This product is the mature fruit of the deciduous tree plant Chebula Fruit (Terminalia chebula Retz.) from the Quisqualis Fruit family. It is mainly produced in Yunnan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. It is harvested in autumn and winter, then dried. It can be used raw or roasted. If the flesh is used, the core is removed.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter, sour and astrigent, neutral. Act on lung and large intestine meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Astringing intestines and checking diarrhea, astringing lung and relieving cough, benifiting pharynx restoring voice.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for chronic diarrhea, prolonged dysentery, prolapse of the rectum. This product is bitter, sour, and astringent, capable of astringing the intestines and checking diarrhea. It can be used alone, such as the Chebula Fruit Powder in Jingui Yaolue. For treating chronic diarrhea due to cold deficiency, prolonged dysentery, or prolapse of the rectum, it is often combined with Dried Ginger, Poppy Capsule, Dried Tangerine Peel, as in the Chebula Fruit and Peel Decoction from Lanshi Micang.
2. Used for chronic cough disease, loss of voice. Chebula Fruit can both astringe the lung, lower qi, and stop coughing, as well as clear the lung, benefit the pharynx, and restore the voice. For treating chronic cough disease due to lung deficiency and loss of voice, it can be used with Ginseng, Schisandra Fruit, etc.; for treating chronic cough disease and loss of voice due to phlegm-heat stagnation in the lung, it is often used with Platycodon Root, Liquorice Root, as in the Chebula Fruit Decoction from "Xuan Ming Lun".

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Yaoxing Lun: "Promotes the flow of body fluids, primarily breaks up chest and diaphragm stagnation, stops water retention, and darkens hair."
2. Bencao Gangmu: "Chebula Fruit, when used with Smoked Plum and Chinese Gall, has astringent properties; when used with tangerine peel and Magnolia Bark, it lowers qi; when used with Ginseng, it can tonify the lungs and treat cough."
3. 《Materia Medica Feng Yuan》: "Chebula Fruit is bitter and astringent, lowering and astringent. When used raw, it clears the lungs and stops coughing; when roasted, it strengthens the spleen and stops diarrhea."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 3-10g. For astringing intestines and checking diarrhea, it is advisable to use it roasted. For benefiting the pharynx and restoring the voice, it is advisable to use it raw.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

It is contraindicated for those with external pathogens and internal dampness-heat retention of food.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains a large amount of tannins (up to 20% to 40%), with its main components being Chebula Fruit acid and proto-Chebula Fruit acid. The tannins in Chebula Fruit have astringent and antidiarrheal effects. The decoction prepared with water has been shown to inhibit bacteria such as dysentery bacillus, cold-damage disease bacillus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus in test tube experiments.