Chuanshanlong, a name in traditional Chinese medicine, refers to the dried rhizome of Dioscorea nipponica Makino, a plant in the Dioscoreaceae family. It is produced in most regions of the country.This product has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, relaxing tendons and unblocking meridians, promoting blood circulation and relieving pain, and relieving coughs and wheezing. It is primarily used to treat rheumatic arthralgia, joint swelling, pain and numbness, injuries from falls or blows, strained lower back and side pain, and coughs and wheezing.
Chuanshanlong
Chuanshanlong, a name in traditional Chinese medicine, refers to the dried rhizome of Dioscorea nipponica Makino, a plant in the Dioscoreaceae family. It is produced in most regions of the country.This product has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, relaxing tendons and unblocking meridians, promoting blood circulation and relieving pain, and relieving coughs and wheezing. It is primarily used to treat rheumatic arthralgia, joint swelling, pain and numbness, injuries from falls or blows, strained lower back and side pain, and coughs and wheezing.
Chinese Name : 穿山龙
Latin Name : Rhizome of Dioscorea nipponica
Aliases : Chuanlonggu, Chuandilong, Dog Yam, Shanchangshan, Chuanshanggu, Huotenggen, Huangjiang, Tushanshu, Zhugenshu, Tiegen Shu, Xiongjing, Huangbian, Wild Yam, Dilonggu, Jinganggu, Chuanshanlong, Guoshanshan
Authentic Producing Area : Produced in most regions of China
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Warm in nature; sweet and bitter in taste; enters the Liver, Kidney, and Lung meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Dispels wind and dampness, relaxes tendons and unblocks meridians, promotes blood circulation and relieves pain, and suppresses coughing and alleviates wheezing.
Indications
Mainly used to treat rheumatic arthralgia, joint swelling, pain and numbness, injuries from falls or blows, strained lower back and side pain, and coughing and wheezing.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal use: Decoct and take 9–15 g; or soak in wine and consume. 2. External use: Apply an appropriate amount of the fresh herb, pounded and applied as a poultice.
Precautions
1. Use with caution in patients with deficiency syndromes. 2. When processing into powder, take precautions to avoid allergic reactions.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains diosgenin, diosgenin-7, 12-ol, 25-D-spiro-3,5-diene, p-hydroxybenzyl tartrate, amino acids, and other components.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, cardiovascular protective, antitussive, bronchodilatory, and expectorant properties.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Flora of Medicinal Plants of Northeast China*: “Relieves muscle stiffness and promotes blood circulation; treats lower back and leg pain, as well as numbness in the muscles and bones.”
2. *Compendium of Hubei Herbal Medicines*: “Used for periodontal pain and rheumatic fever.”
3. *Medicinal Herbs of Shaanxi*: “Treats cough, rheumatoid arthritis, joint pain associated with osteoarthritis, indigestion, malaria, trauma, and abscesses and malignant sores.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat heat-type bi syndrome, it is combined with mulberry twigs, Trichosanthes vine, and honeysuckle vine.
2. To treat coughing, wheezing, and excessive phlegm, it is used in combination with Trichosanthes fruit, apricot kernels, and Scutellaria root.
Related Compatibility
1. Chuan Shan Long combined with Phillyrea leaf: Chuan Shan Long enters the Liver Meridian, dispels wind-dampness, and promotes blood circulation to unblock the meridians; Phillyrea leaf dispels wind-dampness, unblocks the meridians, and also tonifies the kidneys. When used together, they not only eliminate wind-dampness but also tonify kidney qi, making them suitable for those with kidney deficiency complicated by wind-dampness, who experience soreness and pain in the lower back and waist, as well as weak and limp knees.
2. Chuan Shan Long combined with Corydalis: Chuan Shan Long excels at promoting blood circulation, unblocking meridians, and relieving pain; Corydalis is pungent, dispersing, and warming, “capable of resolving qi stagnation within the blood and blood stagnation within the qi, and thus specifically treats various pains throughout the body,” making it an excellent herb for promoting blood circulation, regulating qi, and relieving pain. When combined, they possess a strong ability to promote blood circulation and relieve pain, making them suitable for strained lower backs, sprains, traumatic injuries, and pain caused by blood stasis.
3. Chuan Shan Long combined with Ginseng: Chuan Shan Long promotes blood circulation and unblocks meridians, effectively treating chest pain caused by blood stasis; Ginseng excels at tonifying qi. When combined, one unblocks the heart meridians while the other tonifies heart qi, making this combination suitable for chest pain (Xianbi) caused by deficiency of heart qi and obstruction of the heart meridians, as well as palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, and chest tightness.
4. Chuan Shan Long combined with Huang Qin: Chuan Shan Long has a bitter taste and descending properties, capable of relieving cough and calming wheezing; Huang Qin excels at clearing and purging lung fire and excess heat in the upper jiao. When combined, they enhance the effects of clearing the lungs, resolving phlegm, relieving cough, and calming wheezing. This combination is suitable for lung heat-induced cough and wheezing accompanied by copious, thick, yellow phlegm.
Medicinal Identification
Chuanshanlong and Luoshi Teng: Both herbs are used to dispel wind-dampness; they function to dispel wind and unblock the meridians, and are primarily used to treat rheumatic arthralgia and stiffness of the tendons and meridians.However, Chuan Shan Long has a sweet, bitter, and warm nature and excels at promoting blood circulation and relieving pain; it is commonly used for trauma and sprains, as well as for strained lower back and side pain. It also possesses the ability to relieve cough and wheezing and is used for cough and wheezing resulting from impaired lung function. Luo Shi Teng has a bitter taste and a slightly cold nature, entering the Heart, Liver, and Kidney meridians; it can also cool the blood and reduce swelling, and is used for sore throat, abscesses, and trauma.
