PYRUS FRUCTUS
Aliases：Kuài Guǒ (Swift Fruit), Guǒ Zōng (Fruit Ancestor), Yù Rǔ (Jade Nectar), Mì Fù (Honey Father). Also known as Shuǐ Lí (Water Pear), Shān Lí (Mountain Pear), Yù Lù (Jade Dew), and others.
Lí (Pear) is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It is the fruit of Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd., Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm.f.) Nakai, and Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim., plants belonging to the genus Pyrus of the family Rosaceae. This fruit is commonly consumed as a daily food and is also a traditional Chinese medicine, with its medicinal use dating back to Mingyi Bielu (Records of Famous Physicians).
Efficacy & Actions
Moistens dryness, promotes fluid production, clears heat, and resolves phlegm.
Indications
Indicated for lung-dryness cough, febrile diseases with fluid damage and thirst, diabetes (Xiao Ke), phlegm-heat with convulsions, dysphagia, red eyes with pterygium, and burns and scalds. It may also be used for restlessness due to febrile diseases, dry mouth with scanty fluids, and sores.
Modern Pharmacology
Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that pears possess antioxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, expectorant, antiasthmatic, antibacterial, and anticancer effects. The soluble dietary fiber (pectin) in pears can delay glucose absorption, reduce fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, and has certain therapeutic effects on diabetes. In addition, pears have Yin-nourishing, heat-clearing, and blood pressure-lowering effects. Regular consumption may be beneficial for dizziness, palpitations, and tinnitus in patients with hypertension and heart disease.
Ingredients
Pears contain a rich variety of chemical constituents. Pyrus bretschneideri fruit contains sucrose, fructose, etc.; Pyrus pyrifolia fruit contains malic acid, citric acid, fructose, glucose, sucrose, etc. In addition, pears contain polyphenols, triterpenoids and sterols, phenolic acid esters, lupeol esters, polysaccharides, and other components.
Usage & Dosage
For oral administration: decoct in water, 15–30 g; or eat raw, 1–2 pieces; or extract juice; or steam; or make into an extract. For external use: apply an appropriate amount, crushed and applied topically; or extract juice for use as eye drops.
Contraindications
Use with caution in cases of Spleen deficiency with loose stools. Use with caution in cases of lung-cold cough. Use with caution in postpartum women.
Selected Formulas
For sudden cough (Shiliao Bencao) Take one pear, make 50 holes in it, put one pepper kernel in each hole, wrap with flour, roast in hot ashes until cooked. Remove, let cool, discard the pepper, and eat the pear. For yin-deficiency cough with dry throat, thirst, hoarseness, and wheezing (Chinese Herbal Preparation Manual, Pear Paste) Take 100kg of autumn pear, 1kg each of Maimendong (Ophiopogon), Baihe (Lily bulb), and Beimu (Fritillaria), 750g of Kuandonghua (Farfara flower), and 20kg of rock sugar. Decoct in water, concentrate into a clear paste. For every 300g of clear paste, add 300g of refined honey, simmer until it forms drops that do not disperse. Take 15g each time, dissolve in warm boiled water, twice daily. For severe thirst in Taiyin warm disease (Wenbing Tiaobian, Wuzhi Yin) Take pear juice, water chestnut juice, fresh reed root juice, Ophiopogon juice, and lotus root juice (or sugarcane juice). Mix in appropriate amounts and drink cold; if cold is not well tolerated, warm gently in a double boiler. For cough with profuse phlegm (Fresh Pear and Fritillaria Soup, empirical formula) Take 1 fresh pear, wash and cut into pieces, place in a bowl with 5g of Chuanbei powder (Fritillaria) and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Steam and eat, 1–2 times daily. For diabetes (empirical formula) Take fragrant pear, goose pear, or snow pear, crush to extract juice, add honey and simmer into a paste, store in a bottle. When using, mix with cold boiled water and take. For dyspepsia (empirical formula) Take fresh pears, soak in rice vinegar for 1 week, then eat. Take 2–3 pears per day in divided portions.
Daily Consumption
Raw consumption: Eating raw promotes fluid production, clears heat, and moistens dryness. Cooked consumption: Steaming, stewing, or boiling nourishes Yin, resolves phlegm, and relieves cough. Juice: Extract fresh pear juice for drinking. May be sweetened with honey or rock sugar. Extract: Pear juice can be boiled down into an extract for long-term storage and consumption. Congee: Cook pears with rice to make pear congee, which clears heat, promotes fluid production, and moistens the Lung to relieve cough. Soup: Can be steamed with Fritillaria and rock sugar, or stewed with red dates and pork.
Medicinal Parts
Ripe fruit. The leaves of the pear plant are also recorded for medicinal use.
Selection & Storage
Fresh products should be stored in a cool place, or refrigerated. Dried pear slices should be stored in a cool, dry place, protected from moisture.
