Traditional Application of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus, a traditional Chinese medicine with dual-purpose of drug and food, has a long history of cultivation and application, showing high medicinal, dietetic, ornamental and economic values. Many modern researches have been conducted on the extraction technology, chemical constituents, quality standards and biological activities, but the herbal textual researches were relatively insufficient. The related records of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus in the ancient Chinese medicinal classics were ambiguous and confusing. By referring to ancient Chinese medicinal classics and modern books, the textual researches of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus, including the names, plant morphology, origin, medicinal properties, efficiency and application were systematically reviewed and analyzed in this paper, in order to provide the basis for the confirmation of original source of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus. The results showed that Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus was usually recorded as ‘Xiangyuan’ ‘Juyuan’ ‘Ganyuan’ ‘Xiangyuan’ ‘Foshougan’ etc. in ancient books. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, it became clear that ‘Xiangyuan’ was equivalent to ‘Juyuan’, but different from ‘Foshougan’. Therefore, these two species were recorded separately. From the ancient times to the present day, Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus was always mainly distributed in south of the Yangtze River, such as Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi provinces. Ancient records and modern reports basically have the same understanding on properties, efficacies and indications of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus, considering it was warm in nature with the effectiveness of soothing liver, relieving pain, eliminating dampness and resolving phlegm. ‘Baking it into powder on new tiles’ and ‘steaming’ were the traditional processing methods. The description of ‘The longer of storage period, the better of the effect’ was occasionally recorded. These results provide theoretical references for the further study, resource development and comprehensive application of Citri Sarcodactylis Fructus.