medicinal value of Leech

The taste is flat, salty and bitter.

Return to the liver meridian.

[efficacy] break blood and expel blood stasis.

[indications] for amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea and injury caused by falls.

1. Effect on blood

Hirudin blocks the effect of thrombin on fibrin and hinders blood clotting. Hirudin is not damaged by heat or ethanol. Leeches can also secrete a histamine-like substance, which can dilate capillaries and increase bleeding. The inhibitory effect of alcohol extract of leech on blood coagulation was stronger than that of tabanus, insect and peach kernel, and the effect of hirudin preparation was stronger than that of water preparation. Hirudin 20mg can prevent the coagulation of 100g human blood. Hirudo water extract has obvious inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation induced by ADP in rats and normal persons, and has antithrombotic effect.

The results showed that the leech had a strong fibrinolytic effect on fibrin in vitro, and its activity was significantly higher than that of Salvia miltiorrhiza and rhubarb, and it also had fibrinolytic activity in vivo, which could significantly shorten the euglobulin lysis time (ELT) of rabbits. Therefore, leeches can activate the fibrinolytic system and dissolve thrombus. It has also been reported that hirudin can significantly inhibit experimental thrombosis and dissolve experimental venous thrombosis induced by thrombin. Leech water extract can reduce the whole blood specific viscosity and plasma specific viscosity of rats. Shorten the time of erythrocyte electrophoresis. Clinical studies have shown that leeches can improve the concentration, viscosity and aggregation caused by abnormal hemorheology in patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

2. Effect on cardiovascular system

It has been reported that leech can increase myocardial nutritional blood flow to a certain extent and protect tissue from ischemia and hypoxia. Hirudin can antagonize the coronary artery spasm induced by Pituitrin in rabbits and inhibit myocardial ischemia. Hirudo can obviously eliminate the atherosclerotic plaque of aorta, increase the proliferation of collagen fibers and decrease the crystallization of cholesterol. It is suggested that leech has potential application value in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Leech can dilate capillaries, improve microcirculation and increase renal blood flow. Its effect on improving microcirculation is similar to that of heparin, but for a short time. The experimental results show that leech can dilate peripheral blood vessels, increase blood flow and reduce vascular resistance, which is similar to that of papaverine hydrochloride.

3. Effect on pregnancy

The results showed that leech could terminate pregnancy in all stages of pregnancy (including implantation and early, middle and late pregnancy) in mice. Different administration routes have a good termination effect on early pregnancy. If exogenous progesterone and leech are injected at the same time, preterm delivery can be prevented. Leech has an inhibitory effect on decidual lesions.

4. Other functions

Leech can significantly reduce cholesterol and triglyceride in experimental hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Hirudin has an inhibitory effect on tumor cells and on the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma in mice. Because leech has high anticoagulant effect, it is beneficial for anticancer drugs and immunoreactive cells to infiltrate cancer tissue to kill cancer cells.

The use of leeches should be avoided.

The body is weak and blood deficiency, no blood stasis stops and pregnant women should not take it.

① "Sunflower in Materia Medica": "fear of lime."

② "Materia Medica derives meaning": "fear of salt."

③ "essence": "pregnancy can not be taken."

Selection of Medicinal prescription of Leech

1. To treat women with adverse menstruation and men with blood stasis in their bladder: 30 leeches (boil), 30 tabanworms (winged, foot, boiled), 20 peach kernels (peeled, pointed), rhubarb (soaked in alcohol). At the end of the four flavors, take five liters of water, boil three liters, remove me, and take one liter of warm service.

2. the woman has blood stasis in the abdomen, the menstrual water is disadvantageous, or broken or broken, and the confidant is full of urgency: peach kernel three taels (soup soaked, peeled, sharp, double kernel, bran stir-fried light yellow), tabanid 40 (stir-fry light yellow, winged, foot), leech 40 (stir-fry light yellow), Sichuan rhubarb three taels (file shredded micro-fry). Medicine for the end, honey and pound more than a hundred pestles, pills as big as sycamore. Take fifteen pills with hot wine for each serving.

3, to treat menstruation, or postpartum lochia, umbilical pain: four taels of cooked Rehmannia, tabanus (head, wing stir-fry), leech (glutinous rice with fried yellow, glutinous rice), peach kernel (peeled, pointed) each 50. The top is the end, honey pill, Tongzi is big. Each take five or seven pills, hollow warm wine.

4. Cure leeches and bleed more than: leeches are treated and sifted, alcohol is taken for a fee, and the evil blood is cured on the second day.

5, treatment of broken wounds: leeches, baked on the new tile, for fine powder, hot wine under the next money, eat a hectare, pain can, more take, pain stop. Then seal the broken bone medicine and fix it with clamps.

6. treat golden sore, damage and fall from height, pressure of wood and stone, internal damage and blood stasis, heartache, obstruction of urine and urine, desperate to death: red leech (scorched yellow with lime), rhubarb and black petunia. Each of them is fine powder, three yuan per serving, and mixed with hot wine, such as four or five miles of human travel, and then with hot wine to lead the cow to the end of the second money to urge it, the viscera must turn to evil blood, lump or into pieces, the evil blood will be cured.

7. Treat bone injury and fracture pain: Leech (glutinous rice fried yellow rice), Bai Mian (ash burning), myrrh (separately studied), frankincense (separate research) are equally divided into blood surplus (boy's small hair) 15 groups (ash burning), at the end, take one money above 50, half money under 20, half a word for children, and warm wine.

8, treat infantile erysipelas: use several leeches and put them on the red and swollen place to eat poisonous blood.

9. Treat the abscess at the beginning of the back: take (live) the leech on the swelling, make the leech drink blood, (the leech feeds on the blood) bloat and fall, and raise it with new water.