Four Renowned Huai Medicines

These refer to the four Chinese herbal medicines growing in ancient Huaiqing (part of present-day Jiaozuo, Henan Province): Chinese yam, chaff flower root, glutinous rehmannia, and chrysanthemum. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica), China's first medicinal classic, rated them as premium herbs, and doctors and pharmacists later found out more about their properties. These medicines consequently came to be known as an established brand.

The Huai yam can nourish the kidneys, strengthen the stomach, clear phlegm, treat asthenia and deficiency in energy, dispel the cold wind, calm the mind, and help muscles grow. The Huai chaff flower root contains a large amount of alkaloid, which is good for the liver, the kidneys, the muscles, and the bones and can unblock the meridian channels and remove blood stasis. The Huai glutinous rehmannia can make bone marrow and blood grow, nourish the five organs (heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys), invigorate blood circulation, benefit the ears and the eyes, and keep the hair black. The Huai chrysanthemum can help clear internal cold and heat, benefit the liver and the eyes, and remove pathogenic elements from the body.

With high medicinal and dietary value, these four medicines have enjoyed long-standing reputation and a ready market around the world. Among them, the Huai yam is hailed as the "Huai ginseng" and "medicine of China" for its great nourishing effects.

四大懷藥

四大懷藥是河南特產，主要指古懷慶府（今河南省焦作轄區博愛、溫縣、沁陽、武陟、孟州等地）所產的山藥、牛膝、地黃、菊花等四種中藥。中國最早的藥物學經典《神農本草經》把它們列為上品，之后歷代醫藥名家進一步發現了它們的優秀本性，“四大懷藥”因而流傳成說，成為品牌。

懷山藥能滋補益腎、健胃化痰、補中益氣、祛冷風、鎮心神、安魂魄、長肌髓；懷牛膝含有大量生物堿，可以補肝益腎、強壯筋骨、通經絡、散惡血；懷地黃可以填骨髓、生精血、補五臟、通血脈、利耳目、黑須發；懷菊花具有散風清熱、平肝明目、清熱解毒的功效。

四大懷藥有極高的藥用和食用價值，是中國傳統的常用中藥材，久負盛名，暢銷世界各地。其中，懷山藥被譽為“懷參”“華藥”，作為高級滋補品和饋贈佳品而譽滿全球。