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

ABSTRACT

Through consulting the ancient materia medica and medical books， combined with modern literature， this paper made a textual research on the name， origin， producing area， harvesting time and processing method of Piperis Kadsurae Caulis， in order to provide basis for the development of the famous classical formulas containing this herb. According to textual research， it is shown that the earliest name for Piperis Kadsurae Caulis as medicine was Nanteng in Bencao Shiyi， and there were other names such as Dinggongteng and Shinanteng in the ancient materia medica. The name of Haifengteng should appear in the Ming dynasty. Before the Song dynasty， the origin of Piperis Kadsurae Caulis was probably derived from caulis of Piper wallichii. After the Song dynasty， the main origins should be some species in Piper， such as P. kadsura and P. hancei， and its origin in the successive editions of Chinese Pharmacopoeia was only P. kadsura. Combining the original plant research， market survey and distribution of wild resources， it is suggested that the Haifengteng used in the famous classical formulas apart form the P. kadsura， the P. hancei should be add as original plant. Due to climate change and the heat-loving habit of Piper， the producing area of Haifengteng gradually moved from the Qinling Mountains to the southern areas rich in Piper， and Quanzhou area of Fujian province has been recommended since the Ming dynasty. The harvesting period of Piperis Kadsurae Caulis is from July to August in the lunar calendar， the above-ground parts are dried by removing fibrous roots， thin stems and leaves. In the past dynasties， there are few records on the processing of this herb， so it is suggested that Piperis Kadsurae Caulis in famous classical formulas without special processing requirements should be used as raw products.