Rosa rugosa, a preferred herb for liver depression in female

What is rosa rugosa (Mei Gui Hua)?
The medicinal part of rose is the buds. Hence, medicinally it mainly means the dried bud of Rosa rugosa Thunb., which is a member in the family Rosaceae. And other names of this herb include Young Flower of Chinese Rose, Flos Rosae Rugosae, Rosebud, Bud of the Chinese Rose, Japanese Rose Flower, Rosae rugosae Flos, rugosa rose, Ramanas rose, and so on. In China, it is mainly produced Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Sichuan and other places. It is usually picked in batches during the end of spring and the beginning of summer when the flower is about to bloom. And then remove the stalk and stem and timely dry them in low-temperature. It is generally used raw.

Rosa rugosa plants are upright shrub, up to 2 meters in height. Stems are stout. Branches grow thickly, covered with dense hair, trichome, and thorns. It has alternate simple pinnately compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets per leaf. Flowers are solitary or a few of them cluster, 6 to 8cm in diameter, purple or white, and with single or double petals. Achenes are osseous, flat spherical, dark orange-red, and 2 to 2.5cm in diameter. The flowering time is from May to June and fruiting season is from August to September. Habitats in the wild are low mountain jungles and it is often cultivated in a yard or garden as a hedge.

Rosa rugosa health benefits
Rose is native to China, in which there is a long history of cultivation for ornamental flower and spice plants. Coincidentally the mild nature of rose and weak temperament in women is quite in tune. So, clinically rosebud is the preferred herb for the treatment of liver depression in female. Put it in the language of modern medicine – it is good at treating common gynecological diseases, such as morbid leucorrhea, irregular menstruation, menopausal syndrome, premenstrual cold, acute mastitis, and so on. And in recent years it is also used to treat depressive disorder.

Its flowers can be steamed for essential oil. Rosa rugosa oil is high in (-)-citronellol (60.0%), which is mainly for the purposes of producing food and cosmetics. Petals can be made into pie filling, jam, rose wine, rose syrup, flower essence, and tea. Buds are the main medicinal part and commonly used for liver qi depression, heartburn, abdominal fullness, and irregular menstruation. Rosa rugosa fruit is rich in vitamin C, glucose, fructose, sucrose, citric acid, malic acid and carotene.

Rosa rugosa tea is of mild nature and suitable for both male and female. It is so versatile that it is capable of soothing the mood, balancing the endocrine, enriching blood and qi, improving looks, caring skin, regulating the functions of liver and stomach, eliminating fatigue, and improving physical fitness. When combined with other herbal tea, it can also help digestion and burn excess fat. To be specific, rose are beneficial to women health in at least 4 different ways. To begin with, it regulates qi-blood and women’s physiological problems, which can go a long way in helping weight loss for female who gains weight due to endocrine disorder; then, long-term use of rose tea gives a good complexion by removing acne, spots and wrinkle; furthermore, it helps on breast enlargement and menstruation regulating; finally, it works as a mild laxative.