Huyi Ginger

Huyi Ginger

　　Local Specialty of Huyi: Huyi Ginger

　　Morphological Characteristics:

　　A perennial herbaceous plant with a persistent rootstock. The rhizome is fleshy, thick, flat, and has a fragrant and spicy aroma. The leaves are arranged in columns, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 15–30 cm long, about 2 cm wide, tapering to a point at the tip and gradually narrowing at the base, smooth and hairless, with sheaths that clasp the stem; the leaves are sessile. The flower stalk is upright, covered with imbricate, loosely spaced scales; the spike-like inflorescence is oval to elliptical, approximately 5 cm long and about 2.5 cm wide; the bracts are oval and light green; the flowers are densely arranged, slender and about 2.5 cm long, with sharply pointed tips; the calyx is short and tubular; the corolla is three-lobed, with lanceolate yellow lobes, a shorter lip that is oblong-obovate, pale purple with yellowish-white spots, and small lateral lobes on both lower sides; there is one prominent stamen, the ovary is inferior; the style is thread-like, pale purple, and the stigma is radiate. The capsule is elongated-oval, swelling to about 2.5 cm. Flowering period is from June to August.

　　Medicinal Properties:

　　Ginger has a pungent taste and warm nature. It is especially good at dispelling wind-cold, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, as well as warming the middle, stopping vomiting, and detoxifying. Clinically, it is often used to treat symptoms such as external wind-cold invasion and stomach cold with vomiting. It has been referred to by predecessors as the “sacred medicine for vomiting.” The ginger-fried method utilizes these properties of ginger, using ginger juice as an auxiliary material to process herbs, thereby enhancing their effects in resolving phlegm, relieving cough, calming wheezing and vomiting, while reducing their toxicity and side effects. For example, raw Zhuru (bamboo shavings) is better at clearing heat and resolving phlegm, but ginger-frying enhances its effect in calming wheezing and vomiting; Houpo (magnolia bark) has a pungent taste that can irritate the throat, but ginger-frying eliminates this throat-irritating side effect and enhances its function of soothing the middle and harmonizing the stomach; Huanglian (coptis root) becomes less excessively bitter and cold after ginger-frying, and is especially effective in treating stomach heat-induced vomiting.

　　Although dried ginger comes from the same plant as fresh ginger, its properties differ due to differences in freshness and dryness. Dried ginger is hot in nature, with a stronger pungent property, and is particularly good at warming the middle and restoring yang, as well as warming the lungs and resolving fluid retention. It is commonly used clinically to treat conditions such as middle-jiao deficiency-cold, yang collapse with impending collapse, and cold fluid invading the lungs causing wheezing and coughing. Therefore, the properties of ginger juice made from dried ginger are not the same as those made from fresh ginger. For example, using dried ginger juice to process herbs will inevitably affect the processing outcome, fail to achieve the intended purpose of processing, and will not enhance the efficacy of herbs that calm wheezing and vomiting.

　　According to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, ginger is a yang-invigorating substance. Since ancient times, TCM has had the saying, “A man cannot go a hundred days without ginger.” The Song Dynasty poet Su Shi recorded in his “Dongpo’s Miscellaneous Notes” that an 80-year-old monk at Hangzhou’s Qiantang Jingci Temple had a face like that of a child, and “claimed that he had been taking ginger for 40 years, which is why he remains youthful.” Legend says that the White Snake Spirit stole the immortal grass to save Xu Xian—the immortal grass was actually ginger sprouts. Ginger also has an alternative name, “Reviving Grass,” and ginger soup is also called “Reviving Soup.”

　　Efficacy:

　　For symptoms such as external wind-cold, nasal congestion, clear runny nose, headache and fever, or feeling cold after being caught in the rain, and stomachache—use 25 grams of finely chopped fresh ginger with brown sugar, steeped in boiling water for consumption.

　　For chronic gastritis, frequent stomach pain, nausea and vomiting—use 15 grams of fresh ginger and 15 grams of tangerine peel, decocted in water, taken three times a day.

　　For elderly people with chronic cough, no fever, and white phlegm—crush fresh ginger to extract the juice, take half a spoon of ginger juice mixed with one spoon of brown sugar, once in the morning and once in the evening.

　　For wind-cold bone diseases, joint pain, and a cold sensation in the affected area—chop equal parts of fresh ginger and green onion, stir-fry until hot, wrap in cloth, and apply to the affected area.

　　Nutritional Analysis:

　　Ginger also has detoxifying and antibacterial effects. In daily life, when we eat foods such as century eggs or fish and shellfish, we usually add some ginger powder or ginger juice. During normal metabolic physiological functions, the human body produces a harmful substance called oxygen free radicals, which can promote cancer and aging.

　　The gingerol in ginger, once inside the body, can produce an antioxidant enzyme that is highly effective against oxygen free radicals—much stronger than vitamin E. Therefore, eating ginger can combat aging, and regular consumption by the elderly can help remove “age spots.”

　　Extracts of ginger can stimulate the gastric mucosa, causing reflexive excitation of the vasomotor center and sympathetic nerves, promoting blood circulation, invigorating gastric function, and achieving effects such as strengthening the stomach, relieving pain, inducing perspiration, and reducing fever. The volatile oils in ginger can enhance gastric juice secretion and intestinal wall peristalsis, thus aiding digestion; the mixture of zingiberene and zingerone isolated from ginger has a significant antiemetic effect.

　　Ginger extract has a significant inhibitory effect on skin fungi and is effective in killing vaginal trichomonads, making it useful in treating various abscesses and sores. Ginger also inhibits cancer cell activity and reduces the toxic effects of cancer.