Longstamen Onion Bulb is the underground bulb of the Allium macrostemon and Allium chinense, belonging to the Lily family. It is produced throughout China, mainly in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other regions. The original plant grows on hillsides or grasslands. It prefers a warm and humid climate and thrives best in loose, fertile, humus-rich, well-drained loam or sandy loam. It has a pungent and bitter taste, warm in nature, and acts on the lung, stomach, and large intestine meridians. Its effects include unblocking yang, dispersing stagnation, moving qi, and relieving food stagnation. The clinical name is Longstamen Onion Bulb.
bubble_chart Compendium of Materia Medica
Shennong Bencao Jing: It has a pungent and bitter taste, warm and smooth, non-toxic, and is used to treat incised wounds and ulcers.
Mingyi Bielu: It has a bitter taste and is non-toxic. It eliminates cold and heat, removes dampness, warms the middle, disperses stagnation, and benefits patients. It is applied topically for various sores, apoplexy, cold, and edema.
Bencao Shiyi: It regulates the middle, treats persistent dysentery, and alleviates abdominal discomfort. It is often boiled and consumed. For red dysentery, boil it with Phellodendron bark for relief.
Rihuazi Bencao: It lightens the body, withstands cold, regulates the middle, and replenishes deficiencies. Consuming it can stop chronic dysentery, cold diarrhea, and strengthen the body.
Kaibao Bencao: It has a pungent and bitter taste, warm in nature, and is non-toxic. It eliminates cold and heat, removes dampness, warms the middle, disperses stagnation, and benefits patients. It is applied topically for various sores, apoplexy, cold, and edema.
Bencao Tujing: It tonifies deficiencies and resolves stagnation.Bencao Yanyi: "Qianjin" uses Longstamen Onion Bulb to treat lung qi asthma and rapid breathing, as it promotes efflux diarrhea. When mashed with honey, it quickly heals burns and scalds.
Tangye Bencao: It has a warm nature, bitter and pungent taste, and is non-toxic.
It enters the hand Yangming meridian.
"Materia Medica" states: It treats incised wounds and ulcers, lightens the body, prevents hunger, and resists aging. It eliminates cold and heat, removes dampness, warms the middle, disperses stagnation, and benefits patients. It is applied topically for various sores, apoplexy, cold, and edema. For heavy lower body conditions, it is added to Cold-Limbs Powder to relieve qi stagnation.
"Heart" states: It treats diarrhea with heavy lower body, lower energizer qi stagnation, and relieves stagnant qi.
Bencao Gangmu: It warms and tonifies, aids yang.
Allium chinense disperses stagnation, while garlic resolves masses.
It treats Shaoyin disease with cold extremities, diarrhea, chest impediment pain, lowers qi, disperses blood, and calms the fetus.
Bencao Mengquan: It has a pungent and bitter taste, warm in nature, and is non-toxic. "Qianjin" uses it to treat lung asthma, as it promotes efflux diarrhea. It is beneficial for patients but should be consumed in moderation. It eliminates cold and heat, regulates the middle, removes dampness, and disperses stagnation. It withstands cold, stops diarrhea, and strengthens the body. It treats chronic leukorrhea in women and heavy diarrhea in the elderly and children. For various sores, apoplexy, cold, and edema, mash it fresh and apply it hot for immediate relief. It also treats burns and incised wounds when mashed with honey. It is suitable for consumption during the New Year, as it dispels pestilent qi and drives out evil. When eaten with beef, it may cause masses. Eating it raw induces saliva, and excessive consumption may lead to heat invasion. For bones stuck in the throat, boiling and consuming it will help.
