Herbs for lochia discharge used among postpartum women in Taiwan

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: In the traditional Taiwanese culture of "postpartum confinement", the term "lochia discharge" is a synonym for assisting postpartum uterine involution. Postpartum women in Taiwan consult traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies to obtain various TCM formulations that facilitate lochia discharge.

Aim of the study: As an ethnopharmacy study, we aimed to conduct field investigations to explore the herbal composition of TCM formulations for lochia discharge provided by TCM pharmacies in Taiwan and to identify the pharmaceutical implications of these TCM formulations.

Materials and methods: Through stratified sampling, we collected 98 formulations for postpartum lochia discharge from TCM pharmacies, which used a total of 60 medicinal materials.

Results: The most common plant families of the medicinal materials found in Taiwanese lochia discharge formulations were Fabaceae and Lauraceae. Abiding by the TCM theory of nature and flavor, most drugs were warm in nature and sweet in flavor, and predominantly focused on the traditional functions of qi tonifying and blood activating. Correlation and network analyses of the medicinal components of lochia discharge formulations identified 11 core herbs, which, in the order of most to least frequently used, include Angelica sinensis, Ligusticum striatum, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zingiber officinale, Prunus persica, Eucommia ulmoides, Leonurus japonicus, Lycium chinense, Hedysarum polybotrys, Rehmannia glutinosa, and Paeonia lactiflora. These 11 herbs formed a total of 136 drug combinations in the 98 formulations, with 2-7 herbs in each combination. In addition, in the center of the network were A. sinensis and L. striatum, which jointly appeared in 92.8% of the formulations analyzed.

Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically review lochia discharge formulations in Taiwan. The results of this study could provide an important basis for subsequent research in the clinical efficacy of Taiwanese lochia discharge formulations and the pharmacological mechanisms of their herbal components.

Keywords: Field investigation; Herbal medicine; Lochia discharge; Puerperium; Traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy.