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The Book of Songs states, “A thousand steps of Lian Qiao are not stained by dust, the fragrant incense lazily paints the spring of the moth’s brow. With a sincere heart, I only wish to bless the immortal, to heal the wandering and distant-minded people.” Lian Qiao is named because “it resembles a lotus forming a room, protruding among the grasses.” It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and dispersing nodules, and dispersing wind-heat. It is used for abscesses, scrofula, mastitis, erysipelas, wind-heat colds, initial stages of warm diseases, warm heat entering the nutrient level, high fever with thirst, delirium with rashes, and painful heat stranguria.
Lian Qiao
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Source
The dried fruit of the plant Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl.
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Alias
Liankai, Huanghua Tiao, Huang Lian Tiao Hua, Huang Qidan, Qing Qiao, Luo Qiao.
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Plant Morphology
A deciduous shrub, 2-4 meters high. The branches are spreading or elongated, slightly vine-like, often rooting at the ground, with small branches slightly square in shape, and the internodes are hollow, with solid pith only at the nodes. The leaves are opposite, or become trifoliate; petioles are 8-20 mm long; leaf blades are ovate, long-ovate, broad-ovate to round, 3-7 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, with tips gradually pointed, acute, or blunt. The base is broadly wedge-shaped or round, with irregular serrations on the edges; semi-leathery. Flowers bloom before the leaves, axillary, about 2.5 cm long; the calyx is deeply 4-lobed, oval; the corolla is tubular at the base, 4-lobed at the top, with lobes that are ovate. Golden yellow, usually with orange-red stripes; there are 2 stamens, attached at the base of the corolla; 1 pistil, with an oval ovary, a long style, and a 2-lobed stigma. The capsule is narrow-ovate and slightly flattened, about 15 cm long, with a short beak at the tip, splitting into 2 valves when mature.
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Distribution
Widely distributed in Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, etc., mainly from wild resources, growing in sunny shrublands, forest edges, or woods in valleys and gorges.
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Harvesting and Processing
Flowering period is from March to May, fruiting period is from July to August. Fruits are harvested when they are initially ripe or fully ripe. The initially ripe fruits are harvested, steamed, and dried, still green, and are called “Qing Qiao”; fully ripe fruits are harvested, dried, and seeds and impurities are removed, called “Lao Qiao”; the seeds are called “Lian Qiao Xin”.
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Properties of the Medicinal Material
Long oval to oval, slightly flattened, 1.5-2.5 cm long, 0.5-1.3 cm in diameter. The surface has irregular longitudinal wrinkles and many small raised spots, with a distinct longitudinal groove on each side. The tip is sharp, and the base has a small fruit stalk or has fallen off. Qing Qiao is mostly uncracked, with a green-brown surface and fewer raised gray-white spots; it is hard; the seeds are mostly yellow-green, slender, with wings on one side. Lao Qiao cracks from the top or splits into two valves, with a yellow-brown or red-brown surface, the inner surface mostly light yellow-brown, smooth, with a longitudinal partition; it is brittle; the seeds are brown, mostly fallen off. It has a faint fragrance and a bitter taste.
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Taste and Properties
Bitter, slightly cold. It enters the Lung, Heart, and Small Intestine meridians.
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Functions and Indications
Clears heat and detoxifies, reduces swelling and disperses nodules.Used for abscesses, scrofula, mastitis, erysipelas, wind-heat colds, initial stages of warm diseases, warm heat entering the nutrient level, high fever with thirst, delirium with rashes, and painful heat stranguria.
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Clinical Applications
Internal use: decoction, 6-15 g, or in pills, powders; external use: decoction for washing.
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Pharmacological Research
Has antibacterial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiemetic, hepatoprotective, and anticancer effects.
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Chemical Components
Mainly contains lignan components: Forsythoside, Forsythoside aglycone, Dextrorotatory resin phenol, Dextrorotatory resin alcohol glycoside; Forsythoside A, Forsythol glycosides A, C, D, E; flavonoid components: Rutin; triterpenoid components: Betulinic acid, Oleanolic acid, Ursolic acid.
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Contraindications
Lian Qiao has a bitter and cold nature, and is usually contraindicated for those with wind-cold colds, spleen and stomach deficiency and cold, and those who are allergic to Lian Qiao should also avoid this herb.
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Compatible Formulas
1. For mastitis:15 g of Lian Qiao, 30 g of Dandelion, 9 g of Wang Bu Liu Xing, 15 g of Wild Chrysanthemum.Decoct in water.(“Qingdao Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook”)
2. For intestinal abscess:15 g of Lian Qiao, 12 g each of Huang Qin and Zhi Zi, 18 g of Jin Yin Hua.Decoct in water.(“Qingdao Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook”)
3. For tongue ulcers:15 g of Lian Qiao, 9 g of Huang Bai, 6 g of Gan Cao, decoct and gargle.(“Yu Qiao Yi Ling”)
4. For halitosis:Lian Qiao powdered into pills, take 6-9 g with tea after eating garlic or leeks, transforming foul breath into fresh air.(“Chi Shui Xuan Zhu” internal method for treating halitosis)
5. For allergic purpura:12 g of Lian Qiao, 30 g of Red Dates.Decoct in water.(“Ningxia Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook”)
—A Little Story of Chinese Medicine—
It is said that five thousand years ago, Qi Bo was gathering and planting herbs on Qi Bo Mountain in Xinmi, Henan. Qi Bo had a granddaughter named Lian Qiao. One day, while gathering herbs with his granddaughter, Qi Bo accidentally poisoned himself by tasting a herb, foaming at the mouth, becoming delirious, and losing consciousness. In a very serious condition, he kept shouting: Lian Qiao, Lian Qiao. Seeing her grandfather in such a dangerous state, Lian Qiao cried and shouted: Save me! Save me! After calling for a long time without response, in her anxiety, she had no rescue method, and unable to bear to see her grandfather leave, she quickly thought of a way to crush some green leaves nearby and stuffed them into her grandfather’s mouth. After a moment, Qi Bo slowly regained consciousness, swallowing the green leaves. After a while, he returned to normal. Lian Qiao helped her grandfather back home for medication and dietary care, and Qi Bo gradually recovered. From then on, he began to study this green leaf, discovering through multiple experiments that it had excellent heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, and thus recorded it in his herbal compendium, naming it Lian Qiao after his granddaughter, and planted many Lian Qiao in the valley where he lived. The story has been passed down to this day.
