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

ABSTRACT

By reviewing ancient materia medica and combining with modern literature， the textual research of Magnoliae Flos has been conducted to verify the name， origin， producing area， harvesting and processing methods， in order to provide basis for the selection and use of this herb in the development of famous classical formulas. After the textual research， it could be seen that the correct name of Magnoliae Flos was Xinyi in the past dynasties， meaning spicy flower buds. The main original plants used in past dynasties are Magnolia denudata and M. biondii. The history of the research on its scientific name in recent times is complicated， many foreign scholars have given several different scientific names， but most of them are inconsistent with the actual situation of Magnoliae Flos used in ancient China， because foreign scholars failed to collect the original plants of Magnoliae Flos for accurate identification. Before the Ming dynasty， Magnoliae Flos was mainly produced in Shaanxi， and then the recorded production areas gradually increased. After the founding of the People's Republic of China， the products produced in Henan named M. biondii were highly respected， and Henan was regarded as authentic producing area， and because of the collection and distribution through Yuzhou， it was customarily called Huichunhua. In ancient times， the harvesting period of Magnoliae Flos mostly concentrated in the first and second months of the lunar calendar， and the flower buds of M. biondii were also recommended to be used as medicine， but nowadays the flower buds are mostly collected in winter and spring， and those with dry buds， large size， yellow-green color， tight inner petals， fragrant smell， and no impurities are preferred. In the past dynasties， raw products were the mainstream， and there were also frying， soaking and so on. Based on the results， it is suggested that the flower buds of M. biondii should be used in the development of famous classical formulas. If the original formula does not specify the processing requirements， the raw products can be used as medicine.