Yin deficiency treated with TCM Lycium Barbarum Root Bark

What is Lycium Barbarum Root Bark (Di Gu Pi)? Di Gu Pi actually comes in two main different species – the dried root bark of Lycium chinense Mill. or Lycium barbarum L. Both plants belong to the family Solanaceae. Its other common names include Cortex Lycii in Latin and Chinese wolfberry root cortex.

It is a shrub, 1 to 2m in height. Branches are slender, often curved down, and with thorns. Leaves are alternative or clustered on short branches, ovate-rhombic to ovate-lanceolate, 2 to 6cm in length, and 0.5 to 1.7cm in width. 1 to 4 flowers cluster in leaf axils. Calyx is bell-shaped, with 3 to 5 lobes, funnel-shaped corolla, 5 stamens, and 2-room ovary. Red berry is ovate or oblong ovate, and 5 to 15mm long. Brownish-yellow seeds are kidney-shaped. It blooms from June to September and fruits from July to October. Main habitats include hillslopes and fields with a sunny exposure. It can be cultivated as well and mainly produced from Shanxi, Henan, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu in China.

Main chemical constituents in root bark include Cinnamic acid, polyphenols, Betaine, Kukoamine A, Lyciumin A, Lyciumin B, β-Sitosterol, Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid, melissic acid, and so on.

Root bark of Lycium barbarum health benefits
As every herbalist knows that Lycium barbarum berries have extensive medicinal uses and are good at treating syndrome of kidney Yin deficiency. Likewise, its root bark also has that function but with some modification. And relevant research can tell the details.

Modern pharmacological actions
1. Its extracts and betaine have strong antipyretic effects. The extracts include ethanol extract, water extract, and ether residue water extract, etc.;
2. Its decoction and extracts have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect;
3. Its injection, decoction, and tincture have significant antihypertensive effect and associate with the decreased heart rate;
4. Its decoction has immunomodulatory effects, as well as anti-microbial effect. That’s being said, it has a strong inhibitory effect on the typhoid bacillus, paratyphi and Shigella flexneri. In addition it inhibits the cytopathic effect of Asian influenza virus type A Jingke 68-1 strain;
5. Its injection has significant excitatory function on isolated uterus;
6. Its 70% ethanol extract by percolation method can significantly improve the pain threshold and inhibit the physical and chemical pain.