Chinese Herb Series 02:
蓖麻
Castor Plant
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The following healing methods come from oral transmissions of my teacher Li Shi Fu on White Horse Mountain. [1]
Its Qi and flavour are sweet, pungent, neutral, slightly toxic. Generally speaking the plant has the functions of treating athlete’s foot [jiao qi脚气], pain, swelling and numbness of the kness [xi gai zhong tong ma 西部肿痛麻] and tendon and bones.
The second character of its name, Ma [麻] – numbing- derives from its toxic properties, Li Shi Fu explains. In fact Castor Beans are highly toxic in their raw form. Li Shi Fu often explicated that only the great doctors would know how to use toxic medicines not only without causing harm, but on the contrary borrow their great potential to cure patients’ ailments [2]. It was instructed that 2-4 beans would increase the heart rate and deoxygenate the brain. In any case the seeds should be kept out of reach of children.
In the past they were exploited and abused and used to harm people since they are tasteless, for instance to ruin the voice of a famous singer by turning their voice husky and causing throat pain.
If child eats between 3-7 seeds its life will be over. For the same reason the author got major grief from his sister, who under the impression that he had planted them in the nearby forest, suffered from sleepless nights. It later turned out that his godmother grew them near her porch, without concern for her grandchildren, as they were more likely to drown in the pond.
For an adult, if taken internally they cause diarrhea and stomach problems. The message is clear: One should under no circumstances ingest the seeds.
I.蓖麻根
Castor Root
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Its root actually reduces high blood pressure [jiang xie ya 降血压]. [3]
II.蓖麻子
Castor Bean
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(1) For anal prolapse [tuo gang 脱肛] add white sugar to the beans and beat the two ingredients into a pulp. Stick the paste with a plaster onto the acu-point Bai Hui [Du-20].
III.蓖麻叶
Castor Plant Leaves
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(1) Painful Bi-Syndrome and Athlete’s Foot:
Steam the castor plant leaves in a steamer and apply externally. For athlete’s foot wrap the ffeet in those steamed leaves. Through the process of steaming and the heat, the poisonous components are dissolved and the medicinal properties can be harnessed
(2) Hernia [shan qi 疝气] with swelling and pain
Add salt to the leave and pound into small fragments until it becomes a paste. Stick the paste where the hernia has occurred. As long as you do not eat the castor plant, it is very safe to use.
(3) Chronic Coughing and Wheezing [久咳喘]
If one suffers from coughing day and night, with no remedy to be of help and the expectoration of phlegm, for the exterior invasion of the lungs by cold, for cold-phlegm cough and especially for the elderly, one can try out the following formula; mulberry leaves and castor plant leaves. Just like the mulberry leaves [sang ye 桑叶] have to be pass through the autumn’s first frost of the season node Descent of Frost [shuang [jiang霜降]. The third ingredient is the skin or husk of corn cob [yu mi ke 玉米壳]. The husk is a little bit of a misleading term. What is meant here is the outside skin which protects the corn grains, which is sort of peeled off similar to a banana.
50 grams of each of the three medicines is required. The mulberry and castor plant leaves are dry-fried until yellow [chao huang炒黄] and the corn husk ‘leaves’ are cut into pieces and honey processed [mi zhi 蜜汁]. Pulverize all three medicinals and roll the powder into honey pills. Each pill should be the size of a marble, 10 grams in weight and coarsely round. Every day eat one pill, after a meal.
[4] Toxic Sores [du chuang 毒疮]
This recipe is indicated for toxic sores with festering, pus and water, for instance occurring on the head. The castor plant leaves have to be placed in boiling water to soften them, and to be plastered onto the toxic sore when the leave is not dry. It is rather difficult to buy fresh leaves in pharmacies, but the castor plant is considered obnoxious and grows on many continents.
(5) For summer-strike, colds and headaches with fever, one could make an oil, called ‘Clearing and Cooling Oil’. It consists of Bo He [薄荷], Liu Lan Xiang [留兰香], Castor Beans [bi ma zi 蓖麻子], Tian Nan Xing [天南星] and Zhang Nao [樟脑] and Bing Pian [冰片]. The quantities were not specified, but Zhang Nao and Bing Pian are usually just in much lower dosages. This oil is to be kept for only 1-2 years, before it has to be discarded.
(6) See Yellow Plaster in the chapter of the Five Phases Plasters [wu xing gao 五行膏].
[1] For more classical recipes see the link in the notes, redirecting you to translations from the Ben Cao Gang Mu [本草纲目] by Lorraine Wilcox: https://www.facebook.com/pg/MedicineMaking/photos/?tab=album&album_id=740665006123499&ref=page_internal
[2] There is a common Chinese medicine saying, which is nowadays reflected by using snake poison as antidote:
以毒攻毒。
One attacks poisons using poisons.
[3] The precise processing method and application is unknown to the author.
