Kampo Formulas Containing Coicis Semen that are Effective in the Treatment of Verrucae / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

Coicis Semen was known in ancient times as a medicine promoting longevity. In the ‘Huang ti nei ching su wên’, there is a reference to Coicis Semen in a description of one of the pulses (cardiac pulse without stomachic energy), and it is contained in four formulas in the ‘Chin kuei yao lueh’. As for the effectiveness of Coicis Semen for the treatment of verrucae, there are no references in the ‘Ben cao gang mu’ or the ‘Nodoku’. In the Edo period, a common treatment for warts was moxibustion. The first text thought to mention Coicis Semen for the treatment of verrucae was the ‘Yamato Honzo. However, it is difficult to tell from the description of the condition whether it is in fact warts or not. Previously, the references contained in the later texts, ‘Matsukageidan’ and ‘Seinosatan’, containing a verruca formula (Chiyushimpo), have been considered to be theearliest notations of applying formulas containing Coicis Semen for the treatment of warts. However, independent investigation revealed the presence of a formula for verrucae in the text ‘Meikahosen’, compiled by Yamada Genrin twenty years before the ‘Seinosatan’. The description in the ‘Meikahosen’ says ‘Formula for warts Coicis Semen-3 sen; Glycyrrhizae Radix-1 bu to beused not only internally but externally as well.<br>The realization of the ability of Coicis Semen to cure warts was thought to have occurred with the observation of many cases of remarkable effectiveness seen when large quantities were consumed in the form of rice and gruel containing Coicis Semen, rather than in the form of sweets made from what was called ‘Chosenmugi or <i>Coix lacryma-jobi</i> L. var. <i>koreana</i>.