Bitter orange fruit (ZHI QIAO)-Citrus aurantium-Fructus Aurantii

Bitter orange fruit (ZHI QIAO)

Citrus aurantium L. (Fam. Rutaceae)

Pharmaceutical Name:

Fructus Aurantii

Botanical Name:

Citrus aurantium L. (Fam. Rutaceae)

Common Name:

Bitter orange fruit

Part Used:

Dried immature fruit

Fructus Aurantii is produced chiefly in the provinces of Sichuan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Hunan. The fruit is collected in July and August, dried in sunlight, and used unprepared or stirbaked with wheat bran.

Properties  Taste & Meridians:

Bitter and pungent in flavor, slightly cold in property, acts on the Spleen, Stomach, and Large Intestine channels.

Functions:

Relieves Stagnation of Qi, mobilizes stagnant food in the digestive tract, resolves Phlegm.

Indications & Combinations:

1. For abdominal distension and pain, constipation, belching with a fetid odor due to stagnation of undigested food, it is used with Fructus Crataegi (Shan Zha) and Fructus Hordei Germinatus (Mai Ya). For constipation and abdominal distension due to accumulation of Heat, it is used with Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Hou Po) and Radix et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang). For abdominal distension after meals caused by Spleen Deficiency, it is used with Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu). For diarrhea with tenesmus due to the accumulation of Damp Heat, it is used with Radix et Rhizoma Rhei (Da Huang), Rhizoma Coptidis (Huang Lian), and Radix Scutellariae (Huang Qin) in “The Pills of Aurantii Immaturus for Removing Stagnancy” (Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan).

2. For feelings of stiffness and fullness in the chest and upper abdomen due to obstruction of the normal flow of Qi by Phlegm. For chest pain and shortness of breath, it is used with Bulbus Allii Macrostemi (Xie Bai), Ramulus Cinnamomi (Gui Zhi), and Fructus Trichosanthis (Gua Lou). For a feeling of fullness in the chest with abdominal distension, it is used with Fructus Gardeniae (Zhi Zi) and Semen Sojae Preparatum (Dan Dou Chi).

3. For gastroptosis, gastric dilatation, prolapse of the rectum, and hysteroptosis, it should be used with herbs that replenish the vital Qi, such as Radix Astragali Membranaceus (Huang Qi) and Radix Codonopsis (Dang Shen).

4. It can elevate the blood pressure. Fructus Aurantii has effects similar to those of Fructus Aurantii Immaturus, but is milder in function.

Dosage and administration:

3–10 g, decocted in water for an oral dose.

Precautions:

1. Use with caution in patients with hypofunction of the Spleen and Stomach.

2. Contraindicated during pregnancy.

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