Pharmaceutical Name:

Fructus Trichosanthes   

Botanical Name:

Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim.
Trichosanthes rosthornii Harms.

Common Name:

Trichosanthes Fruit
Snakegourd Fruit

Source of Earliest Record:

Mingyi Bielu

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The fruit is gathered in autumn and dried in the shade.

Properties and Taste:

Sweet and cold

Meridians:

Lung, stomach, and large intestine

Functions:

To clear heat and resolve phlegm
To moisten dryness and move feces
To regulate qi in the chest and release nodules

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Phlegm-heat cough manifested as cough with yellow and thick sputum, stifling sensation in the chest and constipation.
*Use with Arisaema tuber with bile (Dannanxing) and Scutellaria root (Huangqin) in the formula Qingqi Huatan Wan.

2.     Phlegm, dampness and stagnated blood blocking the chest manifested as stifling sensation and pain in the chest, and chest pain referring to the back of the body.
*Use with Macrostem onion (Xiebai) and Pinellia tuber (Banxia) in the formula Gualou Xiebai Banxia Tang.

3.     Phlegm and heat accumulating in the chest and epigastric region manifested as fullness and stifling sensation in the chest and epigastric region.
*Use with Coptis root (Huanglian) and Pinellia tuber (Banxia) in the formula Xiao Xianxiong Tang.

4.      Constipation.
*Use with Hemp seed (Huomaren), Bush-cherry seed (Yuliren) and Bitter orange (Zhiqiao).

5.     Mastitis (swollen and painful breasts).
*Use with Dandelion herb (Pugongying), Frankincense (Ruxiang) and Myrrh (Moyao).

Dosage:

10-20 g

Cautions:

This herb cannot be used with Sichuan aconite root (Wutou), as they counteract each other.