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Poria Cocos

Author: John
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Time: 2014/9/2 10:51:56

Introduction

Poria cocos, also called Poria, Tuckahoe, Indian bread or Fu-Ling in Chinese, is a famous home-grown bulk Chinese herb. It is a fungus in the Polyporaceae family and a wood-decay fungus but has a terrestrial growth habit.

It is a white fungus on wood, in particular on the roots of Japanese red pine and masson pine in the Pinaceae family. Today it is wild or cultivated, mainly produced in Yunnan, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Sichuan and other places in China.

Poria cocos look like a potato that may be seen growing in pine tree roots and dead barks. The common form of poria fungus is its sclerotium, most of which are in the shape of irregular chunk, sphere, compressiform, oblong, or oval. They are in different sizes, usually less than 10cm in the smaller ones and 20cm to 30cm, even larger, in bigger ones. Skin is grayish brown or dark brown, in the shape of shrinking tumor, white with slightly pin inside, and composed of numerous hyphae. Fruiting body looks like mushroom, 0.5 to 2mm in diameter. It has a special odor. This mushroom has a soft texture with a sweet flavor when used in cooking. The Poria cocos is usually dried and used in traditional Chinese medicines.

Medicine value

Diuretic effect

Experiments showed that poria mushroom alone had no diuretic effect at all. However, when used in formula of other related herbs, it has the diuretic function. For example, the Chinese herbal medicine-diuretic anti-inflammatory pill is made from pure natural herbs including poria cocos, which works to eliminate inflammation, kill bacteria, clear heat, eliminate toxins and promote blood circulation etc.

Anti-inflammatory effect

The Poria cocos has the anti-inflammatory function that is essential for the treatment of many types of illnesses like joint pain, swelling and redness in rheumatoid arthritis.. Take Fuyan Pill for example. Besides poria cocos, fuyan pill is made from more than 50 kinds of herbs. It has the remarkable effect on eliminating inflammation, killing bacteria, clearing heat and promoting blood circulation etc. it works on many gynecological diseases like PID, chlamydia, fallopian tube problems.

Effects on the digestive system

The Poria cocos can also benefit many gastrointestinal problems. According to the experimental study, this herb can directly relax the isolated rabbit intestine, prevent pylorus ligation-induced gastric ulcer in rats, and reduce stomach acid.

Other effects

The central nervous system effects have also made the Poria cocos an invaluable treatment for depression. In addition to that, it also can lower blood sugar. And Poria cocos extract by ether or ethanol can strengthen cardiac contractility.

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