蘆筍 아스파라거스 (노순)

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)

Asparagus is a Mediterranean and West Asian vegetable that reached Korea relatively late, and the classical Korean medical canon — including the Dongui Bogam (1613) — does not record clear medicinal properties for the edible vegetable itself.

A note on identity

Traditional Korean medicine does describe a closely related plant called cheonmundong (天門冬). It belongs to the same genus Asparagus but is a different species — Asparagus cochinchinensis — and only its tuberous roots are used as medicine. Cheonmundong is traditionally classified as:

• Nature and flavor (성질·맛, seongjil·mat): cold in nature, sweet and slightly bitter in flavor. In Korean medicine every herb is assigned a thermal "nature" (cooling, warming, neutral) and a "flavor" that hints at its action — sweet substances tend to nourish, bitter ones to drain or clear heat.
• Meridian tropism (귀경, gwigyeong): the Lung and Kidney channels. "Meridian tropism" means the channels, or organ systems, a herb is believed to travel to and act upon.
• Main effects: nourishing yin and moistening the Lungs — that is, replenishing the body's cooling, fluid-like reserves and easing dryness in the respiratory system.

Because cheonmundong and edible asparagus are different species used in different ways, the yin-nourishing, lung-moistening reputation of the medicinal root cannot be transferred wholesale to the vegetable on your plate.

How asparagus is best understood today

For the edible shoot, a modern nutritional reading is the honest one. Asparagus is rich in folate, the amino acid asparagine (from which it takes its name), and the flavonoid rutin, among other nutrients — and these, rather than any classical indication, are the grounds on which it earns its place in the kitchen.

Cautions

• Do not substitute fresh asparagus shoots for cheonmundong in a traditional formula, or vice versa; they are not interchangeable.
• Anyone considering cheonmundong as a herbal medicine should consult a qualified Korean-medicine practitioner, as its cold nature is not suited to every constitution.