Medicinals
yáng jīn huā / 洋金花 / 洋金花 / datura flower;
Latin pharmacognostic name: Daturae Flos
Alternate English names: thorn apple flower
Alternate Chinese names: 曼陀罗花 màn tuó luó huā; 万桃花 wàn táo huā
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Phlegm-transforming cough-relieving panting-calming agents / Cough-relieving panting-calming agents
Properties: Acrid; warm; toxic.
Channel entry: lung, heart, and spleen channels. (some sources list lung and liver channels.)
Indications:
- Calms panting and relieves cough: Panting and cough without phlegm or with scant phlegm.
- Relieves pain: Pain in the heart region and abdomen; wind-damp impediment pain;
injury from knocks and falls . - Settles tetany: Spasms and convulsions in epilepsy or chronic child fright wind.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 0.3 0.6g in decoctions; or use in pills and powders. Can also be smoked in cigarette form (1.5g maximum daily).
Warning:
Yáng jīn huā is toxic and its dose must be carefully controlled to prevent poisoning. It is contraindicated in patients with glaucoma or increased ocular pressure. It is also contraindicated in unresolved exterior patterns and conditions of copious thick sticky phlegm. It must be used with care in cases of hypertension, heart disease, constitutional weakness, and in pregnancy. All parts of the datura plant may induce a delirious mental state that is notoriously disorienting, amnesic, and marked by pronounced hallucinations. The responsible alkaloids vary widely in concentration and are most potent in the seeds of the plant. Datura preparations are sometimes deliberately ingested for their psychoactive effects, but the experience is widely regarded as uncomfortable and the margin between safe and toxic doses is relatively narrow. Poisoning primarily results from the plant’s potent anticholinergic effects.
Product Area:
Jiāngsū, Fújiàn, Guǎngdōng.