Germinated Barley (Maiya)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Fructus Hordei germinatus |
| Botanical Name: | Hordeum vulgare L. |
| Common Name: | Germinted Barley |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Mingyi Bielu |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | Barley is soaked in water for a day, and then it is put into a basket. Water is sprinkled over the barley daily until it germinates. |
| Properties and Taste: | Sweet and neutral |
| Meridian: | Spleen, stomach, and liver |
| Functions: | To eliminate retention of food and harmonize the stomach To restrain lactation To promote free flow of liver qi and remove stagnation |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Retention of food manifested as no appetite and epigastric and abdominal distension. *Use with Germinated barley (Maiya) is used with Hawthorn fruit (Shanzha), Medicated leaven (Shenqu) and Chicken’s gizzard skin (Jineijin). 2. Restrained lactation or breast distension with pain. *The decoction of half raw and half fried Germinated barley (Maiya) should be taken twice a day, 30-60 g each time. 3. Qi stagnation in the liver and stomach manifested as distention and fullness in the chest and costal regions and epigastric pain. *Use with Bupleurum root (Chaihu), Immature bitter orange (Zhishi) and Sichuan chinaberry (Chuanlianzi). |
| Dosage: | 10-15 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated during lactation. |