Malva verticillata.  冬 葵  Dōng kuí    Winter mallow, Cluster Mallow, Abutilon  Family: Malvaceae       
Very similar to Abutilon theophroasti- Qǐng má zǐ


冬 葵 子  Dōng kuí zǐ    Dried seeds  
Most herbalists in China would supply Abutilon theophroasti- Qǐng má zǐ.[4]
Nature: Cold   FLAVOR: Sweet     CHANNELS: Large intestine, Small intestine, Bladder.
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Diuretic
1. Promotes urination and unlbocks dysuria.[6]
2. Lubricating intestines for relaxing the bowels.[3,6] Unblocking the bowels.[6]
3. Promoting lactation.[3,5,6]
INDICATIONS
1. Difficult urination.[1,5] Hot bloody, or stony dysuria- It is especially useful when accompanied by constipation.[6] Edema.[3,5]
2. Galactostasis.[3] Insufficient lactation.[6] Swollen painful breasts.[6] Early stages of breast abscess.[6]
3. Constipation due to insufficient fluisd in the intestines- used as an adjunct herb.[6] Stranguria.[3] Constipation.[1,3,5]
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Diarrhea due to Spleen defciency.[6] Use with caution during pregnancy.[6]
COMBINATIONS
PREPARATIONS: 6 to 15 g in decoction, or in the form of powder.[1,3,6] Good quality is round, full, and firm.
   
冬 寒 菜 Dōng hán cài  Leaves   
Nature- cool   FLAVOR: Bland and pleasant
FUNCTIONS
1. Mild laxative, it also stimulates milk production in nursing mothers.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Edema, difficult urination, constipation.[1]
2. Inadequate milk supply.[1]
PREPARATIONS: Decoction- Whole plant   9-15 g for each dose.[1]

HABITAT: Mostly cultivated.
DESCRIPTION: Biennial herb. Stem; erect, with coarse hairs. Leaves; alternate, with long petioles, pubescent on both sides, palmate 5 to 7, shallowly lobed, each lobe obtuse-rounded at apex, margins crenate, with 5 to 7 main ribs. Flowers; in late spring, small light red, clusted at axilla. Fruit; a capsule, found growing inside the calyx.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents
 Seeds: Neutral polysaccharides , acidic polysaccharides, and peptidoglycan.
Research

Antidiabetic activities of extract from Malva verticillata seed via the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase.
Jeong YT1, Song CH.
Abstract
Stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling followed by increase of glucose uptake in L6 myotubes were studied with organic solvent extract of Malva verticillata (MV) seeds. Ethanol extract of M. verticillata seeds (MVE) significantly increased the phosphorylation level of AMPK, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), and glucose uptake in L6 myotube cells. The MVE was fractionated with n-hexane (MVE-H), chloroform (MVE-C), ethylacetate (MVE-E), n-butanol (MVE-B), and water (MVE-W). MVE-H (150 microgram/ml) showed the highest phosphorylating activity and increased glucose uptake by 2.3-fold. Oral administration of MVE-H (40 mg/kg) for 4 weeks to type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice reduced non-fasting and fasting blood glucose levels by 17.1% and 23.3%, respectively. Phosphorylation levels of AMPK and ACC in the soleus muscle and liver tissue of db/db mice were significantly increased by the administration of MVE-H. MVE-H was further fractionated using preparative HPLC to identify the AMPK-activating compounds. The NMR and GC-MS analyses revealed that β-sitosterol was a major effective compound in MVE-H. Phosphorylation levels of AMPK and ACC, and glucose uptake were significantly increased by the treatment of MVE-S (β-sitosterol) isolated from M. verticillata to L6 cells, and these effects were attenuated by an AMPK inhibitor (Compound C) pretreatment. These results, taken together, demonstrate that increased glucose uptake in L6 myotubes by MVE-H treatment is mainly accomplished through the activation of AMPK. Our finding suggests that the extract isolated from M. verticillata seed would be beneficial for the treatment of metabolic disease including type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia.    J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011 Sep;21(9):921-9. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov