Chest distress treated with TCM Trichosanthes kirilowii

What is Trichosanthes kirilowii(Gua Lou)? Its Chinese name mainly refers to the dried fruits of Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. or sometimes T. rosthornii Harms in the family Cucurbitaceae. Medicinally the fruit, along with its stem, is harvested in autumn when it is mature. And then place it in the shade to dry. And its comes with various common names, such as Trichosanthes fruit, fructus Trichosanthis,snakegourd fruit, snakegourd seed, Chinese cucumber, and so on. Its main habitats in the wild include tussock on a hillside, forest edges, and damp valley. Now most of them are from cultivation, mainly produced in Shandong, Anhui, Henan and other places.

Its plant is a perennial herbaceous vine. Stems are with ridges and 2 to 3 tendrils. Leaves are alternate. Blades are wide ovate-cordate, 5 to 14cm long, and with 3 to 5 shallow to deep lobes and equal length and width. Male flowers grow at the 1/3 of upper end and 3 to 8 flowers form racemes. Female flowers is solitary and with about 6cm peduncle. Fruit is from oval to spherical, 7 to 11cm long, and with orange fruit flesh. Seeds are flat oval, 11 to 16mm long, and 7 to 12mm wide. And it flowers from June to August and fruits from September to October.

Chief chemical compositions are triterpenoid saponin, organic acids, salts, resins, sugars and pigments. The seeds contain fatty oil, saponin and more. Trichosanthes skin comes with a variety of amino acids and alkaloids. And the plant contains the toxic anti-HIV type I ribosome-inactiving lectin trichosanthin.

Trichosanthes kirilowii benefits
The whole fruit can be used for medicinal purposes. As a whole, it is called Quan Gua Lou or Gua Lou Shi, which is good at moistening lung to remove phlegm and activating qi to relieve choking sensation in chest. Its peel, or Gua Lou Pi, can clear heat and eliminate phlegm. Trichosanthes kirilowii seeds, or Gua Lou Ren, can lubricate the intestines. And trichosanthes kirilowii root, or Tian Hua Fen, can help produce saliva and slake thirst, moisten dryness, and reduce pathogenic fire. And its pharmacology says it all.