Constipation, gonorrhoea treated with TCM Malva verticillata

What is Malva verticillata(Dong Kui Zi)? Also known as Malva verticellata, Chinese mallow, Cluster Malva, mallow, Malva, chingma abutilon, musk mallow, and Mauve Chinoise, TCM wise it means Malva verticillata L.[M.pulchella Bernh.] or Melva crispa L., whose seeds are its main medicinal part.

This mallow plant is an annual herb, 30 to 90cm high. Stems are erect, and sparsely hairy or almost glabrous. Leaf is alternate, round, 5 to 8cm in diameter, and with 5-7 lobes, cordate base, serrulate margin, and many wrinkles. Malva flower is white. Fruit is oblate, meshy, about 8mm in diameter, and with 11 mericarps and pubescence. Seed is about 1mm in diameter and dark black. It usually blooms from June to September. Main habitats include plains, mountains, etc. In China, it is distributed all over the country. As for cultivation, main origins are southwest China, Hebei, Gansu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and other places.

Main chemical constituents in seeds are neutral polysaccharide (MVS-Ⅰ, MVS-Ⅱ A, and MVS-Ⅱ G), acidic polysaccharides (MVS-Ⅲ A, MVS-Ⅳ A, and MVS-Ⅳ), and peptidoglycan (MVS-V).

Malva verticillata benefits
The health benefits of this amazing herb are so abound that this herb is widely used for a number of ailments, in particular in weight loss. As you know, one of the best examples of malva plant is its malva verticillata tea bags, which is a very popular slim tea for diet purpose. However, in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practice, its seeds instead of leaves are the main medicinal part. So, does malva verticillata work? Facts speak for themselves as follows.

Modern pharmacological actions
Currently there is little experiment was done on this herb. As a result, little information is available accordingly. But conventionally people believe that its seed is good at promoting diuresis, increasing milk production, and stopping bleeding.