Qing Guo
StarCanarium album (Lour.) Raeusch.
Traditionally used for
- Nose & throat
- Cough & breathing
- Colds & fever
- Digestion
☯ TCM Properties
Clears Heat and Resolves Toxicity; Benefits the Throat; Generates Fluids; Resolves Seafood Poisoning
Traditional Chinese Uses
Qing Guo (Chinese olive fruit, canarium fruit) is a cool, sweet-sour herb used to clear Lung and Stomach Heat, resolve toxin, and generate fluids. It is used for sore throat, cough with dry mouth, and inflammatory conditions of the upper respiratory tract from Heat or toxin. Its fluid-generating property also addresses thirst from febrile illness and the aftermath of alcohol consumption. As a pleasant-tasting food-herb, it is commonly eaten fresh or pickled in Chinese communities.
Western Herbalism Properties
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Canarium album (Lour.) DC. (Burseraceae), the Chinese white olive, is a tall evergreen tree 10-25 m high with a straight trunk, smooth grey bark, and exuding fragrant resin when wounded. The alternate, pinnately compound leaves bear seven to eleven leathery, oblong-lanceolate leaflets with entire margins and an acuminate tip. Loose, terminal panicles of small, whitish flowers develop into ellipsoid, green to yellow-green drupes 2.5-3.5 cm long, each with a hard, three-ridged stone enclosing one or two seeds. Native to southern China, Hainan, Taiwan, and parts of Indochina and Malesia, the fresh or salt-preserved fruit (Qing Guo) is eaten as a snack and used in TCM to clear heat, generate fluids, resolve toxicity, and benefit the throat in sore-throat conditions.
Active Constituents
Gallic acid
Phenolic acid (hydrolysable tannin building block)Concentration: the single largest phenolic component, around 38.8% of total fruit phenolics; total phenolics are of the order of 300 mg per 100 g fresh weight
Dominates the phenolic profile of the fruit and is the principal contributor to its astringency and to the antioxidant activity measured in DPPH and related assays. It is released on hydrolysis of the gallotannins during extraction and digestion.
Ellagic acid
Ellagitannin-derived dilactone phenolicConcentration: around 14.3% of total fruit phenolics
The second most abundant phenolic in the fruit. It was one of the compounds isolated in an activity-guided fractionation for antihepatotoxic effect in primary rat hepatocytes and it reduced carbon tetrachloride liver damage in mice, an effect the authors attributed to antioxidant activity.
Brevifolin
Ellagitannin degradation product (phenolic ketone)Isolated from Canarium album by activity-guided fractionation as one of the hepatoprotective constituents, active both in primary cultured rat hepatocytes and against carbon tetrachloride injury in mice.
Hyperin (hyperoside, quercetin-3-O-galactoside)
Flavonol glycosideA flavonol glycoside isolated alongside brevifolin and ellagic acid in the hepatoprotective fractionation work, and a contributor to the radical-scavenging activity of the fruit extract.
3,3'-di-O-methylellagic acid
Methylated ellagic acid derivativeOne of the four compounds isolated in the antihepatotoxic fractionation; it reduced carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage in mice.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Oral iron salts (ferrous sulphate, ferrous fumarate)
The fruit is rich in hydrolysable tannins and free gallic and ellagic acid, a class of polyphenols that chelates non-heme iron in the gut lumen and reduces its absorption. That effect is well characterised for tannin-rich foods and beverages in general; it has not been measured for Canarium album specifically, so this entry is an extrapolation from chemical class rather than a studied interaction.
Clinical note: If a patient on iron replacement uses Qing Guo regularly, separate the two by at least two hours, as you would for tea. No dose change is needed.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| decoction | 5–10 g | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】5～10g。 【性味与归经】甘、酸，平。归肺、胃经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 3 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
3
1 verified · 2 unverified
Show 3 studies
- Hepatoprotective compounds from Canarium album and Euphorbia nematocypha.
- The composition of phenolic compounds in Chinese olive (Canarium album L.) cultivars and their contribution to the anti-inflammatory properties of the cultivars
- Anti-influenza mechanism of phenolic phytochemicals from Canarium album (Lour.) DC. leaf extract
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
Hepatoprotective compounds from Canarium album and Euphorbia nematocypha.
Activity-guided purification against hepatotoxicity in primary cultured rat hepatocytes isolated brevifolin, hyperin, ellagic acid and 3,3'-di-O-methylellagic acid. Brevifolin, ellagic acid and the dimethylellagic acid also reduced carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage in mice. The work fractionated extracts of Canarium album together with Euphorbia nematocypha, so the contribution of each plant to the starting activity is not separable.
The composition of phenolic compounds in Chinese olive (Canarium album L.) cultivars and their contribution to the anti-inflammatory properties of the cultivars
Profiled the phenolic composition of several Chinese olive cultivars and related it to anti-inflammatory activity in cell assays. Gallic acid and ellagic acid dominated the phenolic fraction, and cultivar differences in phenolic content tracked differences in anti-inflammatory effect. This is cultivar chemistry plus cell-based pharmacology, not a clinical result.
Anti-influenza mechanism of phenolic phytochemicals from Canarium album (Lour.) DC. leaf extract
Six phenolic phytochemicals isolated from an aqueous extract inhibited influenza A strains in cell culture, with canaroleosides interacting with viral neuraminidase. Important caveat for this record: the material studied was the LEAF of Canarium album, whereas the drug Qing Guo is the fruit. The leaf result should not be read across to the fruit without direct evidence.
⚠ Safety & Contraindications
Contraindications
Since it is sweet in flavor and astringent in nature, its use is cautious in patients with exterior pattern in the initial stage.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 53–72.
Historical Texts
Kai Bao Ben Cao
Song dynastyRi Hua Zi Ben Cao
Song dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynastyReferences
- Ma J, Yang R, Xu Z, Zhang H, Duan B, Zhang H, He F, Yang Y, Chen X, Xia C. A Review of Canarii Fructus (Canarium album) Polyphenols: From Efficient Extraction to Mechanistic Understanding and Functional Food Development . Foods (2026) [DOI]
- Xiao M, Cao F, Huang T, Tang YS, Zhao X, Shaw PC. Urolithin M5 from the Leaves of Canarium album (Lour.) DC. Inhibits Influenza Virus by Targeting Neuraminidase . Molecules (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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