White gourds and cucumbers were the earliest gourds used to
treat diseases. As early as Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), Zhang
Zhongjing, a famous ancient physician, used white gourd seeds to
treat intestinal abscess and cucumber root powder to treat
disturbance of menstruation and leukorrhagia. In the classical
medical work, Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold for
Emergencies, Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) mentions
a treatment for babies from 1-5 months old with chills, fever and
thirst using white gourd juice. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279),
white gourd was widely used to treat diabetes mellitus, edema and
reduction of urination.
In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the
therapeutic value of gourds was studied and discussed in detail. Li
Shizhen, a great medical scholar of the Ming Dynasty said,
"Watermelon and sweet melon can injure the spleen and produce
dampness pathogens in the body, because they are cold food,
although they taste sweet and delicious. A patient with eye disease
was cured by daily administration of watermelon dried in sun,
because it can clear fire pathogens from the body by its cold
nature." And, "The overeating of pumpkin may cause Jiao Qi
(beriberi) and jaundice." Zhang Shiwan of the Qing Dynasty said,
"Watermelon can expel heat pathogens from pericardium downward
through the small intestine and urinary bladder, and relieve thirst
in patients with Taiyang and Yangming syndrome or severe thirst in
patients with febrile disease, so that it can produce the
therapeutic effect of Baihu Tang (White Tiger Decoction)." Wang
Shixiong said, "Sweet melon has a sweet taste and a cold nature.
Therefore, it can relieve annoyance, thirst and hunger to treat
summer dysentery." And, "In autumn, the pumpkin vine is cut into
pieces, and soaked in water for preparing an extract to treat
consumptive diseases in patients with endogenous heat pathogens."
It was held that gourds can clear heat, relieve thirst, promote
urination, and release annoyance, because they have a cold
nature.
Nowadays, gourds are widely used to treat diseases of various
medical branches, as a result of the development and application of
the useful experiences of ancient physicians. For example, cucumber
is used to treat sore throat and burn injuries; pumpkin is use to
treat oligogalactia, whooping cough and intestinal parasites; oral
administration of bitter gourd can relieve stomachache and pain in
the eyes, and the external application of bitter gourd can treat
pyogenic infections of the skin. The application of gourds in
clinical practice has been much enriched and spread recently.
The therapeutic effect of fruits has been known in traditional
Chinese medicine for a long time. For example, the date is
recommended as a common herb to tonify the spleen and stomach and
to adjust there function in the Yellow Emperor's Internal
Classic, an ancient classical medical book; and grape, longan,
sesame, lily and walnut are presented both as food and as herbs in
Shen Nong's Herbal Classic, the first herbal book
published in China. There is much useful information about the
therapeutic value of fruits mentioned and recorded in these ancient
medical books.
As mentioned by Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty in his book
Ocean of Famous Prescriptions: "One dark plum, 2 dates and
7 almonds are pounded together for oral administration with wine
for men and with vinegar for women to effectively prevent and treat
pain in the heart." As mentioned by Zhu Danxi of the Yuan Dynasty:
"Abdominal pain in women due to retention of lochia, and occipital
headache in children can be treated by drinking the warm decoction
of one hundred haws with cane sugar before a meal."
Physicians of the Ming Dynasty were more interested in the use
of fruits in clinical therapy. According to Li Shizhen: "Because
the tough meat of cold chicken can be easily boiled to cook a
tender meat dish by using haws, the latter can be used to treat
stagnation of meat dishes in the stomach." Since then, haws have
been used as an important herb to promote digestion of meat and
release stagnation of food. As mentioned by Miao Xiyong: "Dark
plums have a sour taste. They can clear heat pathogens, relieve
annoyance and tranquilize mind by inspiring air down to the lower
energizer. Dysentery is due to failure of the large intestine, and
dryness of the mouth after repeated expectoration of saliva is due
to upward flaming of deficient fire and deficiency of saliva.
Therefore, sour plums can constrain deficient fire, produce saliva,
safeguard the intestines and cure dysentery."
In the Qing Dynasty, the use of fruits to prevent and treat
diseases was further developed and spread. Wang Shixiong published
a book called Suixi Ju's Cookbook containing his studies
of the therapeutic value of fruits. As mentioned in this book:
"Pears have sweet taste and a cool nature. Therefore, it can
moisten the lungs, clear heat from the stomach and heart, stop
convulsions, resolve phlegm, relieve coughing, tonify Yin, rinse
dryness, release stagnation, promote bowel movement, cure
carbuncles and cellulitis, relieve extreme thirst and eliminate
poison. Grapes can enrich Qi, kidney fluid and liver Yin,
strengthen muscles and bones, relieve thirst and safeguard
pregnancy. Sugarcane has a sweet taste and a cool nature. It can
adjust the stomach, lubricate the intestines, clear intoxication,
kill ascaris, resolve phlegm and enrich body fluid. Apples can
moisten the lungs, improve the mood, produce saliva, improve the
appetite and clear intoxication. Tangerines have a sweet taste and
an even nature. They can produce phlegm and cause accumulation of
rheum in the body. Therefore, patients with cough and sputum caused
by wind-cold pathogens should not this fruit." Huang Gongxiu says,
in the book Identification of Herbs: "Arbutus can relieve
annoyance and thirst, clear heat and eliminate poison. But too much
may cause disturbance of the blood circulation and nasal bleeding."
The above authors made strong recommendations concerning the
indications, contraindications and limitations of intake of various
fruits.
Modern physicians of traditional Chinese medicine have further
developed the adoption of fruits in the treatment of diseases. For
example, dates are used to treat allergic purpura and
hypercholesteraemia; haws are used to teat hypertension and
coronary heart disease; and apples used to treat colitis.
Records of treatment of diseases using vegetables can be traced
back to the Qin and Han dynasties. The seeds of leeks and stems of
green onion were used to treat diseases at that time. As mentioned
in Plain Questions: "The seeds of leeks can tonify the
lower energizer and correct deficiency of the meridian. Therefore,
it can be used to treat incontinence of urine, impotence and
emission of semen in men, and leukorrhagia in women." As mentioned
in Shen Nong's Herbal Classic: "The white stem of green
onion can be used to treat Shanghan (infectious febrile diseases)
with chills, sweating and edema of the face and eyes."
In the Tang Dynasty, following the popularity of a vegetarian
diet, the adoption of vegetables to treat diseases was further
developed and spread. As mentioned in a special chapter about
treatment with vegetables in Prescriptions Worth a Thousand
Pieces of Gold for Emergencies: "Decoction of mustard leaf can
be used to treat lacquer sores with itching." "The application of
the juice of a leek into the ear can remove insects in the ear
meatus." "Turnip flowers are collected in April and dried in the
shade. After grinding and sifting, seven small spoonfuls of the
powder are orally administered to tonify the liver and improve the
vision, but overeating of this herb may cause abdominal
distension." Meng Shen, a specialist in herbs, says in the
Herbal Diet: "Caraway can promote digestion of food." Su
Song, in Jiayou's Illustrated Herbal Classic, says, "Red
amaranth has a slightly cold nature, and it can be used to treat
dysentery with bloody stool. But purple amaranth does not have a
cold nature or toxicity, and it can be used to treat Qi
deficiency." This shows that amaranth of different colors have
different effects.
Following the important development of traditional Chinese
medicine in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the knowledge of
vegetarian therapy was greatly improved. Vegetables are well
represented among the 2,000 herbs included in Li Shizhen's
Compendium of Materia Medica. He says, "Radishes with the
leaves left on are pounded for external application to treat wounds
of external trauma with ecchymosis on the skin, although not torn.
The powder of dry leaves of eggplant is orally administered in a
dosage of 6 gm with a thin rice gruel to treat discharge of blood
from the intestines." Wang Shixiong, in his Suixi Ju's
Cookbook, says, "Radishes can be used to treat cough, hoarse
voice, diseases of the throat, CO intoxication and eggplant
poisoning." Fresh radish juice is still used to treat CO
intoxication in China. According to Huang Gongxiu, in his book
Identification of Herbs: "Mushrooms can adjust Qi, resolve
phlegm and treat diseases of the stomach and intestines."
Discussions on treatment using melons, fruits and vegetables can be
found in many other books.
Thus it can be seen that the therapeutic value of melons, fruits
and vegetables was praised highly by physicians in successive
dynasties in China. Following further scientific investigation,
their therapeutic value will be further exploited and utilized for
human welfare and health.
(Source:Diseases Treated with Melons, Fruits and
Vegetables, Foreign Languagues Press, 2002)