Bencao Beiyao: Also known as Jiaozi, it is smooth, opens orifices, and aids yang.It has a pungent, bitter, warm, and smooth nature. It regulates the middle, aids yang, disperses blood, generates flesh, and relieves lower energizer and large intestine qi stagnation. It treats diarrhea with heavy lower body. Wang Hao-gu said: For heavy lower body conditions, it is added to Cold-Limbs Powder to relieve stagnation. Note: Heavy lower body conditions can also be due to qi deficiency, blood deficiency, fire heat, or wind-dryness. For chest impediment pain, Zhang Zhongjing used Trichosanthes fruit, Longstamen Onion Bulb, and white wine decoction. It treats lung qi asthma and rapid breathing, calms the fetus, and aids childbirth. It is mashed with honey for burns. Zhouhou Fang: For sudden death due to noxious factors, use Allium chinense juice to irrigate the nose; leek juice can also be used. Its leaves resemble leeks but are hollow, and its roots resemble garlic; the white part is used. Avoid beef.
Benjing Fengyuan: It has a pungent taste and warm nature, enters the hand Yangming meridian, eliminates cold and heat, warms the middle, removes dampness, and specifically relieves qi stagnation. Therefore, it is added to Cold-Limbs Powder to treat diarrhea with heavy lower body. The chest impediment Longstamen Onion Bulb white wine decoction is specifically used to relieve chest impediment qi. Benjing: It treats incised wounds and ulcers, as its pungency relieves qi and warmth promotes flesh growth. For various sores, apoplexy, cold, and edema, mash it fresh and apply it. Drinking the fresh juice can induce vomiting of stomach phlegm, food stagnation, and parasites, which has been repeatedly verified. "Jinkui" uses it to save sudden death by irrigating the nose with its juice. Allium chinense leaves treat lung qi asthma and rapid breathing, Qianjin Fang: It is used because Allium chinense disperses stagnation well, while garlic resolves masses, each serving its purpose.
Bencao Chongyuan: The use of Allium Macrostemon in purgation roots, its flavor is pungent and warm, its nature ascends from below, primarily aiding the rising of yang qi. In the "Golden Chamber," the chest impediment syndrome includes the Trichosanthis Fruit Longstamen Onion Bulb White Wine Decoction, Trichosanthis Fruit Longstamen Onion Bulb Pinellia Decoction, and Immature Orange Fruit, Longstamen Onion Bulb, and Cinnamon Twig Decoction, all of which embody the principle of ascending from below and emerging from yin to yang. In cases of incised wounds and ulceration, the skin and muscles Jingmai become deficient and cold.Bencao Qiuzhen: [Comment] Clears lung qi, benefits the intestines and stomach.
Allium chinense specifically enters the lungs and large intestine, also known as Jiaozi. It is also a moving and lubricating herb. Therefore, ancient texts all record its ability to regulate the middle, assist yang, disperse blood, relieve stagnation, calm asthma, stabilize the fetus, facilitate childbirth, and treat burns and scalds. Because Allium chinense has a pungent taste that disperses, it can immediately dissipate cold stagnation in the upper body; its bitter taste causes descending, which can immediately expel cold stagnation in the lower body; its warm nature disperses, which can immediately remove cold stagnation in the middle; its slippery nature unblocks, which can immediately resolve long-standing cold stagnation. Therefore, it can eliminate dysentery, as Wang Haogu said: "Heaviness below is due to qi stagnation." Cold-Limbs Powder is enhanced by this to relieve stagnation. It can disperse static blood, Benjing treats incised wounds and ulcers, using its pungent nature to vent qi and its warm nature to promote flesh growth. It can stop wheezing, especially wind-cold induced wheezing, Qianjin Fang uses it. It can be applied to edema, especially wind-cold induced edema, by mashing it fresh for application or drinking the fresh juice. It can relieve chest impediment and stabbing pain, as Zhang Zhongjing used Trichosanthes, Chinese Chive and White Liquor Decoction. It can treat fetal and childbirth issues, all referring to cold conditions. It can rescue from burns and scalds and sudden death from noxious factors, by mixing the mashed herb with honey for burns, Zhouhou Fang treats sudden death from noxious factors by pouring Allium chinense juice into the nose, leek juice can also be used. It is truly a superior product for unblocking qi, lubricating orifices, and assisting yang. Its functions are similar to leeks, but leeks only enter the blood to move qi and supplement kidney yang, whereas this specifically unblocks cold stagnation and lubricates orifices, which is the difference.
