Balsam pear

Balsam pear

(materia medica of Southern Yunnan)

[synonyms] jinlichi, laoputao, hongmaiden, Boda, lianggua, laogua and Hongyang.

[source] it is the fruit of balsam pear, a Cucurbitaceae plant.

[plant morphology] balsam pear

Climbing herbs annual, many branched, villous, tendrils unbranched. The leaves are large, round, 5-12 cm in length and width, usually 5-7-lobed, ovate elliptic, base contracted, margin undulate toothed, both sides nearly smooth or hairy; petiole 3-6 cm long. Flowers monoecious. Male flowers solitary, petiolate, 5-15 cm long, bracts in middle or base, bracts reniform, heart-shaped, 5-15 mm wide, entire; calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, lobes ovate lanceolate, apex short pointed, 4-6 mm long; corolla yellow, 5-lobed, lobes ovate elliptic, 1.5-2 cm long, apex obtuse or slightly concave; stamens 3, adnate to calyx tube throat. The female flowers are solitary, petiolate, 5-10 cm long, with bracts at the base; the ovary is spindle shaped, spiny, beaked at the apex; the style is slender, with 3 stigmas and many ovules. The fruit is oblong, ovate or narrow at both ends, 8-30 cm long, with blunt round and irregular nodular protuberances. It is orange yellow at maturity and splits from the top 3 petals. The seeds are oval, flat, 10-15 mm long, with angular teeth at both ends and uneven stripes on both sides, enclosed in the red fleshy aril. The flowering period is from June to July. The fruit period is from September to October.

It is cultivated all over the country.

The roots (balsam pear roots), stems (balsam pear vines), leaves (balsam pear leaves), flowers (balsam pear flowers) and seeds (balsam pear seeds) of this plant are also used for medicine. See the special section for details.

[collection] after autumn, they were taken, sliced, dried or fresh.

[medicinal materials] the dried bitter gourd slices are oval or rectangular in shape, about 2-8 mm thick, 3-15 cm long and 0.4-2 cm wide. They are all wrinkled and curved. The peel is light gray brown, rough, with longitudinal wrinkles or tumor like protuberances. Sometimes there are seeds in the middle or holes left after the seeds fall off. It is brittle and easy to break. It tastes bitter. It is better to have green edge, white meat, thin slice and few seeds.

Produced in Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Fujian and other places.

[chemical constituents] the fruit contains momordoside, which is an equimolecular mixture of β - sitosterol - β - D-glucoside and 5,25-stigmasterol-3-glucoside. It also contains 5-hydroxytryptamine and many kinds of amino acids, such as glutamic acid, alanine, β - alanine, phenylalanine, proline, α - aminobutyric acid, citrulline, galacturonic acid and pectin.

[pharmacological action] reducing blood sugar. The blood glucose of normal and alloxan diabetic rabbits was significantly decreased after administration of Momordica charantia juice. In hyperglycemic rats induced by subcutaneous injection of anterior pituitary extract, the water extract of Momordica charantia juice also has hypoglycemic effect. Oral administration of momordoside to rabbits can reduce blood glucose in a way similar to but stronger than tolbutamide. The hypoglycemic effect of momordoside on pancreatectomized cats does not completely disappear, so its hypoglycemic effect includes two kinds of effects on pancreas and non pancreas. It is also believed that the hypoglycemic effect of the dry extract of Momordica charantia juice and fruit on normal and diabetic rabbits is uncertain. Oral administration of alcohol extract of Momordica charantia did not reduce blood glucose in diabetic patients.

Bitter, cold.

① "South Yunnan Materia Medica": "bitter, cold, flat. "

② "Compendium": "bitter, cold, non-toxic. "

③ "Ben Jing Feng Yuan" says: "when you are born, you will be cold; when you are ripe, you will be warm. "

[Guijing] 1. In the south of Yunnan Materia Medica, there are three meridians: entering the heart, spleen and stomach. "

② "Seeking truth from Materia Medica": entering the heart, liver and lung. "

Functions and indications: clearing heat, clearing heat, improving eyesight and detoxifying. It can treat fever, thirst, heat stroke, dysentery, red eye pain, carbuncle swelling, erysipelas and sores.

① "Diannan Materia Medica" says: "it can cure Dan fire and poisonous gas, cure evil sores and build up poison, or the sores are hard to bear. "It can relieve six meridians, strengthen fire, clear summer heat, replenish qi and quench thirst. "

② Sheng Sheng Bian: "eliminate evil heat, relieve fatigue, clear heart and clear eyes. "

③ "Seeking truth from Materia Medica" says: "get rid of trouble. "

④ According to the Diet Manual of suixiju: "if you are green, you will get rid of heat, clear your eyes and clear your heart. When ripe, it can nourish the blood, nourish the liver, moisten the spleen and tonify the kidney. "

⑤ Quanzhou materia medica: "it is mainly used to treat fever, thirst, wind heat, red eye, heat stroke and diarrhea. "

[usage and dosage] oral administration: decoction, 2-5 yuan; or calcined and preserved powder. External use: tamping.

[taboo] "materia medica of Southern Yunnan" says: "if the spleen and stomach are deficient and cold, it will cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. "

[formula selection] ① treatment of heatstroke and fever: cut off a fresh bitter gourd, remove the flesh, add the tea, then join it, hang it in a ventilated place and dry it in the shade. Two to three dollars at a time. Fried or boiled water instead of tea.

② Treatment of fever and thirst: a fresh bitter gourd, cut open to pulp, chopped, fried.

③ Treatment of dysentery: mash fresh bitter gourd, wring a cup of juice, take it with boiling water. (1) Fujian Chinese herbal medicine is listed below.)

④ Treatment of eye pain: balsam pear calcined for the end, under the lamp grass soup. (materia medica of Southern Yunnan)

⑤ Treatment of carbuncle: fresh balsam pear mashed applied to the affected area. (Quanzhou materia medica)

⑥ Treatment of stomachache: balsam pear calcined for the end, boiling underwater. (materia medica of Southern Yunnan)

Chinese PinYin : Ku Gua