Croton Fruit is the dried mature fruit of the Croton Fruit plant from the Peking Euphorbia Root family. It is mainly produced in Sichuan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, and other regions. The original plant grows in mountainous and hilly areas or is cultivated near houses. It prefers warm and humid climates, fears frost, and thrives in sunlight. It grows best in sandy loam soil that is sunny, deep, loose, fertile, and well-drained. It has a pungent taste and a hot nature. It contains fire toxin. It belongs to the stomach and large intestine meridians. Its effects include drastic purgation for food retention, expelling water to reduce swelling, and resolving phlegm to benefit the throat. Externally, it is used to erode sores. Clinical names include raw Croton Fruit and Croton Fruit frost.
bubble_chart Compendium of Materia Medica
Shennong Bencao Jing: It has a pungent taste and warm nature. It treats cold-damage disease, warm malaria, chills and fever, breaks up abdominal masses, resolves persistent fluid retention and phlegm, reduces ascites and swelling, cleanses the five zang and six fu organs, opens blockages, benefits the water and grain pathways, removes necrotic flesh, expels ghost parasitic toxins, and kills worms and fish.
Mingyi Bielu: Raw, it is warm; cooked, it is cold, and highly toxic. It treats amenorrhea in women, rotting fetuses, incised wounds with pus and blood, and is harmful to male genitalia.
Bencao Shiyi: It treats abdominal masses, lumps, fullness, cold qi and blood clots, undigested food, and phlegm-fluid retention with vomiting. Take one large green fruit daily on an empty stomach, remove the shell without breaking the white membrane, and swallow it whole with water. Shortly after, the abdomen will feel hot, and foul substances will be expelled through diarrhea. Even with diarrhea, there is no weakness. If taken long-term, diarrhea may not occur. Discard if the white membrane is broken.
Yaoxing Lun: It is an envoy herb. For its toxicity, use Coptis Rhizome juice or soybean juice as an antidote. Avoid asparagus, fermented soybeans, and cold water. It works well with fire and can neutralize the toxins of blister beetles and snakes. It breaks up abdominal masses, treats ten types of edema, wilting impediment, and large abdomen, and can induce abortion.Rihuazi Bencao: It treats all diseases, relieves stagnation, dispels wind, replenishes fatigue, strengthens the spleen, resolves middle consumptive thirst phlegm, breaks blood stasis, expels pus, reduces swelling and toxins, kills intestinal parasites, treats malignant sores, polyps, scabies, and boils.
Kaibao Bencao: It has a pungent taste, is warm when raw and cold when cooked, and is highly toxic. It treats amenorrhea in women, rotting fetuses, incised wounds, pus and blood, and is harmful to male genitalia. It neutralizes blister beetle toxin.
Yaoxing Fu: It has a pungent taste, hot nature, and is highly toxic. It floats and is yang within yang. Its uses are twofold: to break up hard accumulations and to cleanse deep cold in the zang-fu organs, open blockages, and benefit the water and grain pathways. It is a powerful herb that should not be used lightly.
Tangye Bencao: It has a warm qi, pungent taste, is warm when raw and cold when cooked, and is highly toxic.
《materia medica》 states: It treats cold-damage disease, warm malaria, chills and fever, breaks up abdominal masses, hard accumulations, and persistent fluid retention phlegm. It reduces ascites and swelling, cleanses the five zang and six fu organs, opens blockages, benefits the water and grain pathways, removes necrotic flesh, expels ghost toxins, parasitic toxins, and kills worms and fish. It treats amenorrhea in women, rotting fetuses, incised wounds with pus and blood, and is harmful to male genitalia. It neutralizes blister beetle toxin, strengthens the spleen, and opens the stomach.
Yi Lao states: It is a powerful herb that should be used with caution and not lightly.Zhenzhunang: It removes stomach cold and dampness.
Bencao Yanyi Buyi: It removes stomach cold accumulation; do not use if there is no cold accumulation.
Bencao Fahui: Cheng Wuji states: The pungency of Croton Fruit is used to disperse excess.
