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

ABSTRACT

Through reviewing the ancient and modern literature， the name， origin， producing area， quality evaluation， harvesting and processing methods of Trichosanthis Fructus（TF） and Trichosanthis Radix（TR） in famous classical formulas were systematically sorted out following the chronological order. The results showed that there were many nicknames of TF and TR， and Gualou and Tianhuafen have become the mainstream names for its fruit and root， respectively. Both of them took Trichosanthes kirilowii as the mainstream base. TF and TR have been used as medicines in the Han dynasty， and since the North and South dynasties， Leigong Paozhilun had been clear that the effects of peels， seeds， stems， roots were different. TF was used as medicine with intact fruits， harvested after maturity from September to October， hung and dried in the shade， and its quality has been summarized in recent times as being best for those who are mature， large， thick and pliable peels， orange-yellow in color， and with sufficient sugary properties. In ancient times， the processing of TR was mostly crushed or shredded with the peels and seeds， or processing for pancakes and creams. TR was used as medicine with the roots， it is harvested from November to December， peeled and dried in the sun， and its quality was best when it was deep in the soil， large， white， powdery， firm and delicate with few muscles and veins， and it was considered to be toxic when it was born in briney land. Processing method of TR was to do powder into the medicine in the Tang dynasty， and gradually evolved into direct slicing use in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Since the modern era， the authentic producing areas of TF and TR were in the vicinity of Lingbao， Henan province， known as Anyang Huafen， and in modern times， there are well-known production areas such as Anguo， which produces Qihuafen， and Jinan， which produces Changqing Gualou. In the Song dynasty， there was a habit of substituting Trichosanthis Semen for the whole herb， which was later corrected by the materia medica in Ming dynasty. Based on the results， It is suggested that T. kirilowii be selected as the basal plant for the development of famous classical formulas involving TR and TF. In Qingjin Huatantang， Trichosanthis Semen is processed by stir-frying method， while TR and TF in other five formulas from the Catalogue of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas（The First Batch） were all used in raw form.