What are the effects of Plantago asiatica seeds?

Plantago seeds are derived from the dried mature seeds of Plantago asiatica or Plantago depressa of the Plantaginaceae family. Their potential actions include promoting diuresis and relieving stranguria, clearing heat to relieve summerheat, clearing the liver and improving vision, resolving phlegm and relieving cough, promoting dampness removal and alleviating diarrhea. Detailed functions are as follows:

1. Promoting Diuresis and Relieving Stranguria

Plantago seeds can increase urine output and promote urination, helping eliminate waste and toxins from the body. Therefore, they are used in treating urinary tract infections, urolithiasis, and related conditions.

2. Clearing Heat and Relieving Summerheat

Plantago seeds are cold in nature and can clear internal heat toxins. They effectively alleviate symptoms such as headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting caused by excessive heat toxins. In summer, they also help relieve heat discomfort and reduce the adverse effects of high temperatures.

3. Clearing the Liver and Improving Vision

Plantago seeds help clear liver heat and improve eyesight, offering therapeutic effects for symptoms like redness, swelling, pain, and dryness of the eyes caused by upward disturbance of liver heat. They are often combined with other medicinal herbs such as chrysanthemum flowers and cassia seeds to enhance the effect of clearing liver heat and improving vision.

4. Resolving Phlegm and Relieving Cough

Plantago seeds have the function of clearing heat and resolving phlegm, making them suitable for treating cough and yellow phlegm caused by lung accumulation of heat-phlegm. They can also relax bronchial smooth muscles, reduce airway spasms, and thereby relieve cough and asthma.

5. Promoting Dampness Removal and Alleviating Diarrhea

Plantago seeds promote dampness removal and relieve diarrhea by facilitating the elimination of internal dampness and improving symptoms caused by damp-heat, such as mouth ulcers and eczema. Additionally, they separate the clear from the turbid, thus exerting an antidiarrheal effect.

However, due to their cold nature, Plantago seeds should not be consumed together with warm-natured food ingredients to avoid counteracting their therapeutic effects or causing gastrointestinal discomfort.