I don't recall the season, but when I was little, my mother often brought home bitter greens from the fields. I only liked eating the roots—crisp, slightly bitter, and quite satisfying. Nowadays, they're nowhere to be found.What are the benefits of bitter greens?
Bitter greens are indeed bitter, but there are many varieties. The most prized is the purple-flowered bitter green, also known as Shurong Purple Bitter Green. It is the whole plant of an annual wild bitter green belonging to the Asteraceae family. It is typically harvested in early spring and sun-dried naturally.
It has excellent therapeutic effects for chronic cholecystitis and related conditions like chronic gastritis.Due to its purple flowers, it is also called purple-flowered bitterweed. The underside of its leaves has white downy hairs. Observed in pictures, purple-flowered bitterweed typically grows scattered in clusters along ditch sides and roadsides. Due to seasonal and climatic factors or natural disasters, harvest quantities have decreased year by year. The medicinal efficacy of purple-flowered bitterweed varies depending on the timing of harvesting; timely collection is essential to ensure its therapeutic effects.During the mid-20th century, it was used by the populace as a staple food. It has demonstrated unexpectedly effective results in regulating and treating chronic conditions such as chronic cholecystitis, gastritis, hypertension, cerebral thrombosis, and heart disease.
1. Preventing anemia and combating summer heat Rich in carotene, vitamin C, potassium salts, and calcium salts, bitter greens effectively prevent and treat anemia, maintain normal physiological functions, promote growth and development, and provide summer heat relief.
2. Clearing Heat, Detoxifying, and Combating Infection Bitter greens contain components like taraxasterol and choline, which exhibit potent antibacterial effects against drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and hemolytic streptococcus. They also demonstrate significant bactericidal activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and Shigella. Consequently, it demonstrates therapeutic efficacy for conditions including jaundice-associated hepatitis, pharyngitis, bacterial dysentery, common cold with fever, chronic bronchitis, and tonsillitis.
3. Cancer Prevention and Treatment The decoction of bitter vegetable significantly inhibits blood cell deoxygenase in patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute/chronic myeloid leukemia. It can also be used to prevent and treat cervical cancer, rectal cancer, and anal cancer.