Mukia, Mao Er Gua 帽儿瓜 Madras Pea Pumpkin Mao Er Gua, Dao Diao Jin Zhong (TCM) Ahilekhana, Trikoshaki (Ayurveda) Musumsukkai (Siddha)

Mukia maderaspatana Anonymous, Plantarum Malabaricum icones (1694-1710)

Mukia maderaspatana Kirtikar, K.R., Basu, B.D., Indian medicinal plants (1918)

Mukia maderaspatana
Photo by Vinayaraj) (Wikimedia)

Botanical name:

Mukia maderaspatana (syn. Melothria maderaspatana, Cucumis maderaspatanus, Bryonia scabrella)

Parts used:

Root, Leaf

Temperature & Taste:

Cold, dry. Sweet, Bitter

Classification:

B. Clears Heat and Toxin

Uses:

1. Clears Wind-Heat, Resists Toxin:
-Cold, Fever
-heat-type Cough, Bronchitis, Lung abscess
-Boils, Abscesses, Toxic Sores
-also Dizziness, Vertigo, Facial Neuralgia

2. Clears Heat and Damp, Promote Urine:
-Dysuria, obstructed Urine
-Biliousness, Jaundice

3. Moves the Blood, Clears Heat, Resolves Stasis:
-Gynecological inflammations
-Infertility from Heat and Inflammation
-Bruising and Trauma

4. Externally:
-roots are chewed for Toothache
-leaf paste applied to Ulcers
-crushed herb applied to Sores and Swellings
-leaf ash is applied to cuts and wounds between the toes

Dose:

Decoction: 6–12 grams

Substitute:

Physalis angulata Pao Zai Cao is used similarly in TCM.

Main Combinations:

1. Fever, Mukia with Centella asciatica
2. Toxic Sores and Swelling, Mukia with Forsythia Lian Qiao, Isatis Da Qing Ye
3. Lung Abscess, Mukia with Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying), Isatis Da Qing Ye, Platycodon Jie Geng
4. Jaundice, Mukia with Artemisia scoparia Yin Chen Hao

Major Formulas:

Cautions:

1. Caution in digestive weakness
2. Avoid during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Toxicity:

It contains Furocoumarin which may cause Photosensitivity.

Main Preparations used: