TCM Dietary Therapy: Nature & Flavor of Common Vegetables

1.Apium graveolens; celery

Celery is the whole herb of Apium graveolens L. (Umbelliferae). Its nature and flavor are sweet, bitter, and cool. The edible parts contain protein, fat, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin P, niacin, volatile oil, nicotinic acid, and apiin. It has the functions of calming the Liver and clearing heat, dispelling wind and promoting diuresis. It is applicable for hypertension, dizziness and headache, red face and eyes, hematuria, carbuncles and swellings, hemospermia, and coital bleeding.

2.Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., lotus root

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. root is the swollen rhizome of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. of the Nymphaeaceae family. Its nature and flavor are sweet and cold. It contains starch, protein, asparagine, vitamin C, various polyphenolic compounds, and peroxidase. It has the functions of nourishing blood and promoting tissue regeneration, strengthening the Spleen and stomach, and stopping diarrhea. It is applicable to signs of imbalance such as heat strangury with restlessness and thirst, hematemesis, epistaxis, hematuria, hemospermia, and coital bleeding.

3.Capsella bursa-pastoris (shepherd’s purse)

Shepherd’s purse is the whole herb with roots of the Cruciferae plant Capsella bursa-pastoris. It is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It contains organic acids such as oxalic acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, p-aminobenzenesulfonic acid, and fumaric acid, as well as proteins, fats, crude fiber, and sugars. Additionally, it contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins A, B2, and C. Its functions include harmonizing the Spleen to promote diuresis, stopping bleeding, and improving eyesight. It is indicated for dysentery, edema, gonorrhea, hematemesis, hematochezia, menorrhagia, red and swollen eyes with pain, and other conditions.

4.Portulaca oleracea L. (purple perilla)

Portulaca oleracea L. is the whole herb of the plant Portulaca oleracea in the Portulacaceae family. It is sour and cold in nature. It contains a large amount of methylnorepinephrine, a significant amount of potassium salts, various organic acids, proteins, fats, sugars, crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B1, B2, PP, C, alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, and anthraquinones. It functions to clear heat and detoxify, disperse blood stasis and reduce swelling. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as pyogenic dysentery with purulent and bloody stools, heat strangury, bloody strangury, leukorrhea, painful swelling, malignant sores, erysipelas, and scrofula.

5.Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. (Chinese chive)

Leek is the stem and leaf of Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. in the Liliaceae family. Its nature and flavor are pungent and warm. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C, etc. It has the functions of promoting blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis, regulating qi to reverse abnormal ascent, warming the Kidney to strengthen yang (bactericidal and detoxifying). It is applicable to signs of imbalance such as chest obstruction, dysphagia, nausea, hematemesis, epistaxis, hematuria, enteritis, dysentery, cystocele and rectocele, and uterine prolapse.

6.Luffa Sponge (Retinervus Luffae Fructus)

Luffa is the fruit of Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem. or Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. of the Cucurbitaceae family. Its nature and flavor are sweet and cool. It contains saponins, luffaein, citrulline, xylan, fats, proteins, vitamin C, and vitamin B. It functions to clear heat and resolve phlegm, cool blood, and detoxify. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as fever, restlessness, and thirst in febrile wellness, as well as phlegm-asthma and cough.

Luffa is the dried and aged fruit. Its nature and flavor are sweet and neutral. It has the functions of promoting blood circulation to activate meridians and collaterals, clearing heat and resolving phlegm. It is applicable to signs of imbalance such as chest and hypochondrium pain, abdominal pain, lumbago, scrotal swelling and pain, cough with Lung-heat and phlegm, amenorrhea in women, galactostasis, carbuncle and swelling, and anal fistula.

7.Tremella (Tremella fuciformis)

Auricularia auricula is the fruiting body of Auricularia auricula-judae (a plant from the Auriculariaceae family). Its nature and flavor are sweet and neutral. It contains lecithin, phospholipid, cephalin, sterol, and other components. Its functions include cooling blood and stopping bleeding. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as intestinal wind, bloody dysentery, hematuria, uterine bleeding, and hemorrhoids with discharge.

8.mushroom

Mushroom is the fruiting body of plants from the Agaricaceae family. It is sweet and cool in nature. It contains crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins B, C, D, E, and K, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, and various amino acids; it also contains nitrogenous substances related to amino acids and multiple enzymes. It has the functions of stimulating appetite, regulating qi to resolve phlegm, and detoxifying. It is applicable for measles, cancer resistance, etc.

