Hemoptysis, hemorrhage treated with TCM Dryopteris

What is Dryopteris or wood fern(Guan Zhong)? When it comes to its Chinese name of Guan Zhong, it refers to more than 30 species of plant in 6 families, according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Dictionary. As a result, it can be very confusing sometimes. But clinically it mainly means the rhizomes with petioles of the perennial herbs of Cyrtomium frtunei J. Sm. and Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai in the family Dryopteridaceae, or Osmunda japonica Thunb. in the family Osmundaceae. And other similar herbs include Lunathyrium acrostichoides (Sw.) Ching, Brainia insigns (Hook.) J. Smith, Cyathea spinulosa Wall., Blechnum orientale Linn., Matteuccia struthiopteris (L.) Todaro, Woodwardia japonica (L.f.) Sm., and more.

Common name of this herb also include Dryopteris Root, Rhizoma Dryopteris, Dryopteris crassirhizoma rhizome, Cyrtomium Rhizome, male fern, buckler fern, and more. Medicinally Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai is the most common one and primarily produced in the mountainous area of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces. It is regularly harvested in winter. And then wash clean, remove petioles and fibrous roots, dry in the sun, slice, and use raw or carbonized by stir-frying.

Dryopteris is a perennial herb, up to 1 meter in height. Rhizome is thick. Rhizome and petioles are densely covered with brown large oval-lanceolate scales. Leaves are clustered, bipinnatiparted, and with 10 to 25cm petiole and 20 to 30 pairs of accessory pinna. Sori grow in the pinna that is above the middle parts. Indusia are round, kidney-shaped, and brown.

Dryopteris health benefits
This is an ordinary plant in the wild for cultivated. A long time ago it was discovered by Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and then used as one of healing herbs. This is simply because it has an extensive medicinal uses, for example vermifuge and antiviral drug. And its pharmacology can well illustrate its efficacy.

Modern pharmacological actions of Dryopteris root
1. The filicic acid and flavaspidic acid contained can significantly destroy or expel intestinal worms. They have strong toxicity to tapeworms and can paralyze and discharge the tapeworms. In addition, they also expel roundworms and other parasites;

2. Experiments show that it can strongly inhibit the influenza virus. What’s more, it also has relatively strong antiviral activity on adenovirus, polio virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, etc.;

3. It has hemostatic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory effect when used externally;

4. Its decoction and extract can greatly excite the rabbit uterine.