Trichosanthes Fructus, Gua Lou 瓜蒌

Gua Lou (TCM)
Picture Trichosanthes kirilowii
Dian Nan Ben Cao Tu Shuo (Illustrated Yunnan Pharmacopoeia) Ming Dynasty (1773 edition) (Welcome, Wikimedia)

Picture Trichosanthes kirilowii fruit
(Photo by 杉山龍彦) (Wikimedia)

Picture Members CLICK HERE for the PRO VERSION

Botanical name:


Trichosanthes kirilowii (syn. T. japonica), T.  rosthornii (syn. T. uniflora)

Parts used:


Fruit

Temperature & Taste:


Cold, Moist. Sweet

Classification:


P. Clear Phlegm

Uses:


1. Moistens the Lungs, Clears Phlegm-Heat:
-Cough with yellow, hard-to-clear sputum
-Chest obstruction with pain and stuffiness (Ming Yi Bie Lu)
-“It moistens Lung Dryness and brings down Fire. It is good for treating coughing, dispersing accumulation of phlegm, facilitating throat” (Li Shi Zhen)

2. Moves Qi, Opens the Chest:
-pressure, a stifling feeling, constriction or pain in the chest and diaphragm
-“improves and brightens the complexion” (Ming Yi Bie Lu)

3. Clears Pus, Resolves Abscesses:
-Abscess of the Lungs, Breast or Intestines
-“eliminates carbuncle, swelling and pyogenic infection” (Li Shi Zhen)


Dose:


9–20 grams in Decoction
Picture

Main Combinations:


1. Cough from Hot-Phlegm:
i. with hard-to-clear sputum, … available in PRO version
ii. with focal distention in the chest and abdomen … available in PRO version
2. Painful Chest obstruction … available in PRO version
3. Abscess:
i. early stage Breast Abscess, … available in PRO version
ii. Lung Abscess (and other abscess) … available in PRO version
iii. Intestinal (or other) Abscess … available in PRO version

Cautions:


“Sweet and cold, but it does not hurt the Stomach” (Li Shi Zhen)
1. Not used for Diarrhea from Stomach and Spleen weakness.

Drug Interaction:
1. Not used with Aconite species (counteracts)
2. Incompatible with Ginger and Achyranthes Niu Xi.

Main Preparations used:



  • Extra Info
  • Research
GENERAL / REVIEW
–Trichosanthis Fructus: botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology.

COMBINATIONS
–[Use of Trichosanthis fructus and the core drug pair Trichosanthis fructus–Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma in traditional Chinese prescriptions: molecular mechanisms in network pharmacology and molecular docking].
–[Study on effect of “Trichosanthis Fructus-Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus” on atherosclerosis in ApoE~(-/-) mice based on liver metabonomics].
–[Toxic effects of combination of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata with Trichosanthis Fructus on inflammatory response and myocardial fibrosis in pressure overload rats based on β2-AR/PKA signal].

PROCESSING
–[Study on HPLC Fingerprint of Trichosanthes Fruit and Its Processed Products].

ANTI-PLATELET / ANTI-THROMBOTIC
–[Anti-platelet aggregation and anti-thrombotic mechanism of Trichosanthis Fructus combined with aspirin based on network pharmacology].

CANCER
–The methylene chloride fraction of Trichosanthis Fructus induces apoptosis in U937 cells through the mitochondrial pathway.