Ramie leaves

Ramie leaves are the leaves of the ramie plant of the Urticaceae family. They have the effects of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, dispersing blood stasis and swelling, and detoxifying.

Morphological characteristics

Perennial semi-shrub, 1-2m high. Stem erect, cylindrical, multi-branched, blue-brown, densely covered with coarse and long hairs. Leaves alternate; petiole 2-11cm long; stipules 2, separate, early falling; leaf blade broadly ovate or ovate, 7-15cm long, 6-12cm wide, apex acuminate or nearly caudate, base broadly cuneate or truncate, margins densely serrated, green, rough, and scattered with sparse hairs above, densely interwoven white soft hairs below, 3 basal veins. Flowers unisexual, male and female usually on the same plant; inflorescence is conical, axillary, 5-10cm long, male inflorescence usually located below female inflorescence; male flowers are small, pedunculate, yellow-white, with 4 tepals, 4 stamens, and degenerate pistils; female flowers are light green, clustered, about 2mm in diameter, tepals tubular, persistent, style 1. Achenes are small, elliptical, densely covered with short hairs, wrapped in persistent tepals, and contain 1 seed. The flowering period is September and the fruiting period is October.

The efficacy and function of ramie leaves

【Medicinal Properties】

Sweet, slightly bitter, cold.

1. "Compendium of Materia Medica": "Sweet, cold, non-toxic."

2. "Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Beihai": "slightly bitter, sweet, and cold."

【Function and indications】

Cools blood and stops bleeding, detoxifies and reduces swelling. It is mainly used to treat hemoptysis, hematemesis, hematuria, blood in stool, menorrhagia, bleeding due to trauma, swelling and pain due to falls, prolapse of the anus, vesicular poisoning, sores, mastitis, eczema, and snake and insect bites.

1. "Compendium of Materia Medica": "It is used to treat bleeding caused by wounds and fractures, and hemorrhage."

2. "Yao Xing Kao": "It can stop watery diarrhea, cold dysentery, and be applied to snake bites and silkworm bites."

3. "Modern Practical Chinese Medicine": "The roots and leaves are used together to treat acute stranguria, urethritis bleeding, anal swelling and pain, anal prolapse, uterine inflammation in women, and leucorrhea."

4. "Zhejiang Medicinal Plants": "It has hemostatic and detoxifying effects."

Medicinal value of ramie leaves

1. Treat wounds caused by broken ramie leaves (collected in May), mix with lime and mash into a ball, dry in the sun. Grind it before applying to the wound, the bleeding will stop immediately and the wound will be cured. (Compendium of Materia Medica)

2. For carbuncle, if the back is just starting to feel pus but has not yet formed, mash the root and leaves of Ramie and apply it on the affected area. Change the application several times a day and night. The swelling will subside and the disease will heal. (The recipe of Wei Zhou is quoted in the Compendium of Materia Medica)

3. To treat ecthyma, apply ramie leaves (collected and dried on May 5th) to the affected area. (Puji Fang)

4. Treat eczema: 15g of ramie leaves (burnt ash), 6g of sulfur, grind into fine powder, mix with hemp sleeves and apply. Or use appropriate amount of ramie, loofah, pumpkin leaves, grind into fine powder, mix with tea sleeves and apply. (Fujian Pharmacopoeia)

5. To treat athlete's foot, add fresh ramie leaves and rice bran powder (appropriate amounts) and a little pepper powder. Make into cakes and eat. (Guangdong Chinese Herbal Medicine)

6. To treat watery diarrhea or dysentery, dry and grind ramie leaves into powder, mix with cold boiled water (do not take with hot water), take 3g each time (half of a small amount of alkaline for children), 2 to 3 times a day. (National Collection of Chinese Herbal Medicines)

7. To treat snake and insect bites, crush fresh wild ramie leaves and squeeze out 1 cup of juice, add appropriate amount of rice wine and take orally, and apply the residue to the affected area. (Common Herbs for Zhejiang People)

Side effects of ramie leaves

Side effects are caused by poor drug selectivity and are inherent in the drug itself. Whether it is a prescription drug or an over-the-counter drug, it should be used under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist. If you feel uncomfortable while taking the drug, you must stop taking it in time and consult a doctor or pharmacist to avoid unnecessary damage.