Eucommia bark (Du Zhong) is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat back pain and leg pain. It is also one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Chinese herbology.
According to Chinese legend, a very poor man named Du Zhong relied on cutting firewood for a living. Sometimes he suffered from pain in the muscles and joints of his lower back as a result of overworking.
One day, while cutting firewood in the mountains, he experienced this pain in his back. Due to the intensity of the back pain, he held onto a tree and bit tightly on the bark. In doing so, he unwittingly sucked some juice from the tree bark. His pain soon disappeared.
“It felt like I was dying from the pain, but this time, it disappeared after I sucked some juice from this tree bark,” he thought. He looked at the bark curiously and found that it was different from the other trees. “Maybe this is good for my backache,” he thought, and stripped some bark to take home.
Bark decoction cured back pain
Du Zhong later decided to decoct the bark for his neighbor, who also suffered from back pain and leg pain. After drinking a few bowls of the decoction, the neighbor was also cured.
People of other villages soon heard about this. Those who suffered from lumbago visited Du Zhong and were also cured by the decoction. The bark was thus named Du Zhong.
In traditional Chinese medicine, Eucommia bark is first harvested and dried. Then it is sliced to expose the inside of the bark. Following this, it is boiled to make a decoction.
Usually, this decoction is combined with other herbs to create a tonic that enhances the yang energy in the body. It helps people with back pain, headaches, dizziness, and weak legs, and it is also good for the liver and kidneys. Du Zhong can also be concocted into a soup.
Du Zhong chicken soup
- 1 whole, young chicken, rinsed and drained
- Eucommia bark, 1/2 ounce
- Red dates, 5-6 pieces
- Fresh ginger, 1/2 inch
- Scallions, 2 stalks
Put all of the above ingredients into a slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover the chicken. Simmer the chicken for 7 to 8 hours. Discard the ginger and scallions. Finally, add some salt to taste.
