This product is the mature fruit of the perennial herb Caoguo (Alpinia katsumadai Hayata) from the ginger family. It is mainly produced in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and other regions. The fruit is harvested in autumn when it matures, impurities are removed, and it is then sun-dried or dried at low temperatures. The raw herb is stir-fried until it turns a scorched yellow color and slightly puffs up, then crushed to extract the kernel; alternatively, the cleaned Caoguo kernel is lightly stir-fried with ginger juice for use.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Acrid, warm. act on spleen and stomach channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Dispelling cold, eliminating phlegm, and preventing malaria attacks.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for abdominal distension and fullness pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and turbid greasy tongue coating caused by cold-dampness obstruction in the middle jiao. This herb is stronger than Alpinia Seed in drying dampness and warming the middle, making it more suitable for cases with severe cold-dampness. It is often combined with Villous Amomum Fruit, Magnolia Bark, Atractylodes Rhizome, and other medicinal combinations.
2. Used for malaria. This herb has aromatic properties to dispel turbidity, bitter-warm nature to dry dampness, and can eliminate phlegm to prevent malaria attacks, making it suitable for cases with predominant cold-dampness. It is often paired with Dichroa, Anemarrhena, and others, such as in Dichroa Decoction. For miasmic malaria caused by mountain miasma, filthy turbidity, and damp pathogens, it can also be used, often in combination with Bupleurum, Skullcap Root, Areca Seed, Anemarrhena, and other herbs.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Yinshan Zhengyao: "Treats abdominal pain, stops vomiting, nourishes the stomach, and lowers qi."
2. Bencao Gangmu: "When Caoguo is used together with Anemarrhena, it treats miasmic malaria with alternating chills and fever, as it balances the yin and yang without causing imbalance. Caoguo treats the excessive cold of the Taiyin, while Anemarrhena treats the excessive heat of the Yangming."
3. Bencao Gangmu quotes Li Gao: "Warms the spleen yang, stops vomiting, treats spleen and stomach cold dampness, cold phlegm; boosts vital qi, disperses all cold qi and distension, resolves malaria with splenomegaly, eliminates retained food, detoxifies alcohol, dissolves fruit accumulation, and also wards off miasma and epidemic toxins."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

3-6 grams. Decoct and take orally. Remove the shell, take the kernel, and crush before use.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

Caoguo contains volatile oils.