Is loofah a traditional Chinese medicinal material?

In life, there are many types of Chinese medicinal materials. Because Chinese medicine has certain characteristics, even many of the daily foods we can eat are classified as Chinese medicinal materials, which makes many people feel particularly surprised. Take jujube for example. Many people think it is just a kind of food. In fact, jujube is also a traditional Chinese medicine that can help people treat many diseases. So, is loofah a traditional Chinese medicine?

Luffa, a traditional Chinese medicine. It is the fresh and tender fruit of the Cucurbitaceae plants Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem. and Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.; or the old and ripe fruit (Tiankulou) that dries up after frost. All over the country. It has the effects of clearing away heat and resolving phlegm, cooling blood and detoxifying. It is commonly used for fever, thirst, cough, sputum and asthma, intestinal bleeding, hemorrhoidal bleeding, hematuria, metrorrhagia, carbuncle, ulcer, milk stagnation, unknown swelling and edema.

Medicinal Part

Fresh and tender fruit; or old and ripe fruit that dries up after frost (Sky Skull).

Flavor

Sweet in taste, cool in nature.

Meridians

It enters the lung, liver, stomach and large intestine meridians.

effect

Clears away heat and resolves phlegm, cools blood and detoxifies.

Indications

It is used for fever, thirst, cough, sputum and asthma, intestinal bleeding, hemorrhoidal bleeding, hematuria, metrorrhagia, carbuncle, ulcer, milk stagnation, unknown swelling and edema.

Related Combinations

1. To treat cough with phlegm: burn the loofah to preserve its nature, grind it into fine powder, and make it into pills with jujube meat, as big as marbles. Take one pill each time, with good wine. (Hua Tan Wan from the Wonderful Prescriptions for Health Preservation)

2. To treat severe bleeding in the lower body that cannot be cured: take loofah (one, burn it to ashes) and Sophora japonica flower in equal parts (reduce the amount if the patient has weak Qi), and grind them into powder. Take 2 qian each time, mixed with food or drink. (Loofah powder from Puji Fang)

3. To treat hemorrhoids, fistula and rectal prolapse: 50 cents each of loofah (burned to ashes), lime and realgar, grind into powder. Mix pig bile, egg white and sesame oil, apply it on the affected area and stop when it is pulled up. ("Compendium of Materia Medica" quoted from "Sun Tianren's Collection of Effective Prescriptions")

4. To treat alcohol-induced diarrhea, bloody stool, abdominal pain, or fish-like five-colored fishy stool: use a dried loofah, burn it with the skin to ashes, and grind it into powder. Mix 2 qian of the medicine with wine and take it on an empty stomach. One side stews it and eats it. (The Puji Fang quoted the Luffa powder from the Experienced Prescriptions)