This product is the seed of the annual twining herbaceous vine Jack Bean (Canavalia gladiata (Jacq.) DC) of the legume family. It is mainly produced in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan. When the seeds mature in autumn, the fruits are harvested, dried, and the seeds are extracted, or the seeds are extracted first and then dried for medicinal use.

Jack Bean was first recorded in Jiuhuang Bencao. The Tang Dynasty's "Xiyang Zazu, Volume 19" states: "Sword Bean, ... shaped like a person holding a sword, growing diagonally," hence the name.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet, warm. Bencao Gangmu ‧Volume 24: "sweet, neutral, nontoxic." Bencao Congxin: "sweet, warm." Act on stomach and kidney meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Warming the middle and lowering qi, tonifying the kidneys and qi, strengthening the spleen and harmonizing the middle, dissipating cold to stop vomiting, calming panting, descending qi and relieving hiccups.

bubble_chart Indications

Deficiency-cold hiccup and vomiting. This product has the effects of warming the middle and harmonizing the stomach, descending qi and relieving hiccup. It is used to treat deficiency-cold hiccup, vomiting, and other symptoms, often in combination with medicinals Clove, Persimmon Calyx, etc. It can also warm the kidney and assist yang, treating kidney-deficiency lumbago, but its strength is weak, and it is mostly used in compound formulas.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Diannan Bencao: "Strengthens the spleen."
2. 《Compendium of Materia Medica‧Volume 24‧Jack Bean》: "Warms the middle and lowers qi, benefits the intestines and stomach, stops hiccups, nourishes the kidneys and replenishes vitality."
3. 《Chinese Medicinals Handbook》: "Tonifies the kidneys, disperses cold, lowers qi, benefits the intestines and stomach, stops vomiting. Treats kidney qi deficiency, gastrointestinal discomfort, retching, vomiting, and diarrhea."
4. Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica: "Treats chest stuffiness and fullness as well as abdominal pain, addresses kidney qi not returning to its origin and dysentery."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

10-15 grams. Decocted with water for oral administration, or charred with properties retained and ground into powder.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Sichuan Chinese Materia Medica: "Those with excessive stomach heat should use with caution."

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

Per 100 grams, it contains 28.7 grams of protein, 37.2 grams of starch, 7.5 grams of soluble sugar, 1.36 grams of lipids, 6.1 grams of fiber, and 1.9 grams of ash. Additionally, it contains substances such as Jack Bean amino acid, Jack Bean tetramine, γ-guanidinoxypropylamine, aminopropyl Jack Bean tetramine, aminobutyl Jack Bean tetramine, Jack Bean gibberellin, and Jack Bean hemagglutinin.

1. The components contained in Jack Bean help maintain normal metabolic functions in the human body, promote the activity of various enzymes, thereby enhancing immune response and improving disease resistance.
2. Jack Bean gibberellin and Jack Bean hemagglutinin can stimulate lymphocytes to transform into lymphoblasts, exhibiting anti-tumor effects.
3. Hemagglutinin is more toxic to cells altered by viruses or chemical carcinogens than to normal cells, and it can also restore some tumor cells to the growth state of normal cells.