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Dong Kui Guo冬葵果

Malvae, Fructus · Cluster Mallow Fruit

Herbs that Drain Dampness 利水渗湿药Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing 《神农本草经》(recorded as 冬葵子)

Overview

The ripe fruit of cluster mallow, sweet, astringent and cool, with a mucilaginous slipperiness that defines everything it does: it slides urine through a blocked or burning passage, softens dry stool, and opens milk that has stopped. Long used in the lin formulas for painful, gravelly urination, it also has a settled place in Mongolian medicine, from which the Pharmacopoeia name Dong Kui Guo comes.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet, astringent · Cool

Channels

Large Intestine · Small Intestine · Bladder

Typical Dosage

3–9 g in decoction
冬葵果Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Frees urination, relieves painful dribblingHot, scanty, burning or gravelly urination; urinary stones with dragging lower abdominal pain.
  • Moistens the intestinesDry hard stool where the fluids are short rather than the heat excessive — including in the elderly and after childbirth.
  • Frees the milk, eases breast distensionInsufficient or blocked milk with distended, tender breasts in the days after delivery.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Dong Kui Guo

No published formula lists this herb yet — the library is growing.

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Painful, scanty or gravelly urination; urinary stones
    - Dry constipation from fluid insufficiency
    - Blocked or insufficient lactation with breast distension
    - Oedema with difficult urination

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Urinary tract infectionKidney stonesConstipationLactation problems

Contraindications

Cautions

Slippery and downward-moving. Avoid it where the Spleen is weak with chronic loose stools, and in anyone with a history of miscarriage or threatened miscarriage.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Use with caution — the slippery, downward-draining action makes it unsuitable in pregnancy unless a practitioner specifically directs it.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.