Torreya Seed
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Nuts and Seeds
Torreya Seed
Latin:
Semen Torreyae
Origin:
The ripe seed of Torreya grandis Fort., a genus of approximately six species of an evergreen arbor, of the family Taxaceae. It is distributed in localized areas of North America, China, and Japan.
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Torreyas have persistent, linear, bristle-pointed leaves, arranged roughly in two rows, or ranks. Leaves, branchlets, and wood are often aromatic or foul scented, especially when bruised.
Each large seed is completely surrounded by a fleshy covering, or aril. The California nutmeg, Japanese torreya, and stinking yew are the commonly known ornamentals; the other three species are Chinese trees with local distributions, rarely found in cultivation.
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In China, torreya is mainly produced in the provinces Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, etc. Reaped when the seed ripens in autumn, the fleshy pseudo-episperms are removed, then the seeds are taken out, washed clean and dried in the sun for use when raw or after being parched.
See also Herbs, Herbs for Expelling Intestinal Parasites, Torreya Seed.
Properties:
Sweet in flavor, mild in nature, it is related to the lung, stomach and large intestine channels.
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Functions:
Destroys intestinal parasites, removes food stagnancy, relaxes the bowels and moisturizes the lungs.
Applications:
It is used to treat abdominal pain, malnutrition of children due to impairment of the spleen and stomach caused by improper feeding, dry cough and constipation.
Eating parched torreya seed regularly will strengthen the muscles, improve eyesight and build up health.
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1. To treat abdominal pain due to enterocolitis (enteritis affecting both the large and small intestine):
Torreya seed can destroy intestinal parasites and remove food stagnancy and it is effective against all types of abdominal pain due to enterocolitis, which is caused by a large variety of intestinal parasites such as ascarids (roundworms), ancylostomi (hookworms), teniae (tapeworms), fasciolopses (gingerworm), etc. It can also relax the bowels to relieve constipation. It is not necessary to take any purgative additionally while expelling intestinal parasites.
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a) Ascariasis (infestation with or disease caused by roundworms):
Torreya seed is often used in combination with Rangoon creeper fruit (Fructus Quisqualis) and chinaberry bark (Cortex Meliae).
b) Ancylostomiasis (infestation with or disease caused by hookworms):
It is often used alone or in combination with betel nuts and Chinese aspidium rhizome (Rhizoma Dryopteris Crassirhizomae).
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c) Taeniasis (infestation with or disease caused by tapeworms):
Torreya seed can be used in combination with betel nuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.
2. To treat constipation due to intestinal dryness:
Torreya seed can be used together with herbs that relax the bowels to relieve constipation, such as hemp seed, bunge cherry seed (Semen Pruni), Mongolian snakegourd seed (Semen Trichosanthis), etc.
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3. To treat coughing due to lung-heat:
Torreya seed is used in combination with herbs that moisten the lungs to arrest coughing, such as Sichuan fritillary bulb (Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii), Mongolian snakegourd seed (Semen Trichosanthis), fried mulberry leaf, etc.
4. To treat filariasis (infestation with or disease caused by filariae--parasites in the blood or tissues of mammals and as larvae usually develop in biting insects):
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Skinned torreya seed can be made into pills by mixing with honey together with burnt hair for oral administration, with four days constituting a course of treatment. The microfilariae are often turned negative after one to two courses.
Dosage and Administration:
30-50 g.
Decoct for oral administration or parch until cooked for chewing, or used as an ingredient of boluses or powder.
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Cautions on Use:
Torreya seed should be used when raw if included in a decoction and it should be avoided by anyone with loose stools.
Reference Materials:
'Other Medical Records of Famous Physicians' :
"Five kinds of hemorrhoids (a mass of dilated veins in swollen tissue at the margin of the anus or nearby within the rectum) and tympanites (flatulent distentions of the belly) due to ascarids, ancylostomi and teniae."
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'Daily Used Chinese Herbals' :
"Destroying intestinal parasites, large and small and treating infantile emaciation with sallow complexion. Those with enterositosis in the abdomen can be cured as soon as they take this herb. It can resolve phlegm when chewed carefully and swallowed slowly together with its shell."
'Essentials of Materia Medica' :
"Moistening the lungs and destroying intestinal parasites."
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Toxic or Side Effects:
Modern Researches:
Torreya seed contains fatty oil, oxalic acid, glucose, polysaccharides, volatile oil, tannin, etc. The fatty oil is composed of palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and glyceride of linoleic acid.
The antiscolic ingredient of torreya seed cannot be dissolved in water, ethyl or alcohol, but it is soluble in benzene, making it suitable for inclusion in pills or powder., http://www.100md.com