Traditionally used for
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Urinary & fluids
- Menstrual & women's health
Cautions & contraindications
- Before surgery
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat, expels Phlegm, e xpels pus and moistens the Lungs; Clears Heat and d rains Dampness
Traditional Chinese Uses
Dong Gua Zi (Semen Benincasae) is the seed of the winter melon/wax gourd, Benincasa hispida. Sweet and cold, entering the Lung, Stomach, Spleen and Intestine channels, it clears Heat, transforms Phlegm, expels pus and moistens the Lungs, and drains Damp-Heat from the lower burner. Its signature use is internal abscess: it clears the Heat driving the abscess while its moistening, Phlegm-resolving nature breaks down and expels thick purulent material.
It is a classic component of Wei Jing Tang (Reed Decoction) for Lung abscess, working with Lu Gen, Yi Yi Ren and Tao Ren to address Heat, Phlegm, pus and stasis; and of Da Huang Mu Dan Tang for intestinal abscess (appendicitis). Beyond abscess it treats Lung Phlegm-Heat cough, sinusitis with thick discharge, and Damp-Heat vaginal discharge. Usual dose is 9-30 g decocted.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Dong Gua Zi (also called Dong Gua Ren) is the seed of Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae), the wax gourd or winter melon, a vigorous annual climbing or trailing vine cultivated throughout China, India, and tropical Asia. Stems are stout, ridged, and densely hispid, bearing branched tendrils and large, palmately 5–7-lobed leaves 10–25 cm across with hispid surfaces. Solitary, large yellow flowers give rise to an oblong-cylindric to ovoid fruit 30–60 cm long covered in coarse hairs when young and developing a thick, whitish, waxy bloom at maturity. Inside the firm white flesh lie numerous flat, ovate, cream to pale brown seeds 10–15 mm long with a narrow marginal ridge. Ripe fruits are split in late autumn, the seeds washed, dried, and lightly stir-fried. In TCM they cool the Lung, clear phlegm, and discharge pus, and are a key ingredient of classic formulas such as Wei Jing Tang.
Active Constituents
Linoleic acid
Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acidConcentration: The most abundant fatty acid of the seed oil in every extract examined; supercritical carbon dioxide extraction under optimised conditions yields about 176.3 mg of crude oil per gram of dried seed
Dominant fatty acid of the fixed oil that makes up the bulk of the kernel. Its abundance is what makes the seed, unlike the peel, an oil-bearing drug, and the unsaturated-rich oil carries most of the seed's measured antioxidant activity.
Oleic acid
Omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acidConcentration: Second major fatty acid of the seed oil
Principal monounsaturated component of the kernel oil; together with linoleic acid it accounts for the predominance of unsaturated over saturated fatty acids reported by gas chromatography of the seed extracts.
beta-Sitosterol
PhytosterolConcentration: Principal sterol of the seed's unsaponifiable fraction
The main sterol of the kernel and a plausible contributor to its anti-inflammatory character. Reported values for the proportion of the sterol fraction vary between sources and should not be quoted as a specification.
Citrulline and urea
Non-protein amino acid and nitrogenous compoundsConcentration: Characteristic nitrogenous constituents of the seed, reported in review literature rather than by a validated assay
Typical of Cucurbitaceae seeds and often cited in support of the drug's traditional diuretic reputation. No quantitative or pharmacological study has tested that link in Benincasa hispida seed, so treat the association as unproven.
Trigonelline
Pyridine alkaloidConcentration: Minor seed constituent
A minor alkaloid reported from the seed; its hypoglycaemic and neuroprotective activities come from work on the isolated compound in other contexts, not from studies of Dong Gua Zi.
Multiflorenol, isomultiflorenol and alnusenol
Triterpenoid alcoholsConcentration: Reported for Benincasa hispida; the quantitative and pharmacological work was done on the fruit, not on the isolated seed
These triterpenes were the histamine-release inhibitors isolated from the wax gourd fruit. They are commonly listed under the seed as well, but the histamine-release evidence belongs to the fruit and should not be carried over to Semen Benincasae without qualification.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Dong Gua Pi (Benincasae Exocarpium, the peel) and whole wax gourd fruit substituted for the seed
Benincasa hispida yields at least three distinct drugs: the seed or kernel (Semen Benincasae, Dong Gua Zi or Dong Gua Ren), the peel (Benincasae Exocarpium, Dong Gua Pi) and the flesh of the fruit. They are separate entries with separate indications, and this monograph describes the seed only. The distinction matters for evidence, because most of the published pharmacology and toxicology of the species used the fruit or the peel: the histamine-release inhibitors multiflorenol and alnusenol were isolated from the fruit, and the acute and sub-chronic toxicity study that is often cited as safety evidence for the seed used a fruit extract. The seed is an oil-bearing kernel with a fatty-acid and sterol profile that the peel does not share, so peel data cannot substitute. The pinyin also collides with Dong Kui Zi (Malvae Semen, the seed of Malva verticillata), an unrelated Malvaceae drug that differs by a single character.
