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Alternate English names: vegetable sponge

Alternate Chinese names: 丝瓜网 sī guā wǎng; 丝瓜壳 sī guā ké; 瓜络 guā luò; 絮瓜瓤 xù guā ráng; 天罗线 tiān luó xiàn; 丝瓜筋 sī guā jīn; 丝瓜瓤 sī guā ráng

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin in unofficial sources: Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem.*; Luffa acutangula Roxb.

Use: Medicinal

Category: Wind-damp–dispelling agents / Wind-damp-heat–dispelling agents

Properties: Sweet; balanced.

Channel entry: Lung, stomach, and liver channels.

Actions and indications:

• Dispels wind and frees the network vessels: Wind-damp impediment pain with hypertonicity of the sinews or numbness and tingling; heat impediment.
• Cools the blood and disperses swelling: Throat impediment, welling-abscesses and sores.

Dosage and method: Oral: 5–15g in decoctions.

Quality: Fine but tough fibers that are white in color and without skin attached are the best.

Production area: All parts of China, with Cíxī of Zhèjiāng and Nántōng and Sūzhōu of Jiāngsū producing the best quality and largest quantities.

See: Sī guā luò (丝瓜络 Luffae Fructus Retinervus, loofah)

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