Vitex leaf
1、 Pharmacopoeia standard of Vitex negundo leaves       This product is the fresh leaf of Vitex negundo L. var. cannahifolia (sieb. et zucc.) hand.-mazz., a plant of Verbenaceae. Harvest in summer and autumn when the leaves are luxuriant, and remove the stems and branches.
      [character]   This product is palmately compound leaf, with 5 or 3 leaflets, lanceolate or oval lanceolate, the middle leaflet is 5 ~ 10cm long and 2 ~ 4cm wide, the leaflets on both sides are gradually smaller, the apex is gradually pointed, the base is cuneate, and the edge is coarse serrated; The upper surface is green, the lower surface is light green, there are short hairs along the veins on both sides, and the lower surface of tender leaves is dense; . It smells fragrant and tastes pungent and bitter.
      [identification]   Cross section of this product: the upper epidermal cells are arranged neatly, there are hairy antlers on the upper and lower surfaces, and there are more hairy antlers on the lower surface. The palisade tissue of mesophyll is 3-4 rows of cells, and the sponge tissue is relatively loose. The vascular bundle of the main vein is tough outside, in crescent or "U" shape, and there are 1-5 smaller vascular bundles in the concave part of the "U" shape; Pits can be seen in the surrounding parenchyma cells; .
      The appearance of this product: the upper epidermal cells are polygonal or irregular, and the vertical wall is wavy and curved; The non glandular hairs have 1-4 cells, the apex cells are long, and there are warty protrusions on the surface; The glandular scale has 4 cells in the head, with a diameter of about 55 μ m, and a single cell in the stalk; Small glandular hairs are rare, with 1-4 cells in the head, about 25 μ m in diameter, and 1-3 cells in the stalk, which are very short. The lower epidermal cells are small, 17-30 (45) μ m long, 12-25 μ m in diameter, and the vertical wall is slightly curved or straight; The stomata are indeterminate, with a diameter of 15-20 μ m and 3-6 accessory guard cells; Non glandular hairs, glandular scales and small glandular hairs are more abundant.
      [nature, taste and meridian tropism]   Slightly bitter, bitter, and flat. Return to lung meridian.
      ; Expectorant, antitussive and antiasthmatic. For coughing with phlegm.
      [usage and dosage]   Fresh for extracting Vitex oil.
      [storage]   Keep in the shade.


2、 Chemical constituents of Vitex negundo leaves
The leaves of Vitex negundo contain about 0.1% of volatile oil, of which the main component is β - caryophyllene, with a content of 44.94%, followed by sabinene, with a content of 10.09%, and also contain α - thujene, α - and β - pinene, camphene, myrcene, α - phellandrene, p-cymene, limonene,Cineole(1,8-cineole), α - and γ - Terpinene, Terpinene, linalool, terpinen-4-ol, α - terpineol,Borneol acetate（bornyl acetate）， Meryl acetate, β - and δ - elemene, Terpinyl Acetate, copaene, β - bourbonene, humulene, γ - muurolene, β - cubeene, eremophilene, β - bisabolene, δ - cadinene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, δ - cadinene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - carotene, β - Caro,β - eucalyptol（β-eudesmol）。

3、 Pharmacological effects of Vitex negundo leaves
1. expectorant effect the volatile oil from Vitex negundo leaves has a significant expectorant effect by gavage at 1.04g/kg and 1.73g/kg. The phenol red test in mice shows that it has a significant expectorant effect. This effect is mainly through the vagus nerve, and the expectorant effect is weakened after vagotomy. The expectorant effect of Vitex negundo decoction or crude extract of Vitex negundo flavonoid glycosides can be excreted from the lungs of mice by gavage or injection, which may also be related to this. . 2. antitussive effect Vitex negundo leaf oil 1.04g/kg by gavage has significant antitussive effect on mice with cough induced by ammonia spray, and the effect is weak at 0.52g/kg. The intravenous injection of crude Vitex negundo flavonoid glycosides can inhibit the cough caused by electrical stimulation of the superior laryngeal nerve in anesthetized cats, and its effect intensity increases with the increase of dose, indicating that its antitussive effect is related to the inhibition of cough center. 