Luo Han Guo
StarSiraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex A. M. Lu et Z. Y. Zhang
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Moistens the Lungs; Benefits the Throat and Restores the Voice; Resolves Phlegm and Stops Cough; Moistens the Intestines and Unblocks the Bowels; Generates Fluids and Relieves Thirst
Traditional Chinese Uses
Luo Han Guo (monk fruit) is a naturally sweet, cooling fruit that soothes and moistens the Lungs and throat. In Chinese medicine, it is used for dry or Heat-type coughs, sore throats, and hoarseness, as well as for constipation from intestinal dryness. Its intensely sweet flavor comes from compounds not metabolized as sugar, which has made it popular as a natural sweetener in modern health-conscious contexts. As a gentle, food-safe herb, it is commonly prepared as a beverage or tea.
Western Herbalism Properties
Botanical Description
Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C.Jeffrey ex A.M.Lu and Zhi Y.Zhang (Cucurbitaceae), formerly Momordica grosvenorii, is a perennial herbaceous climbing vine native to the mountainous regions of southern China and northern Thailand. It produces slender, twining stems that climb by branched tendrils to 3 to 5 meters, arising from a perennial fleshy rootstock. The leaves are alternate, ovate-cordate to lanceolate, 12 to 22 cm long, with a tapering tip and entire or shallowly toothed margins. The plant is dioecious; pale yellow, deeply lobed unisexual flowers are borne in the leaf axils. The fruit is a globose berry 5 to 7 cm in diameter, green when young and turning brown when fully ripened and dried, with a thin, brittle shell enclosing a sweet, fibrous pulp and many flat, ovate seeds. The fruits are harvested when nearly ripe and slowly dried over low heat, becoming light, hollow and intensely sweet from mogroside content, and are used as Luo Han Guo.
Active Constituents
Mogroside V
Cucurbitane-type triterpenoid glycosideConcentration: ~0.5-1.3% of dried fruit
The dominant sweet principle of monk fruit, roughly 250-425 times sweeter than sucrose yet essentially non-caloric and non-glycaemic. Mogroside V shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitussive and hypoglycaemic activity in preclinical models and is the marker compound for quality control.
Total mogrosides (mogroside IV, VI, 11-oxo-mogroside V)
Cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosidesConcentration: ~3.7-5.8% of dried fruit
The wider mogroside family shares the aglycone mogrol and contributes the fruit's sweet taste and much of its documented antioxidant, lung-moistening and cough-relieving activity.
Siamenoside I
Cucurbitane triterpenoid glycosideConcentration: Minor
One of the sweetest mogrosides present in smaller amounts; studied for hypoglycaemic and sweet-taste properties.
Grosvenorine and flavonoid glycosides (kaempferol derivatives)
Flavonoid glycosidesConcentration: Minor
Flavonoids such as grosvenorine and kaempferol glycosides provide additional antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity supporting the traditional heat-clearing, throat-benefiting use.
Free sugars (D-fructose, D-glucose)
MonosaccharidesConcentration: ~10-38% of the fresh fruit pulp
Naturally occurring fructose and glucose give the whole fruit a sweet, moistening quality; note that these caloric sugars are present in the whole dried fruit even though the isolated mogroside sweetener extract is sugar-free.
Polysaccharides
PolysaccharideConcentration: Notable fraction of fruit
Fruit polysaccharides contribute demulcent, immunomodulatory and antioxidant effects consistent with the traditional lung- and intestine-moistening actions.
Vitamin C and minerals (manganese, etc.)
Vitamin / mineralsConcentration: Trace to minor
The fruit supplies ascorbic acid and minerals such as manganese; minor contributors to overall antioxidant capacity.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Oral antidiabetic drugs / insulin
Mogrosides lower blood glucose and improve insulin sensitivity in animal models. When monk-fruit fruit or concentrated mogroside extract is used with glucose-lowering drugs there is a theoretical additive hypoglycaemic effect, although human evidence is limited and the sweetener itself is considered metabolically inert.
Clinical note: Generally regarded as safe; diabetic patients using large medicinal amounts alongside antidiabetic therapy should monitor blood glucose.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 6-15g | Daily | — | — | — |
Preparation Methods
Decoction
Parts: Dried ripe fruit
Typical dose 9-30 g, or roughly one-quarter to one-half of a crushed dried fruit. The fruit is broken open and simmered to yield a sweet brown decoction used to clear Lung heat, moisten dryness, ease sore throat and hoarseness and relieve constipation from dryness.
Infusion / tea
Parts: Dried ripe fruit
A piece of crushed fruit is steeped in hot water as a daily throat-soothing and thirst-quenching tea, often combined with chrysanthemum or licorice.
Mogroside sweetener extract
Parts: Fruit (mogroside fraction)
Water-extracted, purified mogroside concentrate is used as a non-caloric, non-glycaemic sweetener. This isolated extract is distinct from the whole dried fruit, which also contains natural sugars.
Clinical Studies
Effects of aspartame-, monk fruit-, stevia- and sucrose-sweetened beverages on postprandial glucose, insulin and energy intake
In thirty healthy men, a monk-fruit-sweetened beverage produced no rise in blood glucose or insulin comparable to sucrose, and did not increase subsequent ad libitum energy intake relative to the caloric sucrose control. The findings support monk fruit as a non-nutritive sweetener that does not provoke a postprandial glycaemic or insulin spike.
Monk Fruit Extract and Sustainable Health: A PRISMA-Guided Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
PRISMA-guided synthesis of randomized controlled trials of Siraitia grosvenorii (monk fruit) extract. Across the included trials monk fruit did not adversely affect glycaemic or metabolic outcomes and was well tolerated, while the review highlights that the overall body of rigorous human evidence remains small.
Historical Texts
Ling Nan Cai Yao Lu (Records of Gathering Medicinals in Lingnan)
Xiao Budan, 1932 (Republican period)Zhong Yao Da Ci Dian (Great Dictionary of Chinese Medicinals)
Jiangsu New Medical College, 1977 (modern)References
- Gong X, Chen N, Ren K, et al.. The Fruits of Siraitia grosvenorii: A Review of a Chinese Food-Medicine . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2019) [DOI]
- Liu H, Qi X, Yu K, et al.. A comprehensive review of Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey: chemical composition, pharmacology, toxicology, status of resources development, and applications . Frontiers in Pharmacology (2024) [DOI]
- Gong P, Guo Y, Chen X, et al.. Research progress of pharmacological effects of Siraitia grosvenorii extract . Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology (2022) [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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