Gua Lou (Shi) - 栝楼 - Fructus Trichosanthis
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Fructus Trichosanthis |
| Common English: | Snakegourd Fruit Trichosanthes Fruit |
Category
Herbs that Transform Phlegm and Stop Coughing: Herbs that Cool and Transform Phlegm-HeatProperties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Sweet | Cold | Large Intestine Lung Stomach | 9-30g Tincture: 2-5ml 9-21g (Secondary source) |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Clears Lung Heat and transforms Hot Phlegm | Phlegm-Heat cough and asthma with thick, difficult-to-expectorate Phlegm It can be used as a stand alone herb, especially for children |
Regulates Qi (unbinds the chest) | Qi accumulation in the chest with a stifling or distended sensation in the chest, constriction and pain or pressure in the diaphragm |
Reduces abscesses, dissipates nodules and eliminates pus | Lung, intestinal or breast abscesses |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
|
| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
|
| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Major Combinations
| Concha Meretricis/Cyclinae | Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii | Rz. Coptidis |
Cough with thick, yellow sputum and a stifling sensation in the chest due to Phlegm-Heat with constrained, clumping of Qi. As a complete formula for chest pain due to Phlegm and thin mucus. | Dry cough, and a dry throat with thick, difficult to expectorate sputum due to Wind-Heat. | Phlegm-Heat accumulating in the chest and epigastrium that is painful when pressed with coughing of thick, yellow sputum. (Xiong Bi due to Phlegm and Heat Accumulation beneath the Heart) |
| Bul. Allii Macrostemi | Pul. Arisaema cum Felle Bovis | Myrrh |
Painful obstruction of the chest (Chest Bi) due to Cold turbidity stagnating in the Upper Jiao. | Phlegm-Heat cough. | Lung abscess marked by irritability, stifling sensation in the chest and coughing up of pus and Blood. |
| Flos Lonicerae | Hb. Taraxaci | Hb. Taraxaci |
Intestinal abscess where the pus has already formed or patients with Qi and Blood Deficiency. | Early stages of breast abscess. | Breast carbuncles. Pulmonary abscess. |
Hb. Taraxaci | Hb. Houttuyniae | Sm. Cannabis |
Mastitis. | Pulmonary abscess with purulent hemoptysis. | Constipation. |
Olibanum | Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum | Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum |
Activates Qi and Blood to disperse swellings and clumps and treat puerperal breast disorders with accumulation, Stagnation, distention and pain such as insufficient lactation from obstruction or early-stage breast abscess. | Focal distention in the chest and diaphragm due to clumping of Phlegm and Heat leading to Qi Stagnation. Chest Bi due to clumping of sticky, thick and turbid Phlegm. | Productive cough with yellow, sticky Phlegm, chest congestion and hard stools due to Heat in the Lung and Large Intestine. |
Rx. Anemarrhenae | ||
Productive cough with Phlegm due to Lung Heat. |
Notes
- Early texts make no distinction between this herb (the fruit), the seed Gua Lou Ren, and the husk Gua Lou Pi.
- Fr. Trichosanthis Gua Lou can be substituted for Sm. Trichosanthis Gua Lou Ren or Per. Trichosanthis Gua Lou Pi.
- The whole fruit is preferable for chest obstruction and for subcutaneous swelling or abscess.
- The husk Gua Lou Pi is the best choice for clearing Heat, resolving Phlegm and moving Qi in the chest.
- To loosen the bowels and relieve constipation, use the seed Gua Lou Ren.
- Its capacity to moisten Dryness and move the bowels makes it most suitable for wheezing and constipation in which Phlegm-Heat accumulates in the Lungs and then obstructs the Large Intestine.
- Its most valuable quality is its ability to descend Phlegm and turbidity.
- In infants, it can be used alone for wheezing from Phlegm Obstruction.
- Research has shown that it inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
- Gua Lou and Sm. Sinapis Bai Jie Zi both move Qi in the chest and scour Phlegm, treating turbid Phlegm that obstructs the Qi and causes pain and a stifling sensation in the chest. Gua Lou is moist and cold and better suited to conditions where Heat and Phlegm have clumped together in the chest. Bai Jie Zi is warm, drying and powerful and better suited to Cold-Phlegm accumulating in the chest.
From Class
- Gua Lou fruit & white mustard seed (Bai Jie Zi) to unbind the chest: Wiriness at both cun positions with substernal distension: add Pericardium points and Ren-17, plus chest-unbinding Gua Lou fruit or dietary white mustard seed. (Yuen)
- Hot-phlegm herb groups: Fritillaria, Trichosanthes, bamboo, seaweed: Hot-phlegm herbs: Chuan Bei Mu nourishes yin (Zhe Bei Mu doesn't), Gua Lou unbinds the chest, bamboos quiet the heart, seaweeds soften phlegm masses (goiter, scrofula). (Yuen)