Ku Hu Lu
StarLagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. var. gourda (Ser.) Hara
☯ TCM Properties
Promotes urination and reduces swelling
Traditional Chinese Uses
Ku Hu Lu is the bitter-fruited form of the bottle gourd/calabash, Lagenaria siceraria var. gourda. Bitter and sweet with a cold nature, entering the Spleen, Lung and Kidney channels, its chief action is to promote urination and reduce swelling, draining accumulated water. It is used for water-retention patterns: generalized edema, ascites and abdominal fullness, and for difficult, scanty urination. Its detoxifying, purgative quality is also applied to jaundice and skin sores, and topically to ulcers.
It is typically decocted around 15-30 g. It is unsuited to Spleen-Stomach deficiency-cold. A genuine safety caution: intensely bitter bottle-gourd fruit contains high levels of cucurbitacins, and ingestion of the bitter juice has caused severe gastroenteritis with vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and in reported cases shock or death — so the bitter form must be used strictly in controlled medicinal amounts, never as food.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Ku Hu Lu is the bitter-fruited form of Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. (Cucurbitaceae), the bottle gourd or calabash, an annual climbing vine cultivated throughout China and tropical/subtropical regions worldwide. Stems are long, soft-hairy, and bear branched tendrils. Leaves are alternate, broadly cordate-ovate, shallowly 5-lobed, 10–25 cm wide, with soft pubescence and small glands at the petiole apex. Plants are monoecious with solitary, large, white, nocturnal flowers opening at dusk. The fruit is a pepo of highly variable shape (bottle, dipper, club, or globose) 10–50 cm long; the wild and certain cultivar forms produce a sharply bitter fruit owing to cucurbitacin accumulation. Mature fruits have a hard, woody, pale-tan rind enclosing white spongy flesh and many flat, oblong seeds. Bitter-fruited gourds are used cautiously in TCM to promote urination and reduce edema; they are mildly toxic and contraindicated in deficiency patterns and in large doses.
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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