9.Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Chinese yam

Dioscorea oppositea is the rhizome of Dioscorea oppositea Thunb. from the Dioscoreaceae family. Its nature and flavor are sweet and neutral. It contains saponins, mucilage, choline, starch, glycoprotein, amino acids, polyphenol oxidase, phytic acid, vitamin C, etc. It functions to strengthen the Spleen, replenish the Lungs, consolidate the Kidneys, and nourish essence. It is indicated for signs of imbalance such as Spleen-deficiency diarrhea, chronic dysentery, cough due to consumptive wellness, thirst, spermatorrhea, leukorrhea, and frequent urination.

10.Houttuynia cordata Thunb (Heartleaf houttuynia)

Houttuynia cordata, also known as Heartleaf houttuynia, is the whole herb or tender stems and leaves of the perennial herb Houttuynia cordata Thunb. of the Saururaceae family. It is pungent in taste and slightly cold in nature. It contains volatile oil, quercitrin, houttuynin, and a large amount of potassium salts. It functions to clear heat and detoxify, strengthen the stomach and promote diuresis. It is applicable for Lung abscess, cough, thick phlegm, poor appetite, diarrhea, scanty and dark urine, and leukorrhea.

11.white radish

White radish is the fresh root of Raphanus sativus L. (Cruciferae). Its nature and flavor are sweet, pungent, and neutral. It contains vitamin B, vitamin C, iodine, arginine, choline, amylase, oxidase, and other components. It has the functions of strengthening the stomach, promoting digestion, relieving cough and reducing phlegm, and promoting diuresis. It is suitable for conditions such as abdominal distension due to food retention, pulmonary-heat hemoptysis, and difficult urination.

12.Capsicum annuum L., chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of Capsicum annuum L., an annual herbaceous plant of the Solanaceae family. Its nature and flavor are bitter, pungent, and extremely hot. It contains ingredients such as vitamin C. Its functions include dispelling cold, strengthening the stomach, promoting digestion, and resolving food stagnation. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as abdominal distension due to stomach cold, indigestion, poor appetite, and reduced food intake.

13.Benincasae Hispidae Fructus (white gourd)

Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. is the fruit of the plant Benincasa hispida in the Cucurbitaceae family. It is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. Its functions are to clear heat and detoxify, promote diuresis and resolve phlegm. It is applicable for chronic gastritis, chronic nephritis, difficult urination, heatstroke with high fever, coma, and other conditions.

14.Hemerocallis citrina Baroni (daylily)

Hemerocallis citrina, also known as daylily, is the flower bud of Hemerocallis fulva, a herbaceous plant in the Liliaceae family. It is sweet in taste, slightly cold in nature, and enters the Heart and Liver meridians. It contains carotene, vitamin C, niacin, sugars, calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc. Its functions include clearing heat and cooling blood, promoting diuresis, calming the nerves, and improving eyesight. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as hematuria in strangury, hematochezia, hemorrhoidal bleeding, restlessness and irritability, blurred vision, and night blindness.

15.Tremella fuciformis (snow fungus)

Tremella fuciformis, also known as white fungus, is the fruiting body of Tremella fuciformis in the Tremellaceae family. It is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, inorganic salts, vitamin B, fats, and crude fiber. It functions to clear Lung heat, nourish the Spleen and stomach, nourish yin, replenish qi, activate blood circulation, and moisten the intestines. It is applicable for Lung-heat cough, dry cough due to Lung dryness, gastrointestinal dryness and heat, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, etc.

16.Garlic

Garlic is the bulb of Allium sativum L., a perennial herb of the Liliaceae family. It is pungent and warm in nature, with slight toxicity. It contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins B and C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc. Its functions include killing parasites and eliminating dampness, warming the middle-jiao and promoting digestion. It is indicated for carbuncles, furuncles, malignant sores on the back, edema due to water retention, indigestion of retained food, and for killing hookworms and roundworms.

17.Allium fistulosum L. (green Chinese onion)

Allium fistulosum is the bulb and leaf of the herbaceous plant Allium fistulosum in the Liliaceae family. It is pungent and warm in nature. It contains volatile oil, fatty oil, mucilage, vitamins B1 and B2, cellulose, pectin, and other components. Its functions include inducing diaphoresis, promoting the flow of yang qi, and detoxifying. It is applicable for signs of imbalance such as wind-cold cold, headache, nasal congestion, abdominal pain due to yin cold, worm accumulation, constipation and anuria, dysentery, and carbuncles and swellings.