Knowledge Base/Herbs/Lotus Seed
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收涩药 · Astringent

Lotus Seed lián zǐ · 莲子

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. (seed)

Nature and flavour. Sweet and astringent, neutral; Spleen, Kidney and Heart systems.

Classed as supplementing the Spleen and stopping diarrhoea, as securing the Kidney and holding essence, and as nourishing the Heart and calming the spirit. It is the astringent that is also an everyday food: the seed is eaten fresh, dried, and simmered in congee and sweet soups across Asia, and that is how most people meet it. Within the astringent group it is unusual in combining a supplementing action with the holding action — most astringents only hold. The green embryo inside the seed, 莲子心, is a separate material in the materia medica with a bitter and cold profile of its own, and the two are not used as substitutes for one another.

性味归经。甘、涩，平；归脾、肾、心经。

归类为补脾止泻、益肾涩精、养心安神。它是收涩药中同时又是日常食材的一味：莲子鲜食、干制，或入粥与甜汤，在亚洲各地普遍食用，多数人是这样认识它的。在收涩药中它特别之处在于「补」与「涩」兼具 —— 多数收涩药只有涩的一面。莲子中间的青绿色胚（莲子心）在本草中是另一味药材，性苦寒，二者不作互用。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.
Safety. Astringent by nature, so the tradition cautions against it where there is constipation or where the digestion is already bound up. It is a food in ordinary amounts, and the safety questions concern the medicinal rather than the culinary use. Human safety data in pregnancy are insufficient beyond ordinary food amounts.

性涩，传统指出便秘、中满气滞者不宜。日常食用量下它属于食物，安全性问题针对的是药用而非食用。妊娠期超出日常食用量以外的人体安全性数据不足。

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