Bupleurum chinense

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Root

Edible Parts: Leaves Root Shoots Edible Uses: Rutin Leaves and young shoots - cooked.The new growth in spring and autumn is used. It is a good source of rutin. Root - cooked. A famine food, used when all else fails.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in sunny slopes and along the banks of streams between 100-2,700 m above sea level in north China.

Asia, China, Korea,

How to Identify

A herb. It grows 5-85 cm tall. It keeps growing from year to year. The roots are stout and brown and become woody. The stems are single or can be divided above. The leaves at the base are narrowly oval and 4-7 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. They are bluish-grey underneath. The leaves in the middle of the stem are larger and the ones at the top are small.

How to Grow

An easily cultivated plant, it succeeds in a sunny position in most fertile well-drained soils. This species is closely related to B. falcatum, and is included in that species by some botanists.

Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 8 weeks at 15°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer or following spring. Division in spring. Very easy, larger clumps can be planted direct into their permanent positions. It is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are well rooted before planting them out in the summer.

Medicinal Uses

Alterative Analgesic Antibacterial Antiinflammatory Antiperiodic Antipyretic Antiviral Carminative Diaphoretic Emmenagogue Haemolytic Malaria Pectoral Sedative Bei chai hu root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years. It is a bitter herb that is used to harmonize the body, balancing the different organs and energies within the body. It strengthens the digestive tract, acts as a tonic for the liver and circulatory system, lowers fevers and has anti-viral effects. The root is alterative, analgesic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiperiodic, antipyretic, antiviral, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, haemolytic, hepatic, pectoral, sedative[116, 147, 174. 176, 178, 218, 238, 254]. It is taken internally in the treatment of malaria, blackwater fever, uterine and rectal prolapse, haemorrhoids, sluggish liver, menstrual disorders, abdominal bloating etc. The roots are harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried. The root contains saikosides. These saponin-like substances have been shown to protect the liver from toxicity whilst also strengthening its function, even in people with immune system disorders. These saikosides also stimulate the body's production of corticosteroids and increase their anti-inflammatory affect. The plant is often used in preparations with other herbs to treat the side effects of steroids.

Other Uses

Fuel The old plant is used as a fuel. Special Uses

Bupleurum chinense (Chai Hu, Chinese: 柴胡; pinyin: chaí hú; Jyutping: caai4 wu4, Thorowax) is a plant of the family Apiaceae.

Notes

There are about 100 Bupleurum species.

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