Fructus Viticis (Manjingzi)

Name
Man Jing Zi (Fructus Viticis)-Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong’s Herbal)

Origin
Mature fruit of shrubby plant Vitex trifolia L. var. simplicifolia Cham. or V. trifolia L. of family Verbenaceae.

Location
Vitex trifolia L. var. simplicifolia Cham. mainly grows in Shandong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces while V. trifolia L. mainly grows in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces of China.

Harvest
Collected in autumn after fruits mature.

The real smell and taste
Special and fragrant smell, bland taste, slightly pungent.

Best quality
Big grain and full fruit with grayish white frost and fragrant smell.

Processing
Unprocessed or stir-baked.

Property
Pungent, bitter, slightly cold; bladder, liver and stomach meridians entered.

Actions
Disperse wind-heat, relieve pain.

Indications
A. Wind-heat exterior syndrome
Being able to disperse wind-heat, but not good at releasing exterior, and good at dispelling wind to relieve pain, clearing the head, it is often decocted for wind-heat exterior syndrome with dizziness, headache and blood-shot eyes with lacrimation. It is usually used in conjunction with Bo He and Ju Hua to strengthen the effect of dispelling wind-heat. It can be used with wind-cold dispersing herbs such as Fructus Perillae (Zisuzi), Radix Saposhnikoviae (Fangfeng), to treat the common cold due to wind-cold, with painful sensation in the head and body.

B. Pain syndrome
Being able to relieve pain, it is indicated for recurrent headache, anthralgia, toothache and epigastric pain. And it is often used with wind-dispelling and pain-relieving herbs for a strengthened action of eliminating pain. Just as Qiang Huo Sheng Shi Tang in which Rhizoma et Radix Notopterygii (Qianghuo), Duhuo (Radix Angelicae Pubescentis), Chuanxiong (Rhizoma Chuanxiong), and Fang Feng are used together to treat wind-damp arthralgia.

Dosage and Administrations
Decoct 6~12 g.