General

Scientific Names: Cuscuta chinensis Lam

Common Names: Tu Su Zi, Huang Si, Huang Teng Zi, Dou Ji Sheng, Jin Si Cao, Tu Xue Si.

BOTANICAL:

来 源： 为旋花科植物菟丝子Cuscuta chinessis Lam.的种子。

植物特征： 一年生寄生草本，全株无毛。茎细，缠绕，黄色，无叶。花簇生于叶腋，苞片及小苞片鳞片状；花萼杯状，5裂；花冠白色，钟形，长为花萼的2倍，和无端5裂，裂片向外反曲；雄蕊花丝扁短，基部生有鳞片，矩圆形，边缘流苏状；子房2室，花柱2。蒴果扁球形，被花冠全部包住，盖裂。种子2～4粒。花期7～9月，果期8～10月。

植物资源分布： 生于田边、荒地及灌丛中，常寄生于豆科等植物上。主产山东、河北、山西、陕西、江苏、黑龙江、吉林。

生药材鉴定： 菟丝子干燥种子呈扁球形或卵圆形，两侧常凹陷，长径约1.5毫米，短径约1毫米。种皮红棕色或棕黄色，微粗糙。在扩大镜下观察：表面有细密的深色小点，一端有淡色圆点，其中央有线形种脐。质坚硬，不易破碎。气无，味微若涩。以颗粒饱满、无尘土及杂质者佳。

Pharmacology

化学成分: 菟丝子含树脂甙、糖类。大菟丝子含糖甙，维生素A类物质，其含量按维生素A计算为0．0378%。大豆菟丝子含β-胡萝卜素（β-Carotene）、γ-胡萝卜素、5，6-环氧-α-胡萝卜素（α Carotene-5，6-epoxide）、蒲公英黄质（Taraxanthin）和叶黄素（Lutein）。菟丝子含胆固醇，菜油甾醇B-谷甾醇，豆甾醇B-香树精及三萜酸类物质，树脂甙、糖类，大菟丝子尚含糖甙，维生素A类物质。 ⑴南方菟丝子 果实含生物碱。 ⑵菟丝子 种子含树脂样的糖甙、糖及淀粉等。另预试尚含香豆素类、甾萜类成分，并分得黄酮化合物槲皮素、紫云英甙、金丝桃甙和槲皮素-3-O-β-半乳糖-7-O-葡萄糖甙。

Chemical constituents: biological alkaloids, anthraquinone, coumarin, flavones, glycoside sterols, terpene, tannic acid and others. Compounds that contain flavones include quercetin, astragalin, and hyperin, with the total flavone amount being approximately 3.0% in the raw herb. Compounds that include sterols include: cholesterol, campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol and beta-amyrin. The amino acid content is approximately 0.076%, and the total polysaccharide content is 8.5%-9.2% in the raw herb. Microelements identified so far in this herb are calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu).

Efficacy

IN VITRO:

1. Park WH, et al., A new matrix metalloproteinase-9 inhibitor 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid) from methanol extract of Euonymus alatus: isolation and structure determination. Toxicology. 2005 Feb 28; 207(3):383-90.
2. Seo UK, et al., Large-scale and effective screening of Korean medicinal plants for inhibitory activity on matrix metalloproteinase-9. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Feb 10; 97(1):101-6. Epub 2004 Dec 15.
3. Chung TW, et al., Novel and therapeutic effect of caffeic acid and caffeic acid phenyl ester on hepatocarcinoma cells: complete regression of hepatoma growth and metastasis by dual mechanism. FASEB J. 2004 Nov; 18(14):1670-81.
4. Ujita K, et al., Inhibitory effects of triptogelin A-1 on 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13- acetate-induced skin tumor promotion. Cancer Lett. 1993 Feb; 68(2-3):129-33.
5. Takaishi Y, et al., Inhibitory effects of dihydroagarofuran sesquiterpenes on Epstein-Barr virus activation. Cancer Lett. 1992 Jul 31; 65(1):19-26. Erratum in: Cancer Lett 1992 Dec 24; 67(2-3):215.
   
   
   

Safety

用药忌宜：《本草经疏》：“肾家乡火，强阳不痿者忌之，大便燥结者亦忌之。”《得配本草》：“孕妇、血崩、阳强、便结、肾脏有火、阴虚火动，六者禁用。”