Herb—Lian Qiao
Lian Qiao (Forsythia) is a perennial herb belonging to the Oleaceae family, primarily distributed in Shaanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Sichuan provinces of China. According to TCM theory, Lian Qiao is cool in nature and bitter in flavor, entering the Heart (Xin), Liver (Gan), and Gallbladder (Dan) meridians. As one of the traditional major medicinal materials in China, it possesses the functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, reducing swelling, and dissolving nodules.
Modern pharmacological studies indicate that Lian Qiao exhibits antibacterial, antitumor, antiviral, and hepatoprotective effects. Additionally, it has a certain protective effect on the nervous system. Viruses, composed of DNA or RNA and proteins, commonly present symptoms such as fever, headache, and cough, often resulting in asymptomatic infections. Various viruses have strong transmissibility, posing a serious threat to human health and the development of living standards.
According to the “Medical Record of Traditional and Western Medicine”: “It has the power to elevate, disperse, and circulate Qi and blood. Its cool nature elevates and disperses, making it effective for treating head and eye diseases.”
In the “Shennong’s Herbal Classic”: “It is indicated for cold and heat, mouse fistula, carbuncles, ulcers, goiter, heat accumulation, and toxic substances.”
In the “Compendium of Materia Medica”: “It opens the small intestine, drains pus, treats sores and boils, and alleviates pain.” Li Gao stated: “It disperses blood stasis and Qi accumulation, reduces swelling. It is indispensable among the medicinal herbs for sores in the twelve meridians.”
In the “Pearl Bag”: “Lian Qiao has three uses: to drain heat from the heart and lower jiao; to eliminate heat from the upper jiao; and as a sacred medicine for sores.”
In the “Materia Medica for Easy Reading”: “Bitter enters the heart first, and its coolness can reach the lungs, addressing various sores and toxins, and Qi and blood stagnation, using this to promote circulation inside and outside.”
Antibacterial Effects
According to literature reports, Lian Qiao has a broad antibacterial spectrum, inhibiting various G+ and G- bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, particularly effective against common pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhi, showing significant antibacterial effects both in vitro and in vivo.
Research found that Lian Qiao extract inhibited pathogenic bacteria in the intestines of mice, demonstrating inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella, with the strongest inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and the weakest against Salmonella.
By administering Lian Qiao extract, the mortality rate of mice infected with various pathogenic bacteria significantly decreased. Researchers compared the physiological activity differences of Lian Qiao from different regions based on its inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, establishing a fingerprint profile of Lian Qiao and its antibacterial activity, exploring the main active components responsible for its antibacterial effects, with results indicating that Lian Qiao glycoside A, caffeic acid, Lian Qiao glycoside, and Lian Qiao ester may be effective antibacterial components.
Antipyretic and Anti-inflammatory Effects
Lian Qiao glycoside, as the main active component of Lian Qiao, exhibits certain anti-inflammatory effects. Researchers studied the impact of Lian Qiao glycoside A on lipopolysaccharide-induced interleukin-6 in chicken spleen lymphocytes, revealing that Lian Qiao glycoside A inhibited IL-6 levels in chicken spleen lymphocytes, having a certain immunomodulatory effect and demonstrating anti-inflammatory properties.
Further research found that the anti-inflammatory active component may be Lian Qiao glycoside, providing a basis for further studies on Lian Qiao’s anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, Lian Qiao glycoside was found to inhibit the inflammatory response of human monocyte macrophages stimulated by Staphylococcus aureus, exploring its anti-inflammatory effects based on the mechanism of inflammation induced by bacterial infection. Lian Qiao has shown good efficacy against respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, influenza virus, and herpes simplex virus.
Antioxidant Effects
In the theory of free radical aging, free radicals are inevitably produced during the body’s life activities. Reactions between free radicals can cause damage to biological membranes and cross-linking of biological macromolecules, leading to damage to proteins and nucleic acids, reducing enzyme activity, ultimately resulting in aging and death of the organism.
Lian Qiao leaves are rich in Lian Qiao glycoside A, which has strong antioxidant biological activity, making it a promising natural antioxidant and a base for health foods and biopharmaceuticals.
Antitumor Effects
Clinically, Lian Qiao is often combined with other Chinese herbs to formulate treatments for head and neck tumors, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, leukemia, and other tumors. Numerous studies have reported that Lian Qiao ethanol extracts exhibit broad-spectrum antitumor activity, significantly inhibiting various tumor cells.
Research found that Lian Qiao root ethanol extracts significantly inhibited the growth of several esophageal cancer cells, with the inhibitory effect on TE＞13 cells being time and dose-dependent. No significant morphological changes were observed in the liver and lungs of nude mice in the treatment and control groups, indicating that Lian Qiao root ethanol extracts significantly inhibit the growth of esophageal cancer cells.
Hepatoprotective Effects
According to literature reports, Lian Qiao glycoside A protects against LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. By intraperitoneally injecting LPS (10 mg/kg body weight) to establish a model of LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice, the experiment was divided into normal control, acute lung injury model, and antibody treatment groups. Compared to the model group, the plasma endotoxin levels in the Lian Qiao glycoside A treatment groups significantly decreased, and the pathological damage in lung tissues was alleviated to varying degrees, indicating that Lian Qiao glycoside A has a protective effect on the liver.
Lian Qiao, a heat-clearing and detoxifying herb, excels in detoxification, with functions of clearing heat, detoxifying, reducing swelling, and dispersing nodules. It is commonly used for warm diseases, external wind-heat, carbuncles, and toxic sores, and is widely applied in clinical practice.
Note:
1. [References]: Luo Xuan, Wang Wei, et al. Literature study on the antiviral effects of Lian Qiao [J]. Journal of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 2022, 45(06)
Yang Yulei, Ma Songxin, et al. Research progress on the pharmacological effects of Lian Qiao [J]. Proceedings of the 16th Academic Annual Meeting of the Pharmacology and Drug Testing Professional Committee of the Chinese Pharmacological Society (2019)
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3. Health foods are not drugs and cannot replace drug treatment for diseases.