Depei Bencao: Pungent, bitter, warm, slippery. Enters the Hand Yangming Meridian. Regulates the middle, assists yang, disperses blood, and promotes muscle growth. Relieves large intestine qi stagnation, dissipates wind-cold edema.
Paired with Trichosanthis Fruit, it treats chest impediment and pain; adding white wine is better. Paired with Chinese Angelica, it treats fetal movement and cold pain. Combined with Sichuan Corktree Bark, it treats persistent red dysentery; stir-fried with lamb kidney, it treats postpartum dysentery.
Eating with beef can cause abdominal masses.
Bencao Jing Jie: Longstamen Onion Bulb is warm in nature, embodying the harmonious wood qi of spring, entering the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian; its taste is pungent, bitter, and slippery, non-toxic, acquiring the flavors of the southwest's metal and fire, with a moistening nature, entering the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian. Its qi and taste are more ascending than descending, yang in nature.
Incised wounds with qi deficiency result in non-healing wounds, its warm nature can tonify qi, hence it is indicated for ulcerated wounds.
Benjing Shuzheng: Allium chinense has a pungent taste and warm nature, with a slippery body and fragrant qi. Generally, pungent and warm substances are irritating and cannot lubricate, but this is extremely slippery and difficult to retain, hence its pungent and warm nature is used to open, and its slippery nature to move, warming the middle and dispersing stagnation are the key uses of Allium chinense. Applying this principle to incised wounds and ulcers, it is clear that if the wound is not ulcerated, it is not indicated for Allium chinense, and the reason for ulceration is due to wind-cold. Bielu further expands its indications, meaning that other ulcers caused by wind-cold can also be treated with this substance, utilizing its warming the middle and moving properties. Because blood stasis and qi stagnation are common in both incised wounds and other ulcers. However, in other ulcers, blood stasis is due to obstruction, while in incised wounds, blood is suddenly stopped after flowing out. Blood stasis and qi stagnation inevitably generate stagnant heat, and wind-cold entering exacerbates the condition, leading to ulceration. Considering the state of blood and qi stasis and intense stagnant heat, how can a pungent and warm substance be used? Therefore, Bielu reiterates: "Mash and apply externally," indicating it can be applied but not taken internally, still wary that its pungent and warm nature may exacerbate fire, as wind-cold is external and stagnant fire is internal. Cold and heat are the struggle of yin and yang, edema is the struggle of water and fire, Yin-Yang Water and fire struggling to form cold-heat edema is common. What should be the criterion for using Allium chinense? It should be based on Jingui Yaolue's Trichosanthes, Chinese Chive and White Liquor Decoction, and the Cold-Limbs Powder in the Cold Damage Treatise, to understand its application. Chest impediment, wheezing, coughing with chest and back pain, shortness of breath, deep and slow pulse at the cunkou, and small, tight, and rapid pulse at the guan indicate cold above and heat in the middle, unable to interact; Shaoyin disease, four counterflow colds, diarrhea with heaviness below indicate cold in the middle and heat below, unable to interact, the pungent and warm nature disperses cold, and its slippery nature allows the two to interact and merge, can't this help understand the purpose of eliminating cold-heat and removing water qi? Then, what does it mean to return to the bones? Bones rely on the slippery and moistening nature of fluids to facilitate bending and stretching, Allium chinense is extremely slippery and moistening. It also has a pungent and warm nature that can expel internally lodged wind-cold, hence its ability to return to the bones, is this not meaningful?
