Herbal Color Atlas 3

Author: Wang Yi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The pomegranate is also known as the "laughing sky fruit," "red flower," or "golden grain." It is derived from the root bark or fruit peel of the pomegranate plant (Punica granatum L.), which belongs to the Punicaceae family. The plant is a deciduous shrub or small tree, reaching heights of 2 to 5 meters. The bark is bluish-gray. Young branches are nearly circular or slightly quadrangular, with tips often spiny and hairless. Leaves are opposite or clustered; they are oblong to elliptical, 2.5 to 6 cm long and 1 to 1.8 cm wide, with a pointed or slightly indented tip and a gradually narrowing base, entire.
Flowers are one to several, growing at the tips of small branches or in the axils, with a diameter of about 3 cm; the calyx tube is bell-shaped, fleshy and thick, red, with 6 lobes; petals are 6, red. The fruit is nearly spherical, with a thick, leathery peel that turns yellow or reddish when ripe. Seeds are numerous, oblong, and angular. The flowering period is from May to June, and the fruiting period is from July to August. It grows on sunny slopes or is cultivated artificially. It is distributed in Guizhou and most parts of China.
The main chemical components include:
- Root bark and stem bark of the pomegranate contain isopunic alkaloid, punic alkaloid, pseudopunic alkaloid, β-sitosterol, and mannitol.
- Fruit peel contains tannins, wax, resin, mannitol, sugar, gum, inulin, mucilage, gallic acid, malic acid, pectin, calcium oxalate, and isorhamnetin glycoside.
Properties and Effects: Sour and astringent, warm in nature. Astringent to the bowels, stops diarrhea, and kills parasites to stop leukorrhea.
Clinical Applications:
① Treating dysentery: 20g of pomegranate peel, decocted in water and taken orally.
② Treating tapeworm and roundworm: Equal parts of pomegranate peel and areca are ground into a fine powder, taken 6g each time, twice daily, for 2 days.
③ Treating roundworm disease: 18g of pomegranate root bark, decocted and taken in 3 doses, with one dose every half hour. After the last dose, take a saline purgative 4 hours later.
④ Treating kidney stones: 30g of pomegranate root and 30g of (Dichroa febrifuga) are decocted and taken, with a dosage of 10–20g.
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