Bronchial spasm treated with TCM herb aristolochia

What is aristolochia(Ma Dou Ling)?
Medicinally it mainly refers to the dried fruits of Aristolochia contorta Bge. or Aristolochia debilis Sieb. et Zucc., which is a plant in the family Aristolochiaceae. So, other names of it include Birthwort Fruit, Fructus Aristolochiae, Aristolochia fruit, Dutchmanspipe Fruit, and so on. The former is mainly produced in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Hebei and other places and the latter is mainly produced in Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang and other provinces. It is usually harvested in autumn when the fruits turn from green to yellow. And then it is dried in the sun and used raw, fried, or processed with honey.

Aristolochia debilis is a perennial twining plant. Alternate leaves has thin and 1 to 1.5cm petiole; blade is triangular oblong-ovate, 3 to 8cm long, 1.8 to 4.5cm wide, attenuate above the middle, and with obtuse or emarginate apex, heart-shape base, and round-ear sides. Large flowers is solitary in leaf axils and with slender and 1 to 1.5cm pedicels; dark purple perianth is from 3 to 5cm; stamens 6; ovary is inferior. Capsule is nearly round or oblong, 4 to 5cm long, and 3 to 4cm in diameter. Flowering time is from July to August and fruit season is in September. Main habitat is slopes of the jungle.

Aristolochia health benefits
Aristolochia fruit is traditionally used for the treatment of cough, bronchial spasm, excessive phlegm, High Blood Pressure, etc. It is a well-known herb that helps lower blood pressure mildly and steadily. Based on clinical studies, it has better efficacy for the stage 1 and 2 high blood pressure. 37 cases of hypertension patients ever took 15 grams of aristolochia daily in the form of decoction. 15 to 25 days later, diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased in 10 cases, slightly decreased in 9 cases, and remained in 16 cases. The average lowered blood pressure was 28/13 mm Hg. Some patients’ blood pressure went up at one point but returned to normal in the short term. The longest observation had lasted for 278 days and no rising blood pressure was found. In addition, it helped improve most of the symptoms, among which headache and dizziness were the most obvious ones. Main side effects included poor appetite and weakness, which however didn’t affect the treatment.