Related Medicines
Gulong Capsules, Guci Pills, Chuanlong Guci Tablets, Rheumatic Holy Medicine Capsules, and Rheumatic Bi Kang Capsules.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest in spring and fall; wash thoroughly, remove fibrous roots and outer bark, and sun-dry.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herb, remove impurities, wash thoroughly, moisten thoroughly, cut into thick slices, and dry.
Storage Methods
Store in a well-ventilated, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Identification
1. The powder of this product is pale yellow. Starch granules are single, elliptical, triangular, conical, or irregular in shape, with a diameter of 3–17 μm and a length of up to 33 μm; the hilum is long and slit-like.Calcium oxalate needles are scattered or occur in bundles within mucilage cells, with a length of up to approximately 110 μm. Lignified parenchyma cells are pale yellow or yellow, appearing as long-elliptical, rectangular, or prismatic shapes, with small and sparse pits. Vessels with bordered pits have a diameter of 17–56 μm, with fine, dense, elliptical pits.
2. Take 0.5 g of the powdered sample, add 25 mL of methanol, subject to ultrasonic treatment for 30 minutes, filter, and evaporate the filtrate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in 20 mL of 3 mol/L hydrochloric acid solution, heat on a water bath for 30 minutes to hydrolyze, allow to cool, then add 30 mL of chloroform, and reflux for 15 minutes,filter; evaporate the chloroform solution to dryness; dissolve the residue in 2 mL of a chloroform–methanol (1:1) mixture to form the test solution. Separately, prepare a reference solution containing 1 mg of dioscidin per mL in methanol.Test by thin-layer chromatography (General Chapter 0502): Pipette 3 μL of each of the two solutions and apply them separately onto the same silica gel G plate. Develop with a mobile phase of chloroform–methanol (20:0.2), remove the plate, allow it to air-dry, spray with a 10% ethanol solution of phosphomolybdic acid, and heat at 105°C for 10 minutes.In the chromatogram of the test sample, spots of the same color appear at positions corresponding to those in the reference standard chromatogram.
Properties of Crude Drugs
The rhizome is subcylindrical, slightly curved, 15–20 cm long, and 1.0–1.5 cm in diameter. The surface is yellowish-white or brownish-yellow, with irregular longitudinal grooves, spiny root remnants, and a protruding stem scar offset to one side. It is hard in texture; the cross-section is flat, white or yellowish-white, with scattered pale brown vascular bundle dots. It has a faint odor and a bitter, astringent taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
This product consists of thick, round or oval slices. The outer surface is yellowish-white or brownish-yellow, and spiny root remnants are sometimes visible. The cross-section is white or yellowish-white, with pale brown dot-like vascular bundles. It has a faint odor and a bitter, astringent taste.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A plant of the genus Dioscorea in the family Dioscoreaceae, specifically *Dioscorea chinensis*.
Morphological Characteristics
A perennial twining vine, growing up to 5 m in length. The rhizome is horizontal, cylindrical, woody, and highly branched, with a cork layer that peels off conspicuously. The stem is left-twining, cylindrical, and nearly glabrous. Leaves are simple and alternate; petioles are 10–20 cm long;leaf blades are palmate-cordate and highly variable; leaves at the base of the stem are 10–15 cm long and 9–13 cm wide, with margins unevenly and shallowly, moderately, or deeply triangularly lobed; terminal leaves are small and nearly entire; the leaf surface is yellowish-green, glossy, glabrous or sparsely covered with fine white soft hairs, which are denser along the veins. Flowers are unisexual; the plant is dioecious.Male inflorescences are axillary spikes; the base of the inflorescence often forms a small corymb of 2–4 flowers, while the apex typically bears a single flower; bracts are lanceolate, tapering to a point at the apex, and shorter than the perianth; the perianth is saucer-shaped, 6-lobed, with lobes having bluntly rounded tips; there are 6 stamens, attached to the center of the perianth lobes, with anthers turned inward.The female inflorescence is a solitary, spike-like panicle; the perianth is 6-lobed, with lanceolate lobes; the stigma is 3-lobed, with each lobe further divided into 2 lobes. Upon maturity, the capsule turns dry yellow, is trigonal in shape, with a concave apex and a nearly circular base; each ridge is wing-like and varies in size, generally about 2 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.Each locule contains two seeds, though sometimes only one develops; they are attached at the base of the central axis and surrounded by unequal, membranous wings. The seeds are rectangular in shape, with a length approximately twice their width. Flowering period: June–August. Fruiting period: August–October.
Distribution Area
It is distributed in North China, Northeast China, Northwest China (excluding Xinjiang), East China, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, and other regions.
Growth Habits
It has a wide temperature tolerance range, growing well between 8–35°C, though 15–25°C is optimal. It is drought-tolerant, and from the late seedling stage through to maturity, it requires sunlight. It is best cultivated in loose, fertile sandy loam. It can also be grown in loam and clay loam.
Propagation Methods
Propagated by seeds and rhizomes.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Seed propagation: Sow seeds in spring to raise seedlings, then transplant in the following spring with a row spacing of 45–60 cm and a plant spacing of 20–30 cm.
2. Rhizome propagation: Before bud break in spring, dig up the rhizomes, select the tender parts, and cut them into 3–5 cm segments. Dig furrows 10–15 cm deep with a row spacing of 45–60 cm. Plant the rhizome segments in the furrows at a spacing of 30 cm, then cover with soil and firm it down.