Herbal Textual Research and Processing Historical Evolution of Rhododendri Mollis Flos / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

In this paper， through the collection and collation of ancient materia medica， medical books and medical formulary， combining with modern literature， the historical changes of the name， origin， position， harvesting time， medicinal parts， toxicity， functions and indications， processing methods of Rhododendri Mollis Flos （RMF） were systematically combed and verified， so as to provide reference for clinical application， processing standard and basic research of RMF. According to textual research， RMF is the dried flower of Rhododendron molle. In each historical period， there are many aliases and local names， being with phenomenon of homonyms and synonyms. RMF is mostly wild and planted in a small amount， harvesting time is mostly in March to April. However， the harvesting flowering period is differently described as initial bloom， full bloom and extensive bloom. RMF was first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing (《神农本草经》)， but it did not mention its medicinal parts. Then the flowers， fruits， roots are be used as medicine， but flowers are still the main medicinal parts. RMF had a long processing history， included fried， vinegar-fried， wine-fried， steamed， wine-steamed， vinegar-steamed， and many other processing methods in ancient times. However， at present， only raw products are used in clinical practice， and only a few modern books retain the methods of stir-fried and wine-steamed， believing that the processing can reduce toxicity of RMF.