Foshou (Buddha's Hand): Soothing the Liver, Moving Qi, and Anti-Tumor Effects
Foshou is the fruit of Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis of the Rutaceae family, also called Foshou Xiangyuan, Miluo Gan, Wuzhi Gan, Fushou Gan and Foshou Gua. Ripe Buddha's hand is sweet, fragrant and juicy, a delicious fruit popular in southern Fujian, Guangxi and other places.
TCM has long used Foshou as medicine. The most comprehensive description of its action is by the Qing dynasty warm-disease master Ye Tianshi (Ye Gui) in the Bencao Zai Xin. It records that Foshou "treats qi and soothes the liver, harmonizes the stomach and resolves phlegm, breaks accumulations. It treats dysphagia and regurgitation, and dissipates zhengjia and luoli." Foshou moves qi and distends, so it can "treat qi and soothe the liver"; people in southern Fujian and Guangxi use Foshou to aid digestion and also to treat cough with profuse phlegm. Foshou can also "break accumulations"; here "accumulation" is the TCM jiju, mostly digestive tract diseases including digestive tract tumors. Dysphagia and regurgitation are mostly symptoms of pyloric obstruction caused by esophageal or gastric cancer; as for zhengjia and luoli, these are also mostly tumor-type diseases. It is evident that Ye Gui already used Foshou to treat tumor-type diseases.
Modern pharmacological studies show that the hesperidin, hesperetin, Foshou polysaccharides and Foshou volatile oil contained in Foshou all have strong anti-tumor action.
Hesperidin has a significant antagonistic effect on lung cancer in experimental mice. It can induce early apoptosis in human lung cancer A549/DDP cells in a clear dose-dependent manner. Hesperidin also inhibits acetaldehyde-induced expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in human hepatoma HepG-2 cells, reduces the proliferation rate of gastric cancer SNU-668 cells, and has a marked effect on human colon cancer SUN-C4 cells. Hesperidin can also markedly inhibit proliferation of tongue cancer Tca-8113 cells, with inhibition significantly related to hesperidin concentration. Hesperidin can also inhibit division and proliferation of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells and induce cell-cycle-specific apoptosis. Hesperetin can significantly reduce the incidence of colon cancer and the number of abnormal foci.
Foshou polysaccharides have a good inhibitory effect on transplanted mouse liver tumor HAC-22 with very low toxicity. Foshou volatile oil effectively kills cultured mouse B16 melanoma cells in vitro and inhibits proliferation of MDA-MB-435 cancer cells. The water decoction of Foshou induces apoptosis in leukemia RAW264.7 cancer cells and inhibits their proliferation.
This series of pharmacological studies confirms that Foshou indeed has an anti-tumor action, showing that Ye Gui's record was not groundless. Earlier practitioners also used Foshou for abdominal distension and ascites; for example, the Lingnan Caiyao Lu, published in the Republican era, specifically mentions that Foshou treats "abdominal distension and swelling," using "Foshou (pith removed) 4 liang, Renzhongbai (Sedimen urinae hominis) 3 liang; powder together, take with plain water on an empty stomach." Abdominal distension and swelling are mostly ascites or pelvic effusion in modern medicine.
TCM classifies Foshou as a qi-moving herb. It is pungent and bitter in taste, warm in nature, enters the liver, spleen and kidney meridians, and has the actions of soothing the liver and moving qi, harmonizing the stomach and resolving phlegm. It is indicated for hypochondriac pain and chest tightness due to liver qi stagnation; epigastric and abdominal distending pain, belching and nausea due to liver-stomach disharmony or liver-stomach qi stagnation; and chronic cough with profuse phlegm. It also lists yin deficiency with fire hyperactivity and absence of qi stagnation as contraindications.
For pain caused by digestive tract diseases, Foshou has a marked relieving effect. The Quanguo Zhongcaoyao Huibian records using "Foshou 6 g, Yanhusuo 6 g, decocted in water" to treat "liver-stomach qi pain." This liver-stomach qi pain is mostly clinical symptoms caused by digestive tract diseases (such as gastritis, cholecystitis, liver disease, pancreatic disease); the pain site is not fixed but is basically related to the digestive tract.
Besides being decocted and drunk in the usual way, Foshou can be made into tea. Foshou tea soothes the liver and reduces distension, improving abdominal distension and pain caused by related diseases. The distillate of Foshou is also called Foshou Lu, with the same action as the water decoction. As early as the Qing dynasty, people prepared Foshou Lu to treat disease. The Gangmu Shiyi records that Foshou Lu "can soothe diaphragm qi, treat diaphragm qi depression, resolve constraint, and greatly broaden the chest."
Besides the fruit, Foshou flowers can also be used as medicine. Foshou flowers also soothe the liver and move qi, harmonize the stomach and quicken the diaphragm. Foshou flower tea can improve liver-stomach qi pain and boost appetite. In the hot summer, Foshou flower tea prevents summer-dampness. If summer heatstroke with damp obstruction in the middle jiao causes poor appetite, use Foshou flowers 10 g, Biandou flowers (Dolichoris) 10 g, Houpo flowers (Magnolia) 10 g, Shichangpu (Acorus) 3 g, decocted in water.