Pharmaceutical name:

英文药名：

Fructus Amomi Tsao-ko

Biological name:

拉丁學名：

Amomum tsao-ko Crevost et Lem. (cao guo 草果)

Amomum cardamomum Linn.(bai dou kou 白豆蔻);^[1]

Amomum costatum Roxb.(dou kou 豆蔻)^[1]

Amomum kravanh Pierre ex Gagnep ;

Amomum compacturn Soland et Maton (Indonesian bai dou kou)

Japanese Pronunciation:

日語發音：

soka

Korean Pronunciation:

韓語發音：

chogwa

Pron. in Cantonese

cou2 gwo2;

Other Names:

bai dou kou 白豆蔻﹐cao dou kou 草豆叩﹐cao kou ren草蔻仁﹐草叩仁﹐cao kou 草蔻。

Common Name:

英文普通名：

cardamom

Distribution:

分佈：

Vietnam, Yunan, Guizhou,Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan,

越南﹐ 云南﹐貴州﹐ 廣東﹐廣西﹐台灣。

Properties (characteristics)

性味：

acrid, warm, aromic

Channels (meridians) entered:

歸經：

spleen, stomach

Actions & Indications:

stomach pain, flatulence, belching, indigestion due to stomach qi stagnation , vomiting, malarial disorders, drunkenness from alcohol consumption.

胃痛，脘腹脹滿，噫氣，氣滯 宿食消化不良，嘔吐，及胃呃逆，酒醉不醒，瘧疾寒熱。

Samples of Combinations:

1.  with zhi mu for malaria

2.  with chang shan to improve inhibiting malaria

3.  with sha ren improves digestive function and spleen yang and rid of dampness.

4.  with hou po improves digestion and rid of dampness.

5.  with bai dou kou improves getting rid of dampness, warms stomach and getting rid of cold, relieves pain, and stops vomiting.

Dosage:

1.5 to 6 g

Medical Functions:

藥理：

Medical Functions of cao guo:

1. 鎮咳祛痰作用：本品所含的a--蒎烯(a-pinene)和β-蒎烯(β-pinene)有鎮咳祛痰作用。

2. 1，8-桉油素(1,8-Cineole)有鎮痛﹐解熱﹐平喘等作用。

3. 抗炎﹐抗菌作用： B-蒎烯有較強的抗炎作用，并有抗真菌作用。香葉醇 (geraniol ) 有抗細菌和真菌作用，對發須癬菌和奧杜安氏小孢子菌的最低抑菌濃度為0.39mg/ml。 (4).. 小劑量對腸管有興奮作用，大劑量則有抑制作用。

4. 其它作用：小劑量香葉醇能抑制大鼠的自發活動。大鼠口服香葉醇能抑制胃腸運動，小量口服有輕度利尿作用。5. 香葉醇還有驅豚鼠蛔虫作用。

5. 乙醇引起的大白鼠肝毒性作用，可以餵以丁香（丁香）和草果抵消；但丁香的效果更強。 [2]

Chemical Ingredients:

Essential oil: fruit contains 1.6%; seeds contains 2.2%; skin contains0.38%. The essential oil contains 33.94%of 1,8-cineole, 11.78% of trans-2-undecenal. Also contains α--pinene, β-pinene, camphor, Linalool, p-cymene,  nonanal, decanal, a--terpineol, neral-a,-b, geraniol, nerolidol and geranial.

Modern Research:

Cautions:

禁忌:

Do not use in cases of qixu, Blood deficient  qixu (qi deficiency) and fire is high in lung and stomach with no cold dampness . (more to be uploaded).

肺胃火盛及氣虛或血 虛,無寒濕實邪者禁用。

Toxicity:

毒理學：

1. Roasting the herb cut down the side effects.

2. Half of the laboratory rat fed geraniol died. The lethal dosage is 4.9g/kg. For rabbits, the lethal injection dosage was 50mg/kg.

3. Cao guo which are processed by smoking can be carcinogens when taken for a long period.