JOB'S TEAR* (Syn. Coix seed; Chinese pearl barley; yiyiren)

Plant Source: Coix lachryma-jobi L. and C. lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen (Roman.) Staph. (Family Gramineae).

Part Used: Ripe seed.

Properties: Diuretic, Spleen-invigorating, heat-dispersing, easing joints, anti-swelling, pus-expelling, antioxidant, antimutagenic, general tonic.

Most Common Traditional Uses: Painful joints, rheumatism, oedema.

Modern/Recent Uses: Warts, eczema, chronic enteritis, diarrhoea, lung abscess, acute appendicitis.

Job's tear is commonly used in Asia as food and medicine. In China, it is one the most popular food herbs used in the diet therapy of painful and stiff joints, either singly or in soup mixes. From all traditional accounts, it seems to work. If you suffer from stiff and painful joints, I urge you to try this before going the irreversible route of the steroids. Simply cook 1 to 2 ounces as you would regular barley and drink the soup or eat it all if you prefer. Give it a week or two to take effect. If it doesn't work, you would not have lost anything. If it does, it will have saved you a life-long addiction to steroids and misery.

Many of the traditional uses of Job's tear may now have a scientific basis. During the past few decades, based on experimental animal studies, Japanese scientists have isolated numerous active chemical components from Job's tear which include coixol (anti-inflammatory, antihistaminic, muscle relaxant, fever reducing, etc.) and coixans (peptide-containing polysaccharides that have sugar-lowering properties). In addition, Job's tear also contains the more common nutrients that have more subtle effects that cannot be meaningfully measured by animal experiments. These nutrients include lipids (glycolipids, phospholipids, sterols, etc.), amino acids, adenosine, thiamine, and others.

Job's tear is also commonly known as Chinese pearl barley in America. After cooking (requiring 1 hour or more), it does taste like the common barley. However, it is different in many respects from the regular barley. The latter does not have the reputed effects of Job's tear. Ironically, the common barley has in recent years found its way into soup mixes that are supposed to contain Job's tear. I have come across it numerous times in such mixes sold in American Chinatowns. These adulterated mixes would not yield the benefits of Chinese pearl barley or Job's tear.