Herbal Textual Research on Tsaoko Fructus in Famous Classical Formulas / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

This article systematically analyzes the historical evolution of the origin， scientific name， medicinal parts， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing and other aspects of Tsaoko Fructus by consulting ancient materia medica， medical books， prescription books in the past dynasties and combining with the modern literature， so as to provide a basis for the development and utilization of famous classical formulas containing Tsaoko Fructus. According to the research， the name of Caoguo（草果） was first used in the Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang（《太平惠民和剂局方》） in the Northern Song dynasty， Tsaoko Fructus is the correct name of the herbal medicine in all dynasties， and there are also aliases such as Caokou， Doukou， Loukou， Laokou and Caodoukou. The mainstream source of Tsaoko Fructus used in the past dynasties is the dried mature fruit of Amomum tsaoko of Zingiberaceae， but Tsaoko Fructus was often used as a nickname for Amomi Fructus Rotundus or Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen during the Song dynasty. Bencao Pinhui Jingyao（《本草品汇精要》） in the Ming dynasty was the earliest materia medica that recorded Tsaoko Fructus as a separate medicinal herb in sections. Under the influence of early ancient books， there were some books that confused Tsaoko Fructus with other Zingiberaceae plants during the Qing dynasty， it was not until modern times that Tsaoko Fructus was distinguished from other plants. The origin of Tsaoko Fructus is Yunnan and Guangxi， and then gradually expanded to Guizhou and other places. Now Yunnan is the province with the largest planting area of Tsaoko Fructus， and has become the main producing area. Since modern times， it has been recorded in the literature that the quality of Tsaoko Fructus is mainly characterized by large， full， red-brown and strong in smell. According to ancient records， the harvest time of Tsaoko Fructus was in the eighth month of the lunar calendar， and they were mostly used for peeling or simmering. Currently， the harvest period of Tsaoko Fructus is October to November， and then sun-dried or dried after harvesting. The records of the properties and functional indications of Tsaoko Fructus are basically consistent with the ancient and modern documents， which is warm in nature， pungent in flavor， belonging to the spleen and stomach meridians， moderate in dryness and dampness， intercepting malaria and eliminating phlegm， used for internal resistance of cold and dampness， abdominal distension and pain， fullness and vomiting， malaria cold and fever， and plague fever. Based on the research results， it is suggested that A. tsaoko should be used as the medicinal base for the development of famous classical formulas containing Tsaoko Fructus， processing method can be according to the requirements of the prescription， and if the requirements of concoction are not indicated， it can be used in the form of raw products.