Prunella Vulgaris

Prune…….what?? This name might sound so foreign, but wait till I reveal more about this name! This is a name a of plant/ herb and is actually very common in the Chinese community! Chinese usually uses dried Prunella Vulgaris, add water, rock sugar and boil it into herbal tea! This is known as “Har Ku Chou” (in Cantonese), “Xia Ku Chow” (in Mandarin) and “Heh Koh Chow” (in Hokkien)… I hope I get the pronunciations right!  Now, I bet if you’re Chinese… you might have drank a cup of this herbal brew! =)When I was growing up, my mom will brew some of this herbal goodness during scorching hot days or whenever we’re ill as Chinese believe that this plant has “cooling” and “healing” elements for fever, sore throat, etc! I love drinking this, not only for it’s medicinal purpose but also for it’s refreshing goodness! Occasionally, I will buy a bag of these and brew some “Heh Koh Chow” for husband and I or buy a glass from Chinese restaurants, etc. It was a slight bitter taste to it but the rock sugar added to it help subdue the bitterness! A bag of this will last you several batches of “Heh Koh Chow” as it will “bloom” once it’s soaked in water and triple in size!! =) 

So, being curious I went to google up “Prunella Vulgaris” to find out what more medicinal purpose does it have! It is rather interesting that Wikipedia mentioned that this medicinal plant is known as “Common Self Heal”, “Heal-All”, or “Heart-Of-The-Earth”.

Apparently, Prunella Vulgaris has been shown to be an antioxidant, immune stimulant, viral replication inhibitor and an anti-inflammatory agent. It is also used (in Chinese community) to treat high blood pressure.  Now, all these information are gotten of various sites from the internet…. It’s not me making up stuff!

Here are some hopefully informative sites for more readings on Prunella Vulgaris:

• http://www.chinese-herbs.org/prunella/
• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/901041/prunella_vulgaris_a_heal_all_herbal_pg3.html?cat=68
• http://www.helium.com/items/1129173-how-prunella-vulgaris-heal-herbal-plant-treat-varity-diseases-including