Clinical note: Confirm the plant part on the label and check that the material is a flat, oily, cream-coloured kernel rather than strips of green peel. When quoting research, say whether the study used seed, peel or whole fruit; do not present fruit toxicology as seed safety data.
Anti-angiogenic and anti-VEGF therapies (bevacizumab, ramucirumab, tyrosine kinase inhibitors); perioperative period
A seed extract dose-dependently reduced basic fibroblast growth factor-induced endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation, and inhibited bFGF-induced angiogenesis in vivo, without cytotoxicity to endothelial cells or fibroblasts. Angiogenesis is required for wound repair, so a genuine anti-angiogenic action in a drug given as an expectorant and pus-expeller is worth flagging. The evidence is a single 2005 study in cell culture and an animal angiogenesis assay; no human pharmacokinetics exist and it is unknown whether an oral decoction reaches an active concentration.
Clinical note: No documented human case. Reasonable to pause the herb around major surgery or an open wound, and to mention it to an oncologist if a patient on anti-VEGF therapy wants to take it, rather than to prohibit it outright.
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 5 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
0
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
5
1 verified · 4 unverified
Show 5 studies
- Anti-angiogenic effect of the seed extract of Benincasa hispida Cogniaux
- Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Seed Oil from Winter Melon (Benincasa hispida) and Its Antioxidant Activity and Fatty Acid Composition
- Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging, Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Potential of Benincasa hispida Seed Extract
- ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BENINCASA HISPIDA SEEDS
- Medicinal Foodstuffs. XI. Histamine Release Inhibitors from Wax Gourd, the Fruits of Benincasa hispida COGN.
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Anti-angiogenic effect of the seed extract of Benincasa hispida Cogniaux
The only substantive pharmacology done on the seed specifically. The seed extract dose-dependently decreased bFGF-induced endothelial cell proliferation and tube formation, showed no cytotoxicity to HUVECs or normal fibroblasts, and potently inhibited bFGF-induced angiogenesis in vivo. Cell culture plus an in vivo angiogenesis assay; no clinical data.
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Seed Oil from Winter Melon (Benincasa hispida) and Its Antioxidant Activity and Fatty Acid Composition
Optimised supercritical carbon dioxide extraction yielded 176.30 mg of crude oil per gram of dried seed at 244 bar, 46 degrees C and 97 minutes. Gas chromatography showed all extracts were rich in unsaturated fatty acids with linoleic acid the most abundant, and the supercritical extract had markedly higher antioxidant activity than Soxhlet or ultrasound-assisted extracts. An extraction and composition study, not a pharmacology study.
Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging, Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Potential of Benincasa hispida Seed Extract
Reports radical-scavenging, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity for a seed extract in rodent models. Included because it is one of the few studies on the correct plant part, but it is a small single-laboratory screening study in a low-visibility journal and should carry little weight.
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF BENINCASA HISPIDA SEEDS
Antioxidant characterisation of Benincasa hispida seeds in cell-free assay. Confirms the seed's radical-scavenging capacity but establishes no clinical effect.
Medicinal Foodstuffs. XI. Histamine Release Inhibitors from Wax Gourd, the Fruits of Benincasa hispida COGN.
Isolated the triterpenes multiflorenol and alnusenol as histamine-release inhibitors, from the fruits of Benincasa hispida and not from the seed. Listed here because these compounds are routinely attributed to Dong Gua Zi in secondary sources; the primary evidence is for the fruit.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman's Classic of Materia Medica)
Han dynasty, c. 200 CEJin Gui Yao Lue (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet), Zhang Zhongjing
Late Han dynasty, c. 200-220 CEBei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang (Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies), Sun Simiao
Tang dynasty, 652 CEReferences
- Singh S, Gohil KJ, Singh MP. Pharmacological update on Benincasa Hispida (Thunb.): A review . Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine (2024) [DOI]
- Soetjipto H. Chemical composition and profile characterisation of wax gourd (Benincasa hispida (Thun.) Cogn.) seed oil . AIP Conference Proceedings (2022) [DOI]
- Shakya A, Chaudhary SK, Bhat HR, Ghosh SK. Acute and sub-chronic toxicity studies of Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) cogniaux fruit extract in rodents . Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (2020) [DOI]
- Lim TK. Benincasa hispida cv- gr. Wax Gourd . Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants (2012) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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