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Tangaek — Decoctions · Trees

益智子 Ikji Yeolmae (익지 열매)

Ikjija is the dried fruit of Alpinia oxyphylla, a ginger-family plant, also known as ikjiin. The pods run about the size of a jujube, pale-skinned with dark kernels inside. The name reads 'adds to wisdom,' and Donguibogam marked it 【唐】, an import from China.

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 3

  1. 性溫, 味辛, 無毒. 主遺精.

    Its nature is warm, its taste pungent, and it is non-toxic. It chiefly governs yujeong (遺精, seminal emission).

    HomiclubIkji is a perennial of the ginger family growing in southern China and on Hainan. Ikjija is its dried fruit, and it also appears in herb markets under the name ikjiin.

  2. 縮小便, 攝涎唾, 益氣安神, 調諸氣.

    It reduces urine and gathers in the drool, boosts qi and settles the spirit, and harmonizes all the qi.

  3. 形大如棗, 皮白中仁黑, 核細者, 佳. 《本草》

    It is as large as a jujube, white in skin with a black kernel within, and those with fine seeds are the better. 《Boncho (本草)》

  4. 服之益人智慧, 故名.

    Taking it is said to add to a person's wisdom, and hence the name.

  5. 主君相二火, 入手足太陰ㆍ足少陰經, 本脾經藥也.

    It governs the two fires, sovereign and ministerial, enters the hand and foot taeeum and the foot soeum channels, and is fundamentally a medicine of the spleen channel.

  6. 治脾胃寒邪. 以鹽煎, 煖胃固精. 《入門》

    It treats cold evil in the spleen and stomach. Decocted with salt it warms the stomach and secures the essence. 《Immun (入門)》

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This is a cultural and historical record from a classical text, not a claim about any food’s effects. Nothing here is a health supplement or intended to prevent or treat disease. Consult a medical professional about health concerns. · Text: Korean Medicine Classics DB · Reading: Homiclub