Chinese Materia Dietetica, Ming: Yeast

Illustration of yeast (qu) from Shiwu bencao (Materia dietetica), a dietetic herbal in four volumes dating from the Ming period (1368-1644). The identity of the author and artists is unknown. It contains entries on over 300 medicinal substances and is illustrated by almost 500 paintings in colour. The text states: Yeast is sweet in sapor and warm in thermostatic character. It has the medicinal properties of regulating the centre, bringing down [retrograde] Qi, stimulating the appetite and promoting the digestion of food and drink, resolving food retention (sushi), etc. It can be used to treat huoluan (cholera and analogous illnesses), and Qi and phlegm in the heart and diaphragm, and also to break up abdominal masses (zhengjie), and eliminate cold Qi and red and white dysentery. Yeast juice can be given to domestic animals suffering from abdominal distention.

Yeast (qu)