Trichosanthes Root
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Market name：瓜呂根 Photo location：Museum of Materia Medica, Inst. of Nat. Med. TMPW No.：179 |
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Plant name：Trichosanthes kirilowii var. japonicum Photo location：Niigata Pref., Japan Photo date：1991 Photographer：K. Komatsu |
| Synonym | |
| Latin name | Trichosanthis Radix |
| Botanical source: Family name | Cucurbitaceae |
| Botanical source: Plant name | - Trichosanthes kirilowii Maximowicz (IPNI:294222-1) - Trichosanthes kirilowii var. japonica Kitamura - Trichosanthes bracteata Voigt (IPNI:294157-1) |
| Part used | Root |
| Empirical criteria for quality selection | Good one is powder white and rich in amyloid. Neither brown nor fibrous one is good. The one that is produced in China is rich in amyloid and the one in Japan is high in fiber (TN). |
| Constituents | Fatty acids: Trichosantic acid Polysaccharides: Starch Triterpenoids: 11-Oxo-cucurbit-5-ene-3β,24,25-triol Sterols: Stigmasterol, β-Sitosterol Amino acids: Citrulline Simple nitrogen containing compounds: γ-Aminobutyric acid, Trichosanthin |
| Pharmacological effects | Hyperglycemia (decoction, water extract) |
| Indications | As an antifebrile, antitussive, diuretic, relactagogue, relieving thirst and for draining pus, it is applied to treat thirst of deficiency syndrome, pain due to pharyngeal swelling, respiratory disease, malignant tumor and all. Its powder is topically used for infantile skin disease. |
| Diseases | Thirst, Dry cough, Hemoptysis, Pyogenic dermatosis |
| Formulas | karokeishito , saikokeishikankyoto , saikoseikanto |
| Meridian tropism | Lung, Stomach |
| Property | Cold |
| Flavor | Sweet, Sour |
| Classification in "Shen-non Ben-cao Jing" | Middle |
| TCM: Classification | Drugs for reducing intense internal heat |
| TCM: Medicinal effects | To remove heat, to promote the production of body fluid, to facilitate the drainage of pus and the subsidence of swelling. Used for thirst in febrile disease, dry cough due to heat in the lung, diabetes caused by internal heat, sores and abscess. |
| Remarks | Listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 18th ed. In china, Trichosanthes Root is also called tianhuafen. The root of T. rosthornii Herms is used as Chinese tianhuafen as well. Tenkafun, Japanese pronunciation of tianhuafen, is the starch gualougen which is applied externaly to exema, skin fit, etc. The root of T. bracteaata Voigt (Jap. Name: ookarasuuri) is also used as Japanese gualougen. |
| References | TN: T. Namba & Y. Tsuda ed., Outline of Pharmacognosy, a Textbook, 3rd ed., Nankodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, 1998. |
DNA sequences of medicinal plants
| Gene Region | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nuclear | Chloroplast | Mitochondria | |||||||||||||||||
| Botanical source: Plant name | 5Ss | 18S | ITS1 | 5.8S | ITS2 | 26S | others | trnH-psbA | matK | trnK | trnK-rps16 | trnT-L | trnL | trnL-F | rbcL | rpoC1 | ndhF | others | |
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