Trichosanthes
Fruit (gua lou)
Fructus
Trichosanthis
properties: It
is sweet in flavour and cold in nature. It acts on he
lung, stomach, large intestine channels. Its sweetness and
coldness can clear heat and moisten, promote Qi flow and
expel turbid urine. In upper part to the body, it clears
away lung-heat and moistens the lung, resolves phlegm to
arrest cough, soothes the chest appression to promote Qi flow,
relieve stasis and pain; while in the lower part, it
clears away heat and moistens the bowels. It is the common
herb in treatment of cough due to phlegm-heat, dry cough
due to dryness of the lung, spasm due to stagnation of Qi
in the chest, constipation due to dryness of bowel, and
other syndromes.
Effects: Clearing
away heat, reat, resolving phlegm, soothing the chest
oppression to promote Qi cirulation, moistening and
relaxing the bowels.
Indications:
1. For treatment
of cough due to phlegm-heat, yellow, sticky and thick
sputum, stuffy chest and diaphram, it is usually used in
combination with Radix Scutellariae, Arisaema cum Bile,
Fructus Auranti Immaturus, Rhizoma Pinelliae and other
drugs, to clear away heat and resolve phlegm, promote Qi
circulation and soothe the chest oppression, such as Qing
Qi Huatan Wan.
2. For treatment
of accumulation of cold-phlegm and damp-evil, spasm and
stagnation of Qi in the chest due to obstruction of chest
Yang, it is frequently used together with Bulbus Allii
Macrostemi, Rizoma Pinelliae, Ramulus Cinnamoni, and other
drugs to resolve phlegm and dissolve lumps, promote Qi
circulation and activate Yang, such as Gualou Xiebai
Baijiu Tang, Gualou Xiebai Banxia Tang, and so on.
3. For treatment
of constipation due to dryness of bowel, it can be used in
combination with Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Semen
Armeniacae Amarum, Fructus Canabis, and other herbs having
the effect of lubricoting the bowels to relieve
constipation.
Besides, it can be
used in combination with heat and toxin-clearing,
swelling-subduing and pus evacuating drugs. It can be used
in treatment of pulmonary abscess with expectoration of
pus, intestinal abscess with pain.
Dosage
and Administration: Qiuangualuo, 15-30g; Gualoupie, 5-15g;
Gualouren, 10-15g. Among them, Gualoupie acts more on
resolving phlegm and promoting circulation of Qi, while
Gualouren, on moistening the bowels. The Qiuangualou has
both above-mentioned effects.
Precautions:
It is antagonistic against Rhizoma Aconiti.
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