The medicinal value of pomegranate peel and the taboos of using pomegranate peel

Pomegranate peel, also known as pomegranate shell or pomegranate peel, is the peel of pomegranate, which has the special effect of astringing the intestines and stopping diarrhea. Regarding the medicinal use of pomegranate peel, there is also a medical saying that "Sigong is better at stopping diarrhea than Danxi".

It is said that Zhu Zhenheng, a famous doctor in the Yuan Dynasty, was a skilled doctor from Danxi, Yiwu, Zhejiang. Therefore, he was honored as "Danxi Weng" in the medical community, and many medical students volunteered to be his disciples. One summer, Zhu Danxi's book friend had abdominal pain and diarrhea for a long time. Zhu Danxi diagnosed his pulse and prescribed a dose of Chinese medicine for him, but he did not get better after taking the medicine. During the follow-up visit, he prescribed three more doses. The medicinal value of pepper was used, but the diarrhea continued after taking it. Zhu Danxi had never encountered such a difficult case and was at a loss for a while. The book friend had no choice but to seek medical treatment from Zhu Danxi's student Dai Sigong. Dai Sigong took the teacher's prescription and carefully examined it. He also observed the tongue and pulse, asked about the patient's condition in detail, and then said to the patient: "The teacher's prescription and medication are impeccable. I think if you want to stop the diarrhea, I will give you three grams of pomegranate peel. You might as well try it." The book friend took three doses of medicine according to the prescription. After taking it, the diarrhea stopped suddenly and he recovered soon. One day, the book friend went to visit Zhu Danxi again. Danxi saw that Zhu Danxi had a ruddy face and was in good spirits, without any signs of illness. Danxi asked what medicine he took to get better so quickly. The book friend took out the prescription and said, "Si Gong added a medicine to your prescription." After reading the prescription, Danxi seemed to have realized something and said, "This pomegranate peel is a good addition. It is really better than the original!"

Medicinal value of pomegranate peel

Pomegranate peel is warm in nature, sour and astringent in taste, and enters the large intestine and kidney meridians. It contains tannins, pomegranate alkaloids, malic acid, mucilage, sugar, isoquercetin and calcium oxalate, which have the effects of astringing the intestines, stopping diarrhea, stopping bleeding and killing insects. It is often used to treat chronic diarrhea, chronic dysentery, blood in the stool, rectal prolapse, abdominal pain caused by worm accumulation, spermatorrhea, metrorrhagia and leukorrhea. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed that pomegranate peel has an inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a variety of pathogenic fungi. Clinical reports show that the use of pomegranate peel decoction to treat bacterial dysentery has achieved significant results.

1. Broad-spectrum antibacterial:

Pomegranate peel contains a variety of alkaloids. Antibacterial tests have confirmed that the alcohol extract of pomegranate and the water decoction of the peel have a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect. It has a significant inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus, hemolytic Streptococcus, Vibrio cholerae, Shigella dysenteriae, etc., among which the strongest effect is on Shigella dysenteriae. The water extract of pomegranate peel also has different degrees of inhibitory effect on various skin fungi in the test tube. The decoction of pomegranate peel can also inhibit influenza virus.

2. Astringent and astringent:

Pomegranate is sour and contains alkaloids, ursolic acid, etc. It has obvious astringent effect, can stop bleeding in the intestines, and has good antibacterial effect, so it is a good product for treating dysentery, diarrhea, bloody stool, spermatorrhea, rectal prolapse and other diseases.

3. Deworming and killing insects:

Pomegranate peel and pomegranate root bark both contain pomegranate peel alkaloids, which have an anesthetic effect on human parasites and are important drugs for anthelmintics and insecticides, especially for tapeworms. They can be used to treat abdominal pain caused by worm accumulation, scabies, etc.

4. Stop bleeding and improve eyesight:

Pomegranate flowers are sour and flat in nature. If they are dried and ground into powder, they have a good hemostatic effect and can also stop leukorrhea. Soaking pomegranate flowers in water and washing eyes can also improve eyesight.

Commonly used prescriptions

① Take 1000g of fresh pomegranate peel (500g of dried product, available at Chinese medicine stores), wash and decoct twice, 30 minutes each time, remove the residue and take the juice, mix the two decoctions, concentrate into paste over low heat, add 300g of honey, stir until boiling, turn off the heat, cool and bottle for later use. Oral, 10ml each time, 2-3 times a day, take with boiled water. It is suitable for diarrhea caused by chronic diarrhea, enteritis, bacillary dysentery and indigestion.

② Take 60g of pomegranate peel and eggplant root, burn the eggplant root into ash (keep its essence), grind it into powder, grind the pomegranate peel into fine powder, mix the two medicines, take 9g each time, and take it with brown sugar water. It is suitable for those with chronic dysentery who have not been cured for a long time.

③ Take pomegranate peel and make it into a decoction, dry it, grind it into powder and put it into glue for oral administration, 3 times a day, 1 to 2 pills each time, to treat enteritis, bile duct infection, acute and chronic bronchitis, lung infection, chronic appendicitis, lymphadenitis, multiple furunculosis and traumatic infection.

Taboos on using pomegranate peel

1. Regular dosage of pomegranate peel: Taking regular dosage of pomegranate peel may occasionally cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, and leg cramps. Long-term use may cause central necrosis of the liver lobule, fatty liver, and cirrhosis. In clinical use, pay attention to the reaction after taking it. If the above symptoms occur, the drug should be discontinued, and symptomatic treatment is required for severe cases. This product should not be taken for a long time.

2. Overdose In addition to the above symptoms, overdose may also cause mydriasis, severe headache, exhaustion, convulsions, respiratory paralysis and death.

3. Inappropriate use of this drug: This drug should not be used for patients with excessive pathogenic heat, obvious infection, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dysentery, bloody stools, and constipation. Since conventional dosages may also cause toxic reactions, this drug is not the first choice in clinical practice.