Kuan Jin Teng

Kuan Jin Teng is the dried stem of Tinospora sinensis (Lour.) Merr. (Menispermaceae), a large, woody, twining liana of subtropical and tropical broadleaf forests in southern China (Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan), India, and Indochina. Mature stems are cylindrical, 1–3 cm thick, with greyish-brown, longitudinally fissured corky bark studded with raised lenticels and bearing long, slender, fleshy aerial roots that hang downward. In transverse section the wood shows a characteristic radiating, wheel-spoke pattern of broad medullary rays alternating with wedges of yellowish xylem around a central pith, with a bitter, slightly mucilaginous taste. Leaves are alternate, broadly ovate-cordate, palmately 5–7-veined, 7–14 cm long. Small greenish flowers are borne in axillary racemes; the drupe is red and pea-sized. Stems are cut year-round, sliced obliquely, and dried; used in TCM to dispel wind-damp, relax sinews, invigorate Blood, and relieve bi-syndrome pain.