3. antiasthmatic effect the constant pressure histamine spray test in guinea pigs showed that 1g/kg of Vitex negundo oil emulsion could significantly prolong the start time of histamine grade IV reaction and half reduce the number of rats with grade IV reaction, indicating a certain antiasthmatic effect; Vitex negundo leaf oil also has antihistamine effect in vitro tracheal test. 4. hypotensive effect the average blood pressure of rabbits after duodenal administration of Vitex negundo oil emulsion 100mg/kg decreased by 31% for 2h; the blood pressure of rabbits after intravenous injection of Vitex negundo oil petroleum ether eluate 5mg/kg and 10mg/kg decreased by 23% and 39% respectively. The antihypertensive effect of Vitex negundo leaf oil was not affected by acetylcholine, atropine or vagotomy, indicating that it was not directly related to cholinergic nerves. 5. effects on immune function Vitex negundo volatile oil 0.35ml/ (kg · d) was gavaged for 6 days, which had a tendency to enhance the phagocytosis of chicken erythrocytes by peritoneal macrophages. Caryophyllene, the main component of Vitex leaf oil, can increase the serum IgG level, indicating that it has the effect of enhancing humoral immunity. It was also reported that high-dose (1/8ld50) gavage of Vitex negundo leaf oil could reduce the phagocytic capacity of reticuloendothelial system to carbon particles. Vitex negundo leaf oil can significantly improve the phagocytic rate, phagocytic index and digestion degree of macrophages in patients with chronic tracheitis with low phagocytic function of macrophages, making it close to the level of normal people. 6. the regulation and cutting effect on serum protein were given to the patients with chronic tracheitis by oral administration of 30mg β - syringin (group A), 30mg of the low boiling part of the volatile oil of Vitex negundo leaves (group B), and 50mg of the volatile oil of Vitex negundo leaves (Northern and southern groups) daily for 20 days. Results the γ - globulin in group a increased significantly; In group B, serum albumin rose and α 2-globulin fell.The level of serum albumin in group B was significantly higher than that in group B.the level of serum albumin in group B was significantly higher than that in group B.the level of serum albumin in group B was significantly higher than that in group B; In the northern group, except for β - globulin, other protein components increased in the low side and decreased in the high side, but they were not significant; In the southern group, albumin increased, β - and γ - globulin decreased, and α 1- and α 2-globulin decreased. The results showed that the volatile oil of Vitex negundo leaves could make albumin rise, and had a bidirectional regulatory effect on γ -, β - and α - globulin, indicating that it could promote albumin synthesis and regulate immunoglobulin. 7. sedative hypnotic effect after 30 minutes of gavage of Vitex negundo leaf oil in mice, it can significantly prolong the hypnotic effect time caused by intraperitoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital 40mg/kg, and can also increase the number of hypnotic mice caused by intraperitoneal injection of subthreshold dose (30mg/kg), indicating a certain sedative hypnotic effect. . 9. other effects Vitex negundo leaf oil has significant antihistamine effect on isolated guinea pig ileum. Intragastric administration of Vitex negundo leaf oil emulsion 1/8ld50 can significantly atrophy the thymus of young rats, indicating that it may have the effect of enhancing the function of adrenal cortex. 10. toxicity ① acute toxicity test: LD50 of volatile oil from Vitex negundo leaves by gavage in mice was 7.40g/kg or 8.68g/kg; The LD50 of Vitex negundo leaf volatile oil emulsion in mice was 5.20g/kg by gavage and 0.34g/kg by intraperitoneal injection. ② Subacute toxicity test: mice were orally administered with 1/10 and 1/20ld50 of volatile oil from Vitex negundo leaves for 14 days, and all survived. No abnormality was found in body weight and morphology and histology of major organs.