Jie Gu states: It has a hot nature, bitter taste, thin qi, and thick flavor. It is heavy and sinking, yin in nature. Its uses are threefold: to guide qi and disperse accumulations, to remove cold stagnation in the organs, and to digest cold and raw, cold, and hard substances. It also states: Croton Fruit is pungent and yang. It removes stomach cold accumulation.
Bencao Gangmu: Croton Fruit has hot qi and a pungent taste. Raw, it is fierce; cooked, it is mild. It can induce vomiting and purging, ascend and descend, and is both rising and falling, like mercurous chloride and mercuric chloride. Bielu states that cooked, it is cold in nature. Zhang states it descends, Li states it floats, all are one-sided views. If the membrane is not removed, it harms the stomach; if the core is removed, it causes vomiting. Soaked in Aquilaria water, it can both ascend and descend. Used with Rhubarb Rhizoma, it slows down purging due to mutual restraint. Wang Chong's 《論衡》 states: All things containing taiyang fire qi are toxic. Thus, Croton Fruit is pungent, hot, and toxic.
Croton Fruit has the power to quell chaos and cure diseases when used in large doses, and the subtlety to soothe and regulate when used in small doses. It is like Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhou Bo, and Guan Ying, who were fierce warriors but could also serve as capable ministers to assist in maintaining peace. Wang Hai-zang mentioned that it can both clear the intestines and stop diarrhea, revealing a secret that has been hidden for ages. An elderly woman in her sixties had been suffering from sloppy diarrhea for five years. Eating meat, oily foods, or cold and raw items would immediately cause pain. She had tried various medicines to regulate her spleen, lift her qi, and stop the diarrhea, but they only worsened her condition. When I examined her, her pulse was deep and slippery, indicating long-term damage to her spleen and stomach caused by cold accumulation and stagnation. As Wang Taipu said, "Great Cold (24th solar term) congeals internally, leading to chronic sloppy diarrhea that recurs over the years." The treatment should involve heat purgation to expel the cold and stop the diarrhea. I prescribed her fifty pills of Croton Fruit in a wax-coated pill. After two days, her bowel movements neither stopped nor continued excessively, and her diarrhea was cured. Since then, I have used this method to treat nearly a hundred cases of diarrhea, dysentery, and food retention, all of which were cured without further purging. The key lies in the proper combination of ingredients and matching the medicine to the illness. If used inappropriately, it violates the principle of avoiding excessive use that harms yin.
In the Han Dynasty, alchemists claimed that refining and consuming Croton Fruit could make one's complexion radiant and lead to immortality. Taoists believed this to be true, but they were mistaken. It was also said that swallowing a single piece could cause death, which is also an exaggeration. These misconceptions are now corrected.It is used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, fright epilepsy, abdominal pain, hernia, wind stroke, deafness, pharyngitis, toothache, and to unblock the orifices.
Bencao Jingshu : Croton Fruit grows during the height of summer, the season of six yang, and matures in the autumn, the season of metal. Thus, it has a pungent taste and warm nature, embodying the fierce and vigorous energy of fire, which makes it highly toxic. Bielu states that it is warm when raw and cold when cooked, though it is likely not very cold even when cooked. It has a thin qi and thick flavor, descending in nature, and is yang within yin. It enters the Hand and Foot Yangming meridians. Its primary functions include breaking abdominal masses, resolving hard accumulations, persistent fluid retention, phlegm stagnation, severe ascites, and swelling. It also treats ghost toxins, gu infestations, and evil entities, as well as amenorrhea in women. These conditions are all related to the stomach and intestines, where pathogenic excesses linger, causing various illnesses. When the stomach and intestines are diseased, the five zang and six fu organs become blocked. This herb, with its fiery and rapid nature, along with its pungent and warm dispersing properties, enters the stomach and intestines to purge all tangible accumulations. This unblocks the passages, facilitates the flow of water and grain, regulates menstruation, and expels ghost toxins, gu infestations, and evil entities. Warm malaria is also caused by summerheat dampness entering the stomach and intestines. Once the stomach and intestines are cleared, warm malaria naturally ceases. Fire can scorch things, so it is used to rot fetuses and remove necrotic flesh. Its hot and highly toxic nature inevitably damages yin, making it harmful to male genitalia. Benjing also mentions its use for cold-damage disease with chills and fever, and Bielu describes methods of refining and consuming it, but these are inappropriate. How could a highly toxic, pungent, and hot substance treat cold-damage disease with chills and fever, or benefit the blood vessels and improve complexion?
Jian Wu: Yuansu said, "Croton Fruit is like a general who breaks through gates and seizes doors; it should not be used lightly." It is used to treat alcohol-related illnesses and diaphragm qi stagnation because its pungent and hot nature can unblock stagnation in the stomach and intestines. However, while stagnation may be relieved, blood and fluids are lost, and true yin is depleted. Congzheng said, "Using it for cold-damage disease, wind-warmth, smallpox in children, or postpartum conditions can be fatal or extremely dangerous." Why do ordinary people fear Rhubarb Rhizoma but not Croton Fruit? It is because of its hot nature and small dosage. However, even when prepared with wax, it can still deplete body fluids, cause chest heat and dry mouth, consume innate vitality, leave toxins behind, and lead to other illnesses. From these statements, the dangers of Croton Fruit are clear. Moreover, Croton Fruit, with its fierce fiery nature, can burn and ulcerate the skin. Even a small amount rubbed on intact skin can quickly cause a blister. How much more damage can it do to the delicate tissues of the stomach and intestines? Even if it does not deplete true yin, the organs will be scorched, leading to ulceration. Therefore, all decoctions, powders, and pills containing Croton Fruit should be used with caution. In emergencies where its unblocking properties are needed, it must be thoroughly cooked, pressed to remove all oil, and used in minimal amounts.
Bencao Mengquan : It has a pungent taste, warm nature, warm when raw and cold when cooked, and a fierce nature. It is floating, yang within yang. It has thin qi, thick flavor, and a heavy, descending body. It is highly toxic. It is incompatible with lobedleaf pharbitis seed, antagonistic to certain herbs, and should not be used with asparagus, fermented soybeans, or cold water. It is inhibited by Rhubarb Rhizoma, false hellebore, and Coptis Rhizome. It works best with fire and is guided by Lilac Daphne. It has the ability to purge and attack, truly a general who breaks through gates and seizes doors. When used for treatment, the urgency should be considered. For urgent cases, it is used to unblock water and grain passages, with the skin, core, and membrane removed and used raw. For slower treatments, it is used to dissolve hard accumulations, cooked until the smoke is gone and it turns yellow-black. Some say cooking until yellow-black is excessive; it is better to remove the core and membrane and boil it five times, changing the water each time. Although it can unblock the intestines, it can also stop diarrhea, which is not widely known. Danxi said, "It can remove cold accumulations in the stomach, but should not be used if there are no cold accumulations." Benjing also states, "If a person swallows one piece, it can cause death. If a mouse eats it for three years, it can weigh thirty pounds. The tolerance of different creatures varies greatly!"
《Materia Medica Chenya》: Ba is the name of a snake. Xu Shi said, "The Ba snake can swallow an elephant, swiftly and skillfully consuming tangible forms, embodying extreme toxicity." This is similar to Croton Fruit's ability to purge the viscera and unblock obstructions, with its fierce and toxic nature. Thus, it can counteract the most stubborn yin accumulations and lingering phlegm. Purging leaves no trace, refining removes all flaws. Unless yang qi is depleted and the body is like dead ashes, the toxicity will harm the innocent. Be cautious.
《Medicinal Property Jie》: Croton Fruit has a pungent taste, warm when raw and cold when cooked, and is highly toxic. It enters the spleen, stomach, and large intestine meridians. It primarily dissolves hard accumulations, purges deep cold from the zang -fu organs, unblocks obstructions, and facilitates the passage of water and grain. It drains pus to reduce swelling, breaks blood stasis to regulate menstruation, and kills ghost toxins, gu infestations, and various intestinal parasites. It is guided by Lilac Daphne and inhibited by Rhubarb Rhizoma, Coptis Rhizome, false hellebore, lobedleaf pharbitis seed, and cold water. It neutralizes the venom of Blister Beetles and snakes.
Note: Croton Fruit is primarily used for promoting and unblocking, thus it is suitable for the spleen, stomach, and large intestine. When fried until it turns purple-black, it can unblock the intestines and also stop diarrhea, embodying the principle of treating incontinent syndrome with the dredging method. Zhongjing, Dongyuan, and many other renowned physicians often used it. Nowadays, people fear its pungent and hot toxicity and the risk of excessive purging, calling it a drastic remedy and abandoning its use. They do not realize that Croton Fruit is like a fierce general capable of breaking through barriers, with a violent nature that can cause significant harm if used improperly, but can achieve rapid results if used correctly. It is akin to Zhang Fei, a fierce general; it all depends on how one uses him. Should it be completely discarded? However, it is indeed contraindicated for those with qi deficiency and prolonged spleen qi damage.
Yaojian: Pungent in taste, hot in nature, highly toxic. Can ascend and descend. Effective in opening orifices, breaking abdominal masses, expelling phlegm-fluid retention, killing various parasitic toxins, relieving constipation, resolving retained food, attacking cold stagnation in the zang-fu organs, alleviating pain in the heart and abdomen, treating diarrhea, fright epilepsy, various water and qi syndromes, expelling a dead fetus, dispersing static blood and blood stasis, and resolving boils, sores, and malignant ulcers. It can remove polyps, necrotic flesh, and drain pus to reduce swelling. It also treats pharyngitis, toothache, and other conditions. However, its nature is fierce and its qi is intense, reaching everywhere, hence it is called the "general who breaks through barriers." If misused, it can cause severe damage; if used correctly, it has the miraculous effect of quelling chaos and regulating the middle. Users must exercise caution.
Bencao Beiyao: Pungent and hot, highly toxic. Raw form is fierce, while the cooked form is slightly milder. Can ascend and descend, stop or move, resuscitate, and disperse stagnation. It removes deep cold from the zang-fu organs and is the most effective "general who breaks through barriers." It breaks phlegm accumulation, blood stasis, qi fullness, food accumulation, and injuries caused by cold and hard substances. It treats severe ascites, diarrhea, fright epilepsy, facial paralysis, deafness, toothache, and pharyngitis. For acute throat obstruction, slow treatment can be fatal. Use the removing toxin pill: Realgar one liang, Curcuma Root one qian, Croton Fruit fourteen grains (peeled and oil removed), made into pills. Take five fen each time, swallowed with saliva. Realgar breaks stagnant qi, Curcuma Root disperses malignant blood, and Croton Fruit expels thick phlegm. However, it is a harsh agent and should not be used lightly. Alternatively, use a paper twist dipped in Croton Fruit oil, lit, and extinguished to prick the throat; or mash Croton Fruit, wrap it in cotton, and insert it into the nose to expel malignant phlegm and purple blood. Although it may cause minor sores in the nose, it is harmless. Its toxicity can also remove toxins and kill worms, treating sores, ulcers, snake bites, and scorpion stings. In high doses, it can drastically treat diseases; in small doses, it can harmonize the middle and unblock meridians, but it can also damage the fetus. Croton Fruit carries a fierce fire nature that can corrode flesh. Testing it on the skin can cause blisters, let alone the intestines and stomach. It should not be used lightly. Wang Hao-gu said: Remove the heart membrane and oil for raw use as an urgent treatment for water and grain pathways. Stir-fry until the smoke turns purple-black for a milder treatment to dissolve hardness and grind accumulations. It can unblock the intestines or stop diarrhea, which is not widely known. Li Shizhen said: A woman in her sixties had chronic diarrhea for five years, which worsened with cold, oily, or meaty foods. Taking astringent medicines made the diarrhea worse. Her pulse was deep and slippery, indicating long-term spleen and stomach damage with cold stagnation. The method was to purge with fever. Using fifty wax-coated Croton Fruit pills, she recovered in two days without diarrhea. Since then, nearly a hundred people with diarrhea have been cured. It is also called Gangzi. Xiao Lei said: Small, tight, and yellow ones are Ba; black ones are Dou; small and Radde Anemone Rhizome-like ones are Gangzi. Gangzi can kill. Li Shizhen said: This theory is flawed. Small and tight ones are female, while those with ridges and Radde Anemone Rhizome-like features are male, with the male being more intense. Used appropriately, both are effective. Not removing the membrane harms the stomach; not removing the heart causes vomiting. The Zangqi method involves taking it with the white membrane. Use the shell, kernel, or oil, raw, fried, vinegar-cooked, or charred with properties retained. Grind and remove the oil to make Croton Fruit霜. Lilac Daphne is its envoy; it fears Rhubarb Rhizoma, Coptis Rhizome, and cold water. For poisoning, use these to counteract it, or black soybean or mung bean juice. It works well with fire. The oil can be used on a paper twist, lit, extinguished, and inhaled or pricked into the throat to expel malignant phlegm and blood. It treats apoplexy, phlegm syncope, qi syncope, pharyngitis obstruction, and all acute diseases. Rhubarb Rhizoma and Croton Fruit are both drastic purgatives, but Rhubarb Rhizoma is cold in nature, suitable for heat syndromes in the fu organs; Croton Fruit is hot, suitable for cold syndromes in the zang organs. Thus, Zhang Zhongjing used Rhubarb Rhizoma for heat syndromes in cold-damage disease, while Li Dongyuan used Croton Fruit for accumulations in the zang organs. Taking it with Rhubarb Rhizoma does not cause diarrhea.
