Persimmon used as oral contraceptive herb in ancient China

What is a persimmon(Shi Di)?
Persimmons fruit, commonly called Chinese persimmon, Asian Persimmon, Gam (Korean), "Sharon Fruit", "Korean mango", is actually a kind of berry. Its ripe season is about October. It is oblate in shape and different diospyros kaki varieties range from pale orange to deep orange in color and 2cm to 10cm in size, and 100 to 350g in weight. In china it has been cultivated for more than 1,000 years. The nutrition of ripe fruit includes sugar 15%, protein 1.36%, fat 0.57%, vitamins, crude fiber, carotene, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other elements. More importantly, it contains 1 to 2 times higher of vitamin C than other average fruits.

But when it comes to homeopathic remedy and TCM, persimmon calyx is more commonly used. It mainly refers to the dried calyx of Diospyros kaki Thunb. This is a plant in the family Ebenaceae. Hence, other names of it include Calyx Kaki, Shidi, Calyx Diospyros Kaki, Kaki Calyx, and more. In China, it is mainly produced in Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian. This herb is usually collected in autumn and winter when the ripe fruits are picked or consumed. And medicinally it should be washed, dried in the sun, and used raw.

Diospyros kaki benefits
The health benefits of persimmon are numerous. Actually this plant provides many medicinal parts, including diospyros kaki bark, root or root bark, leaf, seeds, flowers, fruits, Kaki-shibu (Persimmon Tannin Juice), powder on the surface of a dried persimmon, peel, and persimmon cakes.

As for the calyx, clinically it is a specific medicine for the treatment of belching, coughing, hiccough, and vomiting, which is believed to be caused by the lung Qi ascending counterflow from the perspective of TCM. Because this is an herb that is of neutral nature, it can be used regardless of the pattern of diseases are based on nature of cold, heat, deficiency, or excess. For those who have vomiting feeling caused by its bitter and astringent taste, using its decoction as the mouthwash is a good idea. What’s more, the ground kaki calyx powder was also used as oral contraceptive pill in ancient China. It is said that taking it once could provide continuous pregnancy prevention for 1 year.

Modern pharmacological actions of persimmon calyx
1) Anti-arrhythmic effects. 0.5% of its exact can significantly resist chloroform-induced ventricular fibrillation by intraperitoneal injection (50mg/kg) in mice, fight against aconitine or barium chloride-induced arrhythmia in rats, and battle ouabain-induced ventricular arrhythmias in guinea pigs by intraperitoneal injection (ST 12.5mg/kg.day) for 5 consecutive days;

2) Sedation. ST100mg/kg intraperitoneal injection in mice can significantly decrease its spontaneous activity, enhance the hypnotic effect of subthreshold dose of sodium pentobarbital, extend sleep time, and significantly antagonize the morphine-induced tail erection in mice;

3) Antifertility effect. At the screening of anti-fertility in rabbits, it is initially confirmed that it has some anti-fertility effect. And the calyx handle has a better result than the rest part and the anti-fertility rate of handle was 79.6%.