Lotus Seed refers to the mature kernel of the aquatic plant Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. of the Nymphaeaceae family. The green embryo enclosed in the center is the Lotus Plumule (Lian Zi Xin). Lotus seeds are also edible as food, such as in Eight-Treasure Porridge (Ba Bao Zhou). They are rich in nutrients, making them an excellent example of a substance that serves both medicinal and culinary purposes. They are primarily produced in ponds and lakes across Hunan, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other southern regions. The mature seed pods are harvested in autumn, after which the seeds are extracted, their seed coats and embryos removed, and then dried in the sun for medicinal use.
I. Efficacy and Applications
Lotus Seed has a sweet and astringent flavor and a neutral nature. It enters the Spleen, Kidney, and Heart meridians.
Its functions include fortifying the spleen and arresting diarrhea, supplementing the kidneys and securing essence, and nourishing the heart to calm the spirit. Its characteristics make it a prime example of a medicinal food that stabilizes and secures essential qi (jing qi), serving as an excellent tonic for supporting vital qi (zheng qi).
It is commonly used in the treatment of diarrhea due to spleen deficiency, seminal emission and spermatorrhea, excessive leukorrhea, palpitations, and insomnia.
Summaries from Renowned Medical Texts:
Divine Husbandman's Materia Medica (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing): "Primarily supplements the middle (jiao), nourishes the spirit, and boosts qi and strength."
Materia Medica for Daily Use (Ri Yong Ben Cao): "Stops vexing thirst, treats diarrhea and dysentery, arrests turbid white discharge."
Jade Pole Materia Medica (Yu Qiu Yao Jie): "Lotus seeds are sweet and neutral, greatly benefiting the spleen and stomach. Their securing and astringent nature is most suitable for those with slippery desertion patterns, being extremely effective for seminal emission and loose stools."
Essentials of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Bei Yao): "Sweet, warm, and astringent; it is the fruit of the spleen. The spleen is the yellow palace, thus it can interact with water and fire, mediate between the heart and kidney, and calm pathogenic fire excesses of the sovereign and ministerial fire above and below. It benefits the qi and blood of the twelve meridians, astrings essence qi, thickens the stomach and intestines, and eliminates cold and heat. It treats spleen-type diarrhea and chronic dysentery, turbid white discharge and dream emission, uterine bleeding and vaginal discharge in women, and various blood disorders."
II. Compatibility and Applications
For Chronic Diarrhea due to Spleen Deficiency and Poor Appetite: Lotus Seed, being sweet and neutral for supplementation and astringent for consolidation, has the function of fortifying the spleen to arrest diarrhea. To treat spleen-stomach weakness with reduced food intake, loose stools, shortness of breath, cough, and limb fatigue, it is often combined with Ginseng (Ren Shen), Poria (Fu Ling), White Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), White Hyacinth Bean (Bai Bian Dou), Villous Amomum Fruit (Sha Ren), and Chinese Yam (Shan Yao), as in the formula Ginseng, Poria, and Atractylodes Powder (Shen Ling Bai Zhu San).
Effective Formulas from Generations of Physicians (Shi Yi De Xiao Fang): "To treat chronic dysentery that does not stop: take two liang of old lotus seeds, grind into powder. Take one qian per dose, mixed with aged rice water."
Annotated Shennong's Materia Medica (Ben Cao Jing Shu): "To treat dysentery where food cannot be ingested, commonly called 'dysentery with locked jaw' (jin kou li): use one liang of fresh lotus flesh (Lian Rou), five qian of Coptis (Huang Lian), five qian of Ginseng (Ren Shen). Decoct in water until concentrated, sip slowly."
For Seminal Emission and Spermatorrhea due to Kidney Deficiency: Lotus Seed has the effect of supplementing the kidney and securing essence. To treat seminal emission and spermatorrhea, it is often combined with Flatstem Milkvetch Seed (Sha Yuan Zi), Dragon Bone (Long Gu), Oyster Shell (Mu Li), Lotus Stamen (Lian Xu), and Gordon Euryale Seed (Qian Shi), as in the formula Golden Lock Pill to Secure Essence (Jin Suo Gu Jing Wan).