Benjing Fengyuan: Croton Fruit is pungent and hot, capable of purging and cleansing the five zang and six fu-organs. It not only breaks up hard accumulations of abdominal masses but also treats the chills and fevers of cold-damage disease, dampness malaria. For example, Zhongjing used the Three-Ingredient White Powder to treat cold solid thoracic accumulation, deeply grasping the essence of Benjing. The common texts mention warm malaria, but it should be dampness malaria, a mistake due to textual corruption. Its nature is fierce and sharp, with the power to break blood stasis, expel pus, attack phlegm, and expel water. It should be applied according to the severity of the condition. When used raw, it attacks fiercely; when cooked, it warms and purges. When the oil is removed and used as frost, it pushes out the old to bring in the new, applying treatments of reversal or reinforcement according to the urgency of the condition. Used fiercely, it has the effect of quelling chaos and seizing disease; used sparingly, it also has the subtlety of soothing and regulating the middle. It can unblock the intestines and stop diarrhea, revealing a secret from ancient times. An old woman with long-standing sloppy diarrhea tried various spleen-regulating, lifting, and astringent medicines, but her diarrhea worsened, and her pulse was deep and slippery. This was due to long-term damage to the spleen and stomach, with cold accumulation and coagulation. The method should be to use hot purgation to expel the cold and stop the diarrhea. Since then, it has often been used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, and abdominal masses, with many cases of recovery without diarrhea, the key being appropriate use. If used improperly, it violates the prohibition of damaging yin. Note: Croton Fruit and Rhubarb Rhizoma are both purgatives, but Rhubarb Rhizoma is cold in nature and suitable for heat conditions of the fu organs; Croton Fruit is hot in nature and suitable for cold conditions of the zang organs. Its shell, burned to ash, can stop diarrhea and dysentery, also showing the effect of seizing disease. It is contraindicated in pregnancy due to its ability to cause early abortion. Yuansu said: Croton Fruit is a general that breaks through barriers and seizes gates, not to be used lightly. It is commonly used to treat alcohol-related diseases and diaphragm qi, as its pungent heat can open and clear the stagnant heat of the stomach and intestines. However, although the stagnation is cleared, the blood is lost, and the yin is damaged. Using it for cold-damage disease thoracic accumulation or infantile malnutrition with accumulation in children can be fatal or dangerous. Why do mediocre people fear Rhubarb Rhizoma but not Croton Fruit, because of its hot nature and small dosage? Try rubbing a small amount on intact skin, and it will quickly cause blisters. How much more so when taken internally, can it not cause burning and ulceration? Even in urgent cases, if it must be used, press out the oil and use a small amount of the frost in the medicine.
Bencao Chongyuan: Croton Fruit is born in Bashu, with a pungent and warm aroma, yellow and red flowers and fruits, extremely hot and toxic. Its nature is fierce, mainly treating cold-damage disease, warm malaria, and cold conditions, dispersing with pungency, moving from the Jingmai outward to the surface of the skin. It breaks abdominal masses, hard accumulations, persistent fluid retention, phlegm obstruction, and large abdominal conditions, moving with warmth, descending from the