Back pain treated with TCM Erythrina variegata bark

What is Erythrina variegata bark(Hai Tong Pi)? Apparently Erythrina isn’t the equivalent of its Chinese counterpart medicinally, which mainly refers to the dry bark or root bark of Erythrina variegata (syn. E. indica Lam., E. variegata var. orientalis (L.) Merr.) and Erythrina arborescens Roxb., plants in the family legume. Others also include Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz. or K. septemlobus var. margnificus (Zabel) Hand-Mazz. in the family Araliaceae, Gossampinus malabarica (DC) Merr. in the family bombacaceae, and Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb. et Zucc. ot Z. molle Rehb. in the family rutaceae. And Erythrina variegata is also known as Indian Coral Tree, Sunshine Tree, and Tiger’s Claw. And medicinally it has a few different common names, including coral bean bark, Erythrina bark, cortex Erythrinae, bark of oriental variegated coralbean or Himalayan Coralbean, and so on. In China, it is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Fujian, Taiwan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places. It is usually peeled during summer and autumn for better medicinal quality. And then dry in the sun, cut into shreds, and use raw.

Erythrina variegata is one of subtropical and tropical trees with red flowers. It can grow up to 20 meters. Barks are gray-brown and branches are from pale yellow to yellowish brown, and densely covered with gray tomentum and black cone-shaped spines, which will shed two or three years later. Leaves are alternate or clustered on the top of branches. Racemes are tomentose and about 15cm long; peduncle is 7 to 10cm in length; corollas is similar to dish, bright red, and with 5-6cm pedals. Pods look like string beads and slightly bent. Seeds are 1 to 8 pieces, spherical, and dark red in color. And it flowers in March.

Health benefits of Erythrina variegata bark
Main chemical constituents are alkaloids, including erysovine, stachydrine, erysotrine, erysodine, erythraline, erysopine, erysopitine, erysodienone, erysonine, hypophorine, hypaporine methyl ester, N, N-dimethyltryptophan methyl ester, erysotine, erythratidine, epierythratidine, and 11-hydroxy epierythratidine. And it also contains warangalone scandenone, 5, 7, 4′-trihy-droxy-6, 8-diprenyliso flavone, erycrisfagallin, erythrabyssin-Ⅱ, phaseollin, phaseollidine, isobavachin, eryvariestyrene, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, campesterol, amino acid, and organic acids. And next let’s see what exactly it can do to our health.

Modern pharmacological actions of Erythrina bark
1. It has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and sedative effects; 2. It can enhance myocardial contractility;
3. It has antihypertensive effect;
4. It has inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus and different degrees of inhibition on Trichophyton violaceum and other skin fungus.