HomeTraditional Chinese Medicine HerbsBarley Sprout

Barley Sprout

Name

Barley Sprout

Latin Pharmaceutical Name

Hordei Fructus Germinatus

Chinese Name

麦芽

Category

Fruits and seeds

Barley SproutMore Info

Production Regions

Primarily produced all over China.

Macroscopic Features

Fusiform shape, 8~12mm long, 3~4mm diameter. Externally pale yellow, back side is the outer surrounding husk, with 5 veins, apex has a long broken awn; front side is the inner surrounding husk; when the husk is removed, the front side has one longitudinal groove; base of the radicle grows the tender sprout and rootlets. The tender sprout has a long lanceolate shape, about 0.5cm long, and the rootlets are numerous, fibrous, thin and curved. Fractured surface is white, powdery. faint odor, slightly sweet taste.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material is pale yellow, intact germ.

Properties

Sweet, neutral

Functions

Moves qi, digest food, promotes spleen, opens appetite, returns milk, eliminates swelling. Apply to food accumulation and indigestion, abdominal swelling and pain, deficiency of spleen and little food intake, stagnation of milk and sweat, distention and pain of the breast, ablactation. Unprocessed mai ya can promote spleen and harmonizes stomach and frees mammary. Apply to deficiency of spleen and little food intake, stagnation of mammary and sweat.

Processed Form

Fried mai ya: Fry the cleaned mai ya till turned slightly yellow. Moves qi, digests food, delectation. Apply to indigestion, ablactation. Jiao mai ya: digests food and resolves distention. Apply to indigestion, abdominal swelling pain.

Origin

The dried sprouted fruit of Hordeum vulgare L.(Poaceae)

Barley SproutHerbs in the formula

Immature Bitter Orange and Glomus-Dispersing Pill

Action：Disperses and relieves fullness, fortifies the spleen and harmonizes the stomach.

Indication：Spleen deficiency and qi stagnation with cold and heat combined, characterized by fullness below the heart, no desire to eat or drink, tiredness, lack of strength, difficult defecation, greasy, slight yellow tongue coating, and a wiry pulse.

View Details Digestive formulas

Liver-Sedating and Wind-Extinguishing Decoction

Action：Tranquilizes the liver and extinguishes wind, enriches yin and subdues yang.

Indication：Zhen Gan Xi Feng Tang is indicated for the pattern of apoplectic stroke. The symptoms are dizziness, vertigo, distension of eyes, tinnitus, headache with a warm sensation in the head, flushed face, and irritability; there may also be frequent belching, progressive difficulty in moving the extremities, and deviation of the mouth and eyes. In severe cases there is dizziness and falling down, unconsciousness, mental confusion with moments of clarity, and an inability to fully recover after loss of consciousness, and a wiry, long, and forceful pulse.

View Details Wind-calming formulas

Spleen-Fortifying Pill

Action：Fortifies the spleen and harmonizes the stomach, promotes digestion and arrests diarrhea.

Indication：Food accumulation with spleen deficiency, marked by indigestion, fullness and oppression of the abdomen and stomach cavity, loose stool, greasy, yellow tongue coating, and a weak pulse.

View Details Digestive formulas