Balloon flower root used to relieve phlegm and cough

What is balloon flower root(Jie Geng)?
Medicinally it means the roots of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A. DC., which is a plant in the family Campanulaceae. So it is also commonly known as Radix Platycodi, Platycodon, Radix Platycodi Grandifolii, Platycodon grandiflorus, Platycodon Root, Chinese Bellflower, and so on. In China it is mainly cultivated in Northeast and North China and the one from Northeast is generally acknowledged as better in quality. Usually it is harvested in autumn. For better medicinal properties, the following process is to get rid of fibrous roots, scrap off the outer skin, soak in water for 2 to 3 hours, slice, dry in the sun, and used raw or fried.

Balloon flower plant is a perennial herb, 30 to 90 cm in height. The whole plant is glabrous. Roots are fleshy, cylindrical, and branched sometimes. Erect stems are single or branched. Leaves are nearly sessile. Leaves on the middle or the lower stems are opposite or in whorls of 3 to 4. Leaves on upper part of stem are sometimes alternate. Leaf blade is ovate-lanceolate, 3 to 6cm long, 1 to 2.5cm wide, and with acute apex, cuneate or rounded base, and serrate margin. Flower solitarily grows on the top the stem, or a few of them form sparsely racemes. Blue-purple calyx is campanulate. Capsule is obovate, with 5 valvular dehiscences on top when ripe. Seeds are ovoid and with 3 edges. Flower season is from July to September and fruiting phase is from August to October. Habitat in the wild is the hillside grass.

Main chemical constituents are a variety of saponins, including 18 kinds of triterpenoid saponins like platycodin, deapioplatycodin, 2-O-acetylplatycodin, 3-O-acetylplatycodin, and so on. A variety of mixed saponins could be fully hydrolyzed into sapogenins, such as platycodigenin, polygalacic acid, and a small amount of platycogenic acid. And mixed saponins could be also partly hydrolyzed into 8 kinds of pros-aponins, like methyl 3-O-β-D-glucpyranosyl polygalacate, methyl 3-O-β-laminaribiosyl polygalacate, and more.

Balloon flower root benefits
Balloon flowers are a popular ingredient in a few famous South Korean dishes, especially the seasoned and bibimbap salads. And medicinally it is a common Chinese herbal medicine, which is mainly used to eliminate phlegm, relieve cough, reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and blood sugar, lose weight, fight tumor, improve human immunity, etc. Traditionally it has been widely used in various herbal prescriptions, Chinese patent medicine and cosmetics. Today balloon flower root tea and extract are much more popular because of their convenience.