Klein Vaarbewijs Download Firefox. Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae) has a long history of utilization as a fiber and seed crop in China, and its achenes (“seeds”) as well as other plant parts have been recorded in Chinese medical texts for nearly 2000 years. While the primary applications of cannabis in Chinese medicine center around the use of the achenes, ancient indications for the female inflorescence, and other plant parts include conditions such as pain and mental illness that are the subject of current research into cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, little previous research has been conducted to analyze the Chinese medical literature in light of recent advances in the pharmacology and taxonomy of cannabis, and most of the relevant Chinese historical records have not yet been translated into Western languages to facilitate textual research.

Furthermore, many key questions remain unresolved in the Chinese literature, including how various traditional drug names precisely correspond to different plant parts, as well as the implications of long-term selection for fiber-rich cultivars on the medical applications of cannabis in Chinese medicine. In this article, prominent historical applications of cannabis in Chinese medicine are chronologically reviewed, and indications found in ancient Chinese literature that may relate to cannabinoids such as CBD and Δ 9-THC are investigated. Introduction Cannabis sativa L. Has been cultivated in China for millennia for use as a fiber, food, and medicine.

References to cannabis are found throughout classical Chinese literature, including in many famous works of philosophy, poetry, agriculture, and medicine. Fiber-rich biotypes of cannabis (hemp) were extensively used in ancient China for clothing and the production of paper, rope, and fishing nets (Dai, ), and the achenes (“seeds”) of cannabis have been continuously used in Chinese medicine for at least 1800 years. Today, China is regarded as one of the world's ancient epicenters of hemp cultivation, resulting in a diverse germplasm with genetically distinct regional varieties of fiber-rich hemp that are adapted to local environmental conditions throughout the country (Gao et al.,; Zhang et al., ). The prominence of hemp in ancient Chinese culture can be seen by its occurrence in classical literature from the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), including philosophical works by Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Zhuangzi, and Mozi, as well as the Classic of Poetry ( Shi Jing; Sun, ).

By the first to second century AD, the ancient Shuowen dictionary ( Shuo Wen Jie Zi) featured multiple Chinese characters that illustrate knowledge of the dioecious nature of cannabis and discriminate based on gender (Liu, ). In the sixth century AD, the agricultural text Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People ( Qi Min Yao Shu) described techniques for the cultivation of hemp in great detail, and its monograph on cannabis cultivation features one of the first textually documented applications of fertilizer in the history of Chinese agriculture (Shi, ). This text also demonstrates the knowledge that removal of male plants at the initiation of flowering will result in a lack of seeds; however, the text focuses exclusively on cultivation and harvesting practices to maximize the production of seeds and the quality of fiber and does not reference the deliberate production of seedless cannabis (Shi, ).