【Color Illustrated Guide】A complete illustrated guide to Chinese herbal medicine from the classic medical text, “Bencao Gangmu”
Ba Er Ge General Store30
The effects and functions of Coix Seed (Yiyiren): Coix Seed, also known as Job’s Tears, is effective in strengthening the spleen and draining dampness, alleviating pain and diarrhea. It is used to treat edema, beriberi, painful urination, diarrhea, and rheumatic pain. Contraindications for Coix Seed include spleen deficiency without dampness, dry constipation, and caution for pregnant women.
Basic Overview
Herb Name: Coix Seed (Yiyiren)
Aliases: Yiyu, Huihui Rice, Grass Pearl, Gan Pearl, Job’s Tears, Rice Seed, Yiren, Yi Ren, Medicinal Corn, Water Corn, Gouzi Rice, Yuma, Liugu Rice, Pearl Rice, Yumi, Yimi.
Category of Efficacy: Diuretic herbs.
Nature and Flavor: Sweet, bland, cool.
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach, Lung
Efficacy: Strengthens the spleen and drains dampness, alleviates pain and diarrhea.
Main Indications: Edema, beriberi, painful urination, damp-heat diseases, diarrhea, rheumatic pain, muscle spasms, lung abscess, intestinal abscess, flat warts.
Dosage: Decoction, 9-30g. Fresh for clearing heat and draining dampness, stir-fried for strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea. Coix Seed is mild, suitable for long-term use.
Source of Medicinal Material: Coix Seed is the seed of the plant Coix lacryma-jobi, belonging to the Poaceae family.
Preparation Methods
Stir-fried Coix Seed: Select clean Coix Seeds and stir-fry in a pan over low heat until slightly yellow, then remove and cool. Alternatively, stir-fry with bran (100 jin of Coix Seed with 10 jin of bran);
According to “Leigong’s Methods of Processing”: For every one liang of Coix Seed, use glutinous rice. If boiled with salt water, it can also be used in a different preparation.
Effects and Functions
1. According to “Fan Wang’s Formulas”: Coix Seed treats lung abscess with cough and sputum; for chest tightness: boil Coix Seed in strong bitter wine until concentrated, take warm.
2. According to “Guangji Formulas”: Coix Seed treats rheumatic pain and limb weakness; use 1 jin of Coix Seed, 4 liang each of Mulberry Mistletoe, Angelica Sinensis, Sichuan Duhuo, and Cangzhu (stir-fried in rice wash). Divide into sixteen doses and decoct.
3. According to “Mei’s Collected Verified Formulas”: Coix Seed treats lung atrophy with purulent blood: 10 liang of Coix Seed, crushed, with 3 sheng of water, decoct to 1 sheng, add a little wine to take.
4. According to “Jinkui Yaolue”: Coix Seed with Aconite and Baijiao Powder treats intestinal abscess; if the body is tight and the abdomen is tender, with no accumulation and no fever, pulse rapid, this indicates pus in the intestines: 10 parts Coix Seed, 2 parts Aconite, 5 parts Baijiao. Grind into powder, take a spoonful with 2 sheng of water, decoct to half, take warm, urination should follow.
5. According to “Gangmu”: Coix Seed wine treats rheumatism, strengthens muscles and bones, and benefits the spleen and stomach: Coix Seed powder, fermented with rice, or brewed in a bag for drinking.
6. According to “Qianjin Formulas”: Coix Seed treats intestinal abscess: 1 sheng of Coix Seed, 3 liang each of Peony Root and Peach Kernel, 2 sheng of Melon Seed. Combine these four ingredients, boil with 6 sheng of water to yield 2 sheng, divide and take.
7. According to “Duxing Formulas”: Coix Seed treats edema and wheezing: 2 liang of Yuli Ren. Grind, filter the juice with water, cook Coix Seed rice, eat twice daily.
8. According to “Gangmu”: Coix Seed treats thirst and excessive drinking: boil Coix Seed in porridge and consume both porridge and liquid.
9. According to “Jinkui Yaolue”: Ma Huang, Apricot Kernel, Coix Seed, and Licorice Decoction treats patients with full body pain, fever, and severe symptoms in the afternoon, known as rheumatism, caused by sweating in the wind or prolonged exposure to cold: 0.5 liang of Ma Huang (remove joints), 1 liang of Licorice (roasted), 0.5 liang of Coix Seed, 10 Apricot Kernels (peeled, pointed, roasted). Grind into powder, take 4 qian with 1.5 cups of water, boil to 8 parts, remove dregs and take warm, avoiding wind with slight sweating.
10. According to “Jisheng Formulas”: Coix Seed treats lung abscess with hemoptysis: 3 taels of Coix Seed, crushed, with 2 large cups of water, add a little wine, divide into two doses.