The Allium plant, rooted in metal, grows through wood, and matures in fire. Therefore, its function is to disperse the qi of wood and fire within metal. Metal corresponds to the lungs and the large intestine. Symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, spitting, pain in the chest and back, and shortness of breath are undoubtedly lung-related; diarrhea and tenesmus are undoubtedly large intestine-related. As Xu Zhong-ke aptly said, the human chest is like the heavens, where yang qi governs, ensuring clear and orderly seasonal changes, smooth respiration, and the proper circulation of body fluids, nourishing without obstruction. When there is blockage, it becomes deficient and insufficient, leading to irregular breathing, and thus coughing and spitting arise. The chest is in front, the back is behind; when middle qi is imbalanced, both front and back experience pain. If emetic therapy cannot consistently bring qi downward, then purgative therapy cannot bring qi upward, resulting in shortness of breath. Further confirmed by a deep and slow pulse at the cun position and a tight and rapid pulse at the guan position, it is clear that yang is obstructed in the spleen and not distributed, while yin congeals in the lungs and is not dispersed. Using Trichosanthis Fruit to anchor the spleen and mobilize the congealed yin, and using Longstamen Onion Bulb to anchor the lungs and attract the obstructed yang, is particularly effective. The addition of white liquor, a clear liquid extracted from grains with a sweet and pungent taste and white color, acts as a dynamic and unrestrained agent that moves between the spleen and lungs, dredging and harmonizing, allowing yin and yang to interact smoothly. This is because the lungs are delicate organs, preferring gentleness over harshness. Diarrhea should not cause tenesmus; if diarrhea persists without tenesmus, it means what needs to leave is leaving, and what needs to stay is staying, so the issue cannot be solely attributed to what is leaving. Moreover, the Four Counterflows syndrome is fundamentally due to the congealing of pudendal coldness in the spleen and stomach, preventing the distribution of yang qi to the extremities. Therefore, Four Counterflows with diarrhea is a shaoyin disease, and tenesmus indicates heat in the lower energizer. The heat in the lower energizer, due to diarrhea, cannot harmonize with the cold in the middle energizer, and the cold in the middle energizer, merely expelled through diarrhea, cannot alleviate the heat in the lower energizer. This suggests that there must be stagnation in the intestines and stomach, blocking the interaction of yin and yang. Although in Cold-Limbs Powder, Bupleurum disperses stagnation in the intestines and stomach, Peony Root opens yin constipation and distributes yang qi, and with the harmonizing effect of Liquorice Root and the breaking effect of Immature Orange Fruit, there is no worry that the stagnation will not be cleared, and the middle and lower energizers will not communicate. Why must Longstamen Onion Bulb be used in large quantities? Because when two forces oppose each other, they may not immediately reconcile. By following the nature of efflux diarrhea and incorporating pungent warmth to open and resolve, yang can then accommodate yin. Once yin enters yang, and the wind-cold that exacerbates the condition is removed, yang will also extend and harmonize with yin. The common understanding of using Longstamen Onion Bulb for chest impediment is to smooth and unblock yang, and for diarrhea with tenesmus, to remove obstructions with its slippery nature. However, the intricate and meticulous reasoning behind this is often overlooked.
Bencao Fenjing: Pungent, bitter, warm, slippery. It relieves qi stagnation in the lower energizer and large intestine, disperses blood and promotes tissue regeneration, regulates the middle and lowers qi.
Bencao Sibianlu: Among the medicines that are pungent, warm, and slippery, only Longstamen Onion Bulb is like this. It is most effective in unblocking the yang in the chest and dispersing the knots in the large intestine. Therefore, Zhong Sheng used Longstamen Onion Bulb to treat chest impediment and also used it to treat diarrhea with heavy lower abdomen. However, chest impediment is due to yang deficiency, while dysentery can be either cold or hot, so it is only used to relieve stagnation. Hence, the "Waitai" records the use of Longstamen Onion Bulb for both cold and hot dysentery.
bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology
- Longstamen Onion Bulb has anti-atherosclerotic effects in animal experiments.
- Longstamen Onion Bulb has anti-platelet aggregation effects.
- In vitro experiments have shown that Longstamen Onion Bulb decocted with water has inhibitory effects on dysentery bacillus and Staphylococcus aureus.