Introduction of Nan He Shi:Carrot Fruit or Fructus Carotae.

TCM Herbalism:Medicinals and Classifications. ✵The article gives records of the herb Carrot Fruit, its English name, Latin name, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Daucus carota L., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Carrot Fruit, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.

Fructus Carotae(Carrot Fruit).

dried yellow seeds of Fructus Carotae Pin Yin Name: Nán Hè Shī.
 English Name: Carrot Fruit.
 Latin Name: Fructus Carotae.
 Property and flavor: neutral in nature, tastes bitter, pungent.

 Brief introduction: The Herb Fructus Carotae is the dried ripe fruit of Daucus carota L., used (1).to kill parasitic worms in cases of ascariasis, oxyuriasis and taeniasis, and (2).to remove undigested food for treating food stagnation. The herb is commonly known as Fructus Carotae, Carrot Fruit, Nán Hè Shī.

 Botanical source: Herbal classic book defined the herb Fructus Carotae(Carrot Fruit) as the dried ripe fruit of the species Daucus carota L. It is a plant of the Daucus L. Genus, the Apiaceae family (Umbelliferae, parsley family) of the Apiales order. This commonly used species is introduced:

Daucus carota L.


 flowering plant of Daucus carota L. with small white flowers grow in sunny field Botanical description: The plant, Daucus carota L is commonly known as Yě Hú Luó Bo (means wild carrot). A biennial herb, the plant grows up to 15–120 cm tall. The stem is solitary, and the whole plant is covered with white hirsute. Roots are thinly coniform, succulent, and yellowish-white. Basal leaves are filmily (membraneous), oblong, bipinnatisect to tripinnatisect, terminal lobes are linear (filate) or lanceolate, 2 ~ 15 mm long, 0.5 ~ 4 mm wide, the front end is pointed, has a small pointed tip, smooth or strigillose; petioles are 3 ~ 12 cm long; cauline leaves are subsessile, have leaf sheaths, and terminal lobes are small and slender.

 flowering plants of Daucus carota L. with small white flowers grow in field Composite umbel (compound umbel) is apical, peduncles are 10~55 cm long, strigillose; many phyllary (involucral bracts), leaflike, pinnately divided, lobes are linear (filate), 3~30 mm long; many umbrella spokes, umbrella spokes on the outer edge are recurved in fruiting period; 5-7 involucel bractlets, linear (filate), undivided or 2~3-lobed, margin is membraneous, have cilia (ciliate); flowers are usually white, sometimes faint reddish; flower stalks are unequal in length, 3~10 mm long.

 Cremocarp is ovate-oblong, 3~4 mm long, 2 mm wide, ribbed, ridges have wings, with hooked spines or white bristles. Its flowering period is from May to July, and the fruiting period is from June to August.

 white flowers of Daucus carota L. grow in sunny days Ecological environment: The plant grows on hillsides and mountain slopes, roadsides, open fields, or fields. The plant is distributed in Europe and Southeast Asia. In China, it is distributed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the southwest area, and other areas.

 Growth characteristics: The plant resists coldness and drought, prefers slightly acidic to neutral soil, fertilizer, and sunlight, and grows in a fertile and moist open field. It can be cultivated in mountainous or plain areas. Seedlings can grow safely through the winter at -38 °C (Celsius, or -36.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

 Characters of herbs: The herb is a cremocarp, elliptic, mostly dehiscent, and split into a schizocarp (mericarp), 3~4 mm long, and 1.5–2.5 mm wide. The surface is brownish yellow or taupe brown (grayish brown), there is a residual stylopodium at the tip, the base is blunt, there are 4 narrow aliform (wing-like) secondary ribs on the back, and there is a row of horizontal yellow-white hook spines densely growing on the wings; the spines are about 1.5 mm long, and there is an inconspicuous main rib in the concave part between the secondary ribs, scattered pubescence grows on it, and the commissure of schizocarps is relatively flat, has 3 dark vertical veins (vittae, oil duct) and 3 arc veins (vascular bundles), and the veins are pubescent. Seeds are off-white and oily. The herb is light, it has a special aroma when crushed, and it tastes slightly spicy and then bitter. The herb of a better grade has full grains, an off-white kernel, and is oily.

 Pharmacological actions: ①. Effect on the cardiovascular system; ②. Effect on smooth muscle, etc.

 Medicinal efficacy: Dispelling and killing parasites, removing food retention or Qi stagnation, relieve itching. It is indicated for ascariasis, oxyuria (oxyuriosis, enterobiasis), cestodiasis (taeniasis), ancylostomiasis (hookworm disease), enterozoic abdominalgia (abdominal pain due to parasitic infestation), infantile malnutritional stagnation, pruritus vulvae, etc.

 Administration of Fructus Carotae (Nán Hè Shī): 
 
Reference: Administration Guide of Fructus Carotae (Nán Hè Shī)
TCM Books: ①.Internally: 3~9 grams, ②.Internally:water decoction, 6~9 grams;or prepare to pill, powder. Externally:proper amount, fumigation wash with water decoction.

 

 
  

 

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References:
  • 1.Introduction of Nan He Shi:Carrot Fruit or Fructus Carotae.

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