Choerospondias, Guang Zao 广枣

Hog Plum; Choerospondias fruit
Guang Zao  广枣  (TCM)
Snying Zho Sha  སྙིང་ཞོ་ཤ  (Tibetan)
Picture Hooker, Icones Plantarum, vol. 26 (1898)

Picture Choerospondias axillaris
(Photo by Zhangzhugang) (Wikimedia)

Picture Choerospondias Guang Zao
(Chengdu Medicine Market, Adam, 2017)

Botanical name:


Choerospondias axillaris

Parts used:


Dried Ripe Fruit; the seed is used synonymously in TCM.

Temperature & Taste:


Neutral/Cool. Sweet, Sour

Uses:


1. Moves Qi and Blood
-Chest pain from Qi and Blood stasis
-Shortness of Breath

2. Nourishes the Heart, Clears Heat, Calms the Mind and Spirit:
-Restlessness, Anxiety, Insomnia, Neurasthenia
-Heart Fire, Carditis (Tibetan Medicine)
-Palpitation

3. Clears Obstruction, Resolves Toxin:
–food stagnation with abdominal fullness
-Diarrhea
-Bronchitis
-Hernia


Dose:


1–2 ½ grams

Comment,
In Tibetan Medicine, it is one of the 3 Zho Sha medicines:
i. Choerospondias has Heart-shaped seed and benefits the Heart
ii. Mucuna prurita (and Canavalia gladiata) have Kidney-shaped seed and benefits the Kidneys
iii. Entada scandens has Spleen-shaped seeds and benefits the Spleen.
These three medicines are sometimes combined

Substitutes:


1. Fruit of Spondias pinnata
2. Plum (Fruit of Prunus spp.)–Buryat region

Main Combinations:


1. Anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, mental dullness, Insanity, Mild Depression:
i. Choerospondias Guang Zao with Asafetida, Costus, Nutmeg, Betel Nut (as in Mental Happiness of Tibetan Medicine)
ii. Choerospondias Guang Zao with Aloeswood, Nutmeg, Tabasheer, Chebula, Clove, Asafetida, Costus, Frankincense (as in Eleven Holders of Life of Tibetan Medicine)
iii. Choerospondias Guang Zao with Triphala, Nutmeg, Frankincense, Aloeswood, Asafetida, Clove, Tabasheer, Safflower, White Sandalwood (as in Bi Ma La of Tibetan Medicine)
2. Wind affecting the Heart, Heart Fire due to overactive Mind, Choerospondias Guang Zao with Nutmeg, Long Pepper, Costus, Inula racemosa (as in Nutmeg 5 of Tibetan Medicine)
3. Heart disease, Choerospondias Guang Zao with White Sandalwood, Nutmeg. This is widely used for Heart disease in Tibetan Medicine.

Major Formulas:


Eleven Holders of Life (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 8 Water Transformer (Ar brgyad chu bsgyur) (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 9 (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 15 (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 31 (Tibetan)
Aloeswood 35 (Tibetan)
Mental Happiness (Tibetan)
Nutmeg 3 Decoction (Dza ti gsum thang) (Tibetan)
Bi Ma La (Tibetan)
Nux Vomica 13 (Tibetan)
Rhododendron 16 (Tibetan)

Cautions:


None noted

Main Preparations used:



Click the Tabs above for more information on this Medicin
GENERAL / REVIEW:
–Fructus choerospondiatis: A comprehensive review of its traditional uses, chemical composition, pharmacological activities, and clinical studies.
–Comparison of bioactivities and phenolic composition of Choerospondias axillaris peels and fleshes.
–[Studies on the chemical constituents from the bark of Choerospondias axillaries].
–[Studies on chemical constituents of Choerospondias axillaris].

ANTI-BACTERIAL:
–One new and nine known flavonoids from Choerospondias axillaries and their in vitro antitumor, anti-hypoxia and antibacterial activities.

ANTIOXIDANT:
–Isolation, Purification, and Antioxidant Activities of Polysaccharides from Choerospondias axillaris Leaves.
–Proanthocyanidins, Isolated from Choerospondias axillaris Fruit Peels, Exhibit Potent Antioxidant Activities in Vitro and a Novel Anti-angiogenic Property in Vitro and in Vivo.
–Antioxidant activity and polyphenol content in edible wild fruits from Nepal.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY:
–Evaluation of Anti-inflammatory Effects of Choerospondias axillaris Fruit’s Methanolic Extract in Synoviocytes and CIA Rat Model.

HEART DISEASE:
–Magnetic Ligand Fishing Using Immobilized Cyclooxygenase-2 for Identification and Screening of Anticoronary Heart Disease Ligands From Choerospondias axillaris.
–Total Flavones of Choerospondias axillaris Attenuate Cardiac Dysfunction and Myocardial Interstitial Fibrosis by Modulating NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

ARRHYTHMIA:
–Influence of total flavonoids derived from Choerospondias axillaris folium on aconitine-induced antiarrhythmic action and hemodynamics in Wistar rats.
–[Comparing the actions of the three flavone ingredients in choerospondias axillaris on arrhythmias induced by aconitine].
–[Anti-arrhythmic action of total flavones of Choerospondias axillaris fructus].

MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA:
–[Effect of the compound of Choerospondias axillaris on the tolerance to hypoxia and protection from acute myocardial ischemia in animals].

ANTI-HYPOXIA:
–One new and nine known flavonoids from Choerospondias axillaries and their in vitro antitumor, anti-hypoxia and antibacterial activities.
–[Effect of the compound of Choerospondias axillaris on the tolerance to hypoxia and protection from acute myocardial ischemia in animals].

CANCER:
–Antitumor Activity of Choerospondias axillaris Fruit Extract by Regulating the Expression of SNCAIP and SNCA on MDA-MB-231 Cells.
–Using the Cancer Dependency Map to Identify the Mechanism of Action of a Cytotoxic Alkenyl Derivative from the Fruit of Choerospondias axillaris.
–One new and nine known flavonoids from Choerospondias axillaries and their in vitro antitumor, anti-hypoxia and antibacterial activities.