Herbal Textual Research on Poria in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Through consulting the ancient and modern literature， this paper makes a textual research on the name， origin， producing area， harvesting and processing of Poria， so as to provide a basis for the development of the famous classical formulas containing this medicinal material. The description of Poria and the characteristics of the attached figures in the Chinese herbal literature of the past dynasties are consistent with Poria cocos. The medicinal parts are dried sclerotia or P. cocos peel. Poria was originally produced in Taishan， Shandong province. In the Tang dynasty， along with the change of pine forest resources， producing area of Poria was transferred to Huashan area in Shaanxi province. In the Ming dynasty， the authentic producing area was transferred to Yunnan， and has continued to now. In ancient times， the processing methods of Poria were steaming， boiling， slicing， mashing and other subsequent processing after peeling. It is suggested that Poria in famous classical formulas should be sliced according to the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.