Dendrobium treats diseases of deficiency of yin and body fluid

What is dendrobium nobile(Shi Hu)?
Medicinally it mainly refers to the fresh or dried stem of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. This is a member in the family Orchidaceae. However, the name Shi Hu also means other dendrobium orchids varieties, including Dendrobium loddigesii Rolfe., Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook. var. oculatum Hook., Dendrobium chrysanthum Wall., and Dendrobium candidum Wall. ex Lindl. So other common names of this herb include Dendrobium Stem, Herba Dendrobii, Shi Hu Lan, dendrobium orchid, Jian Chai Shi Hu (literally "gold hairpin dendrobium"), and more. In China it is mainly produced in provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. It is harvested all the year round, in particular in autumn. Medicinally it is usually dried by the fire or in the sun, cut, and used raw. The fresh one can be planted in the sand to keep them handy.

Dendrobium nobile benefits
For thousands of years, people in south China will risk their lives to pick the "immortality herb" grown in the edge of cliffs for saving patients in critical condition. You might have guessed by now that the herb mentioned is called dendrobium. In the legends, the juice of it can resurrect the dead. Of course, this is just a legendary saying but can offer another perspective on reviews of its rarity and efficacy. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called as "gold in medicine". Besides, it is highly regarded as the No. 1 of the 9 "Chinese immortality herbs", which refers to Tie Pi Shi Hu (dendrobium candidum), Tian Shan Xue Lian (Saussurea involucrate from Tian Shan Mountain), San Liang Zhong Ren Shen (three liang of ginseng), one-hundred-and-twenty-year He Shou Wu, Fu Ling (Poria of a cycle of sixty years), Cong Rong (Cistanche), Shen Shan Ling Zhi (Ganoderma in remote mountains), Hai Di Zhen Zhu (seabed pearls), and Dong Chong Xia Cao (Cordyceps Sinensis). And its top 10 main health benefits are as follows:

1) Nourishing Yin and body fluid. The "China Pharmaceutical Dictionary" claims that it is specialized at nourishing qi and fluid in lung and stomach. Hence, it treats a variety of diseases caused by deficiency of yin and body fluid;

2) Enhancing physical fitness. Yao Xing Lun (A book on pharmacological nature of drugs) argues that it can tonify kidney essence, nourish the stomach Yin, and increase strength. And it is rich in polysaccharides that enhance immune function;

3) Replenishing spleen and stomach. It is a commonly used drug for stomachache and epigastric pain. And modern medical experiments confirmed that it has a better inhibition on the pathogen Helicobacter pylori that is frequently found in spleen and stomach diseases, such as Atrophic Gastritis, superficial gastritis, duodenal ulcer, and more;

4) Protecting liver and gallbladder. It has a good choleretic effect, which has been praised highly by many herbalists. As a result, it is often used as a major medicine for the treatment of hepatobiliary diseases, such as hepatitis, Cholecystitis, gallstones and others;

5) Strengthening tendons and lowering lipid. The secretion of Yin fluid and function of bone and muscle would begin to gradually decrease during the middle ages. Since it can nourish Yin fluid and lubricate joints, it helps to strengthen tendons and bones, relieve joint pain, and reduce rheumatism. And modern pharmacological research also showed that it can improve stress ability, prevent or stop fatigue, increase hypoxia tolerance, promote circulation, dilate blood vessels, and lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides;

6) Lowing blood sugar. It has long been used as the specific drug for diabetes since ancient times thanks to its ability of nourishing yin, clearing heat, and moistening dryness. Clinical studies have shown that it cannot only enhance activity of insulin, but also significantly reduce and change blood sugar levels back to normal;

7) Inhibiting tumor. It kills some certain cells of malignancies, such as lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and promyelocytic leukemia. Since it has strong anti-tumor activity, clinically it is often used as the adjuvant treatment of malignant tumors. In other words, it can improve symptoms of cancer patients, reduce side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, enhance immunity, improve quality of life, and prolong survival time;

8) Improving eyesight. It was also viewed as one of the best eye tonics in the eyes of ancient physicians because of its yin-nourishing and eyesight-improving properties. And modern pharmacological studies confirmed that it could make a difference on the prevention and treatment of senile cataract and children’s eyesight;