11. According to “Gangmu”: Coix Seed is a Yangming herb, capable of strengthening the spleen and benefiting the stomach; if deficient, it supplements its mother, thus used for lung atrophy and lung abscess. For muscle and bone diseases, it is based on treating Yangming, hence used for muscle spasms and rheumatism. Earth can overcome water to eliminate dampness, thus used for diarrhea and edema. The ancient formula “Xiaoxu Ming Decoction” notes that for wind stroke with muscle spasms and stiffness, slow speech, and wiry pulse, add Coix Seed, which also supports the spleen and suppresses the liver.
12. According to “Gangmu”: Coix Seed porridge treats chronic rheumatic pain, replenishes vital energy, benefits the intestines and stomach, eliminates edema, and removes evil qi from the chest: grind Coix Seed into powder, cook with japonica rice to eat daily.
13. According to “Yang’s Experience Formulas”: Coix Seed treats sand and stone heat dysuria, causing unbearable pain: Yumi (seeds, leaves, roots can be used), decoct in water and drink hot in summer, cold in winter, to promote urination.
14. According to “Bencao”: Coix Seed is slightly cold, primarily for muscle spasms. There are two types of spasms: “Suwen” notes that if the large muscle is heated, it contracts and shortens, thus causing spasms; this is due to heat, hence Coix Seed can be used. If “Suwen” states that spasms are due to cold, this should not be treated with Coix Seed. When used, it should be doubled compared to other herbs. This herb is mild in effect, requiring increased dosage to see results. Cold can cause muscle spasms, while heat can cause muscle relaxation; if only heat is present without cold exposure, it can also relax muscles, while dampness leads to weakness.
Usage Methods
Dosage: Decoction, 9-30g. Fresh for clearing heat and draining dampness, stir-fried for strengthening the spleen and stopping diarrhea. Coix Seed is mild, suitable for long-term use.
1 Coix Seed and Mung Bean Porridge
Ingredients: 30g mung beans, 30g Coix Seed, 100g japonica rice, 5g patchouli.
Method: Wash Coix Seed, mung beans, and japonica rice clean, add water to cook into a thin porridge, separately decoct patchouli, take a small amount of the medicinal juice, add to the porridge after it is cooked, and simmer for a while.
Usage: Take warm, 1-2 times daily.
Efficacy: Clears heat and transforms dampness, suitable for heat-damp syndrome, symptoms include fever, thirst, sweating, heavy body, fullness in the stomach, and rapid pulse.
Contraindications: Not suitable for those with cold-damp obstructing the spleen.
2 Coix Seed and Tremella Soup
Ingredients: 150g Coix Seed, 20g Tremella, appropriate amount of sugar, osmanthus sugar, and wet starch.
Method: Soak Coix Seed in warm water, soak Tremella in water, clean and tear into small pieces. In a pot, add water, Tremella, Coix Seed, and sugar, boil vigorously, then simmer until Coix Seed is fully cooked, thicken with wet starch, and add osmanthus sugar.
Efficacy: Nourishes yin, moistens the lungs, nourishes the stomach, and generates fluids, treats chronic gastritis.
3 Peach Kernel and Coix Seed Porridge
Ingredients: 10g peach kernel (peeled and pointed), 30g Coix Seed, 50g japonica rice.
Method: Cook with water until very soft.
Efficacy: Mainly treats acute appendicitis with symptoms of slight fever, distension in the right lower abdomen, nausea, belching, poor appetite, constipation, yellow urine, slightly red tongue, thin white coating, and wiry tight pulse.
4 Winter Melon and Coix Seed Porridge
Ingredients: 500g winter melon (with skin), 100g Coix Seed, appropriate amount of salt.
Method:
1. Soak Coix Seed in clean water for 20 minutes, cut winter melon with skin into pieces, and place in a clay pot.
2. Add water and cook until Coix Seed is soft, then add salt and mix well.
Usage: Eat twice a day.
Efficacy: Clears heat and detoxifies, strengthens the spleen and removes stasis; effective for simple obesity, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver, and hyperlipidemia.
5 Ginger Juice and Coix Seed Porridge
Ingredients: 10g dried ginger, 10g mugwort leaves, 30g Coix Seed.
Method: Decoct the first two ingredients to extract juice, cook Coix Seed porridge until 80% done, then add ginger and mugwort juice and cook until done.
Efficacy: Warms the meridians, transforms stasis, disperses cold, removes dampness, and moisturizes the skin. Suitable for cold-damp stagnation type dysmenorrhea.
Contraindications
1. Caution for those with spleen deficiency without dampness, dry constipation, and pregnant women when using Coix Seed.
2. Caution for those with insufficient body fluids when using Coix Seed.