Trichosanthes Fructus, Gua Lou 瓜蒌

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

Picture Trichosanthes kirilowii var. japonica
(Photo by 杉山龍彦) (Wikimedia)

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

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

Main Combinations:


1. Cough from Hot-Phlegm:
i. with hard-to-clear sputum, Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Fritillaria Zhe Bei Mu and Platycodon Jie Geng.
ii. with focal distention in the chest and abdomen Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Pinellia Ban Xia and Citrus Chen Pi
2. Painful Chest obstruction Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Pinellia Ban Xia and Garlic Chive (Allium macrostemi, Xie Bai)
3. Abscess:
i. early stage Breast Abscess, Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying) and Frankincense (Ru Xiang)
ii. Lung Abscess (and other abscess) Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Myrrh and Frankincense
iii. Intestinal (or other) Abscess with Heat and Toxin and Deficiency, Trichosanthes Fructus Gua Lou with Lonicera Jin Yin Hua, Forsythia Lian Qiao, Astragalus Huang Qi (as in Expel Pus Powder [Pai Nong San])

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.