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Jujube;

大枣 〔大棗〕dà zǎo

Latin pharmacognostic name: Jujubae Fructus

Alternate English names: Chinese date; red jujube

Alternate Chinese names: 干枣 gān zǎo; 美枣 měi zǎo; 良枣 liáng zǎo; 红枣 hóng zǎo; 枣 zǎo; 枣子 zǎo zǐ

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal and alimentary

Category: Supplementing agents / Qì-supplementing agents

Properties: Sweet; warm.

Channel entry: spleen and stomach channels.

Indications:


Dosage & Method: Oral: 3–12 pieces or 10–30g in decoctions. It may also be pounded to a pulp after removing the skin and seeds for use in making pills.

Warnings: Dà zǎo fosters dampness and heat, and easily causes center fullness. It is contraindicated in patients suffering from distension and fullness in the stomach duct and abdomen due to exuberant dampness, as well as in food or worm accumulations, tooth decay, or phlegm-heat cough.

Product Description: This fruit is ovate or elliptical, 2–3 cm in length and 1–2 cm in diameter. The red ones (hóng zǎo), the type usually used in medicine, are rust red with large wrinkles. The black ones (hēi zǎo), which are usually only used in cooking, are blackish red with fine wrinkles. Both types have a luster. There are depressions at each end, usually with the remains of the style at one end, and the fruit stalk at the other. The exocarp is thick and leathery. The mesocarp is dark grayish brown, fat, sticky, and spongy. The endocarp is hard and spindle-shaped, and sharply pointed at one end. Within are two chambers each containing a flat, ovate seed.

Quality: Best are plump sweet red fruits with small stones.

Product Area: Héběi, Hénán, Shāndōng, Sìchuān, Guìzhōu.

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