☯ TCM Properties
Promotes and regulates urination
Traditional Chinese Uses
Hu Lu Ke is the dried rind of the mature bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, a sweet and bland, neutral substance used to promote and regulate urination and drain water. It is applied for edema, especially facial and generalized swelling, ascites and abdominal distension, and for difficult or scanty urination. Its bland, seeping quality makes it a gentle diuretic that leaches Dampness without harsh action, and it may be combined with other water-draining herbs such as Dong Gua Pi or Fu Ling.
The record assigns the Spleen, Lung and Kidney channels (some sources cite Heart and Small Intestine); across sources its core role is consistent — resolving water swelling through urination. It is generally mild and food-safe, decocted in modest amounts.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (Cucurbitaceae), the bottle gourd or calabash, is the source of Hu Lu Ke, the dried outer rind of the mature fruit. The plant is a vigorous annual climbing or trailing vine extending 3-9 m, with soft-hairy angular stems and branched tendrils. Leaves are alternate, broadly ovate to reniform, 10-25 cm wide, shallowly 3-7 lobed, with dentate margins, an obtuse to cordate base, and a softly pubescent surface. Flowers are large, solitary, monoecious, with five white, broadly obovate corolla lobes 3-5 cm long that open in the evening and wilt by morning. The fruit is highly variable in shape — bottle, dipper, club, or globose — 10-100 cm long, with a smooth green rind ripening to a hard, lightweight, woody, pale yellow-brown pericarp; mature seeds are flattened and obconical. Cultivated worldwide and one of humanity's oldest domesticated plants. In TCM, the dried rind (Hu Lu Ke) and the entire dried fruit promote urination, reduce edema, and treat jaundice and ascites.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
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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