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Coptis Rhizome
Coptis Rhizome
黄連
Market name:黄連
Photo location:Museum of Materia Medica, Inst. of Nat. Med.
TMPW No.:1252
Coptis japonica var. japonica
Plant name:Coptis japonica var. japonica
Photo location:Ishikawa Pref., Japan
Photo date:1991
Photographer:K. Komatsu

Synonym  
Latin name Coptidis Rhizoma
Botanical source: Family name Ranunculaceae
Botanical source: Plant name - Coptis japonica Makino (IPNI:710316-1)
- Coptis chinensis Franchet (IPNI:710313-1)
- Coptis deltoidea C.Y.Cheng et Hsiao
- Coptis teeta Wallich (IPNI:710326-1)
Part used Rhizome, from which the roots have been removed practically.
Empirical criteria for quality selection Good one, which is deep yellow inside, is thick, firm and has a strong bitter taste. The rootlet has fibrous roots and less bitterness. It is lower quality (TN).
Constituents Phenylpropanoids:
Ferulic acid

Isoquinoline alkaloids:
Berberine, Palmatine, Jateorrhizine, Coptisine, Magnoflorine, Tetrahydropalmatine, Tetrahydroberberine, Worenine
Pharmacological effects Antibacterial (broad antibacterial spectrum of berberine), constipation (berberine).
Indications As an antiphlogistic amaroid stomachic and tranquilizer, it is applied to treat palpitation, mental instability, stuffiness of epigastrium, vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache and bleeding, accompanied with congestion or inflammation.
Diseases Diarrhea, Full stomach, Vomitting, Feeling of pressure in the chest, Thirst, Oliguria, High fever, Disturbance of consciousness, Hematemesis, Nasal hemorrhage, Fret, Insomnia, Stomatitis, Toothache, Bleeding from root of tooth, Stomachache, Red eye, Swelling and pain of the throat, Pyogenic dermatosis, Tympanitis, Eye pain
Formulas ireito , unseiin , untanto , oren'akyoto , orengedokuto , orento , kagenryokakusan (kyoteiken) , kakkon'oren'ogonto , kakkonkokato , kamiuntanto , kamigedokuto , kamishimotsuto , kankyooren'ogon'ninjinto , kanzoshashinto , keigairengyoto , saikanto , saikoseikanto , san'osan , san'oshashinto , shokankyoto , shokyoshashinto , jijinmeimokuto , jogan'ippo , jofuto , seijobofuto , senkanmeimokuto , daioorenshashinto , chikujountanto , nyoshinsan , hakutooto , hangeshashinto , bushishashinto , meiroin , yokukansankashakuyakuoren
Meridian tropism Heart, Liver, Gall bladder, Stomach
Property Cold
Flavor Bitter
Classification in "Shen-non Ben-cao Jing" Superior
TCM: Classification Antipyretics (Drugs for elimination heat and dampness)
TCM: Medicinal effects To remove damp heat, quench fire and counteract toxicity.
Used for attack of damp heat manifested by a stuffiness and fullness sensation in the abdomen, vomiting, acute dysentery, jaundice, high fever accompanied by impairment of consciousness, fidgetness and insomnia due to exuberant fire, spitting of blood and epistaxis caused by heat in the blood, inflammation of the eye, acid regurgitation, toothache, diabetes, carbuncles and sores, external use for eczema and other skin disease with exudation, purulent discharge from the ear.
Remarks Listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 18th ed.
Chinese Weilian is the rhizome of C. chinensis, Yalian is that of C.deltoidea C. Y. Cheng et Hsiao, Emeiyelian is that of C. omeiensis (Cheng) C. Y. Cheng, Yunlian is that of C. teeta Wall. subsp. lohitensis Pandit et Babu. Chinese mawielian is the subterranean part of Thalictrum species of family Ranunculaceae.
References TN: T. Namba & Y. Tsuda ed., Outline of Pharmacognosy, a Textbook, 3rd ed., Nankodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, 1998.
DNA sequences of medicinal plants
Gene Region
Nuclear Chloroplast Mitochondria
Botanical source: Plant name 5Ss 18S ITS1 5.8S ITS2 26S others trnH-psbA matK trnK trnK-rps16 trnT-L trnL trnL-F rbcL rpoC1 ndhF others
Coptis japonica Makino (IPNI:710316-1)
Coptis chinensis Franchet (IPNI:710313-1)
trnD-trnY-trnE-trnT
 AB159549
Coptis deltoidea C.Y.Cheng et Hsiao (NCBI:txid261449)
trnY-trnE
 AB159548
ycf5
 GQ435670
 GQ435671
Coptis teeta Wallich (IPNI:710326-1)
trnY-trnE
 AB159547
 

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