Trichosanthes Fructus, Gua Lou 瓜蒌
Trichosanthes Fruit
Gua Lou (TCM)
Botanical name:
Trichosanthes kirilowii (syn. T. japonica), T. rosthornii (syn. T. uniflora)
Parts used:
Fruit
Temperature & Taste:
Cold, Moist. Sweet
Classification:
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, … 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:
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.