For turbid white urine, dream emission, and seminal leakage, lotus flesh (Lian Rou) can be ground into powder in equal parts with Sharpleaf Galangal Fruit (Yi Zhi Ren) and Dragon Bone (Long Gu), taken on an empty stomach with clear rice water, as in the formula Lotus Flesh Powder (Lian Rou San).
For Vexation, Palpitations, and Insomnia: Lotus Seed can nourish the heart and benefit the kidneys, facilitating the interaction between the heart and kidneys. To treat insomnia due to deficiency-type vexation, it is often combined with herbs that clear the heart and calm the spirit, such as Lilyturf Root (Mai Dong), Indian Bread with Hostwood (Fu Shen), and Chinese Arborvitae Kernel (Bai Zi Ren).
For restless heart fire leading to disturbed sleep, or yang floating outward causing five-center heat, potentially accompanied by seminal emission, turbid white discharge, or red and white vaginal discharge in women, it is often combined with Skullcap (Huang Qin), Lilyturf Root (Mai Dong), Wolfberry Root Bark (Di Gu Pi), Bupleurum Root (Chai Hu), Poria (Fu Ling), and Ginseng (Ren Shen), as in the formula Heart-Clearing Lotus Seed Drink (Qing Xin Lian Zi Yin).
Compendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu): "The lotus seed is sweet in flavor, warm in qi, and astringent in nature. It receives a clear and fragrant qi and acquires the flavor of cultivation, making it the fruit of the spleen. Earth is the mother of original qi. When the mother's qi is harmonized, body fluids and qi are mutually formed, and the spirit naturally arises. Long-lasting vision and resistance to aging are based on this foundation. In the past, to treat heart-kidney disharmony and taxation damage with white turbidity, there was the Heart-Clearing Lotus Seed Drink (Qing Xin Lian Zi Yin); to supplement the heart and kidney and boost essence and blood, there was the Auspicious Lotus Pill (Rui Lian Wan); all understood this principle."
For Uterine Bleeding and Excessive Leukorrhea in Women: Lotus Seed fortifies the spleen and secures through astringency, nourishes the heart and benefits the kidneys. It is often very effective in treating various patterns of deficiency-type taxation and vaginal discharge in women.
For Dietary Therapy and Health Preservation: Lotus seed, with its sweet and tonic nature that calms and nourishes the five zang organs, is an excellent ingredient for dietary therapy and health preservation. It is often cooked into porridge with nutritious foods such as mung beans, red beans, longan (Long Yan Rou), pine nuts, lily bulb (Bai He), goji berries (Gou Qi Zi), Gordon Euryale Seed (Qian Shi), coix seed (Yi Yi Ren), Chinese yam (Shan Yao), and peanuts. It is nutritious and suitable for all ages. Lotus seeds are traditionally used in Laba Congee (La Ba Zhou).
III. Usage and Dosage
Lotus seed is commonly used in decoctions, can be made into pills or powders, and is also edible. The typical dosage in decoctions is from over ten grams to several tens of grams. For food purposes, a suitable amount is sufficient.
The green embryo inside the lotus seed is the Lotus Plumule (Lian Zi Xin). The efficacy of the lotus seed and the lotus plumule differ. Therefore, whether for medicinal or culinary use, the embryo must be removed.
Medical Revelations (Yi Lin Zhuan Yao): "Removing the embryo but keeping the skin and eating it raw is most beneficial. It can eliminate vexation, quench thirst, secure essence, harmonize the blood, stop dream emission, and regulate cold and heat. Boiling and eating it only treats spleen-type diarrhea and chronic dysentery and thickens the intestines, but its function of mediating between the heart and kidney is reduced. Further removing the skin removes the astringent flavor, and its function is limited to supplementing the spleen."
Wang Ang stated: "Remove the embryo and skin, steam until cooked, then bake dry for use. It works well with Poria (Fu Ling), Chinese Yam (Shan Yao), White Atractylodes (Bai Zhu), and Goji Berry (Gou Qi Zi). The black ones that sink in water are stone lotus seeds (Shi Lian Zi), which clear the heart and eliminate vexation, open the stomach and promote food intake, specifically treating 'dysentery with locked jaw' and various patterns of strangury and turbidity."
IV. Application Precautions
Lotus seed is astringent and tonifying; therefore, it is not suitable for individuals with dry, bound stools.
