赤小豆最早是作为食物来食用的,很多医学典籍记载了它的药用功效,如利水消肿、解毒排脓、利湿退黄等。我们把可以入药的红色小豆叫做赤小豆。赤小豆在中国应用的时间非常早,《神农本草经》把它收录到中品里边,言其“气味甘酸平,无毒,主下水肿,排痈肿脓血。”这里记录了赤小豆两个方面的功用:一个是利水消肿,就是能把人体内多余的水湿排出去,消除水肿;二是解毒排脓,就是能够排出体表长出的痈肿、脓血。 Chixiaodou was first eaten as food, and many medical books recorded its medicinal effects, such as swelling of water, detoxification, pus, and dampness. We call red beans that can be used as medicine called Chixiaodou. Chixiaodou is very early in China, and it was included in the “Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic”. It was said that “the smell is sweet and sour, and it is non-toxic. The main edema is swollen, and the phlegm and blood are swollen.” The function of each aspect: One is to reduce the swelling of the water, that is, to remove excess water from the body to eliminate edema; second, to remove pus, which is to excrete bloated, pus and blood from the body surface.