Parts Most Frequently Used: Root, Fruit, Seed, Pericarp of the Fruit, Leaf

Flavors/Temps: Root (Tian Hua Fen) – Sweet, Slightly Bitter, Cold.  Fruit (Gau Lou) – Sweet, Cold.

Caution: Considered safe, though pregnant women are not advised to use high doses of the root during pregnancy. If recommended, only the typical small doses used in formulas and tablets are prescribed for pregnant women.

Key Constituents: Sterols (Triterpene saponin alcohols including Camposterol, Sitosterol, Stigmasterol), Alkaloids, Starch, Trichosanthin, Lectin, Euphol, Lupeol, Betulin, Sterols, Tannins, Organic salts, Resins, Sugars, Pigments. The seeds also contain Fatty oils.

History/Folklore:

Trichosanthes fruit (Gau Lou) is classified as one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Originally the fruit was used more often, now it is the root that has become more popular as a medicine. Both have similar properties and applications. The roots were not identified as a medicine until 800 years after the fruit was originally used.

The seeds (Gua Lou Ren) and the pericarp of the fruit (Gua Lou Pi) can also be used but are not as popular as the root and the fruit.

The seeds are said to be best for use as a moistening agent for treating dry constipation and the fruit’s pericarp is said to be especially good for relieving stagnation of Qi in the chest. As the whole fruit has both these functions it is most often used.

All parts of the plant are typically used in doses of 9-20 grams in decoction. The seeds are sometimes used in slightly higher doses to help treat constipation.

Trichosanthes is traditionally used in formulas with other herbs to treat lung complaints that include symptoms of thick yellow sputum, phlegm that is often thick, stuck, or difficult to expel, and thirst.

Trichosanthes fruit (Gau Lou) is used in tablet form and as an injectable for helping to treat angina pectoris. It is often used in formulas to treat lung disorders with thick phlegm, thirst, and chest pain.

Trichosanthes is also popularly used today to treat diabetes. As the herb is cooling, it helps to counter Heat and Nourish Yin (itself cooling, and often deficient in diabetics) Studies have shown that 76% of diabetics that were given the herb (in doses of over 40 grams per day) experienced improved sugar tolerance and elevated serum insulin levels.

A common formula that includes trichosanthes and is used for treating diabetic patients is Yu Quan Wan (Jade Sugar Pill). The extract pills are taken in large doses of 35-50 grams per day, and taken for at least one month. Research has shown that this formula helps to increase glycogen in liver cells, which improves the uptake of sugar by cells in the body.

Trichosanthes is also known for its ability to treat breast abscesses and breast cancer and has been developed into an antiviral therapy used to treat HIV infections. In the 1990’s it was viewed by many as the most promising treatment for AIDS due to its ability to block viral reproduction. Extracts have also shown promise for damaging the protein coat on the RNA of the AIDS virus in vitro. Since then newer drugs have been developed that have taken their place for HIV and AIDS treatment.

The root (Tian Hua Fen) is white and tuberous and harvested in the autumn or winter. Young fruit can be eaten raw or pickled. The pulp of older fruit can be eaten and added to soup. The leaves and young shoots can also be cooked and eaten as vegetables.

In China, a protein fraction made from trichosanthes root has been developed as an injectable drug. This compound is typically destroyed during the boiling process of making tea or decoctions with the herb and it is degraded by stomach acids when taken orally. The protein was isolated and developed for inducing abortion as part of China’s “one child per family” birth control program. The research and development of this isolated compound from the herb grew out of ancient references to the plant’s ability to encourage menstrual flow and facilitate the expulsion of the placenta when used in certain ways. Today this injectable compound is also used to treat a retained dead fetus, tumors in the placenta, and ectopic pregnancies.

The sterol compounds (AKA triterpene saponin alcohols) campesterol, sitosterol, and stigmasterol are thought to have phlegm-thinning and anti-inflammatory properties. These same constituents are also found in ginseng.

The constituent trichosanthin is the toxic anti-HIV type 1 ribosome-inactivating lectin, that helped put the focus on trichosanthes as an early substance with the ability to treat HIV.

In Ayurvedic Medicine, the leaves of T. dioica, commonly called parwal, are used as a tonic, febrifuge, and treatment for edema and subacute cases of enlarged liver, associated with alcoholism or jaundice. Similar to T. Kirilowii, it has cardiotonic, laxative, and antiulcer properties.

“Gua” in Chinese translates as “gourd” and refers to the fruit’s gourd-like shape. It is an actual member of the gourd family, Curcubitaceae, and is often grown in Chinese courtyards as landscaping.