Litchi chinensis (Lizhihe)

Distribution:
Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Taiwan.
 
Properties (characteristics):
Sweet, astringent, slightly bitter, warm.
 
Channels meridians entered:
Liver, stomach.
 
Medical functions:
Lowering blood sugar effect: using the chemical ingredient, a-methylenecycyclopropyl glycine, for hypodermic injection on mice, showed it possessed lowering blood sugar effect.

Lowering blood lipid effect: the water or alcohol extract of li zhi he possesses the effect of regulating blood lipids and the effect of anti-oxidation and can lower the total cholesterol and triglycerides of animals.
Anti oxidation effect: it can help resist  free radicals caused by alloxan and improve the activity of antioxidant enzyme SOD.

It can inhibit the mutagenic effects of Salmonella typhimurium.
Anti viral effect: the extract can inhibit hepatitis B virus surface antigen.
 
Actions & Indications:
Hernia and abdomen pain, swollen testes, Stomachache, Diabetes, chronic diarrhea.

Chemical ingredients:
Saponins  
tannins  
a-methylenecycyclopropyl glycine 
3-acetoin 
2,3-butanediol 
copaene 
cis-caryophyllene 
allo-aromadendrene 
small amount of evaporating oil:
humulene 
δ-cadinene 
a-curcumene 
calamenene 
ledol 
guaiazulene 
xanthorrhizol 
palmitic acid  

Daily Dosage:
For decoction: 6 - 10 g,
in powder or pill form 1.5 - 3 g ,

Cautions:
Do not use when there is no syndrome of damp cold or qizi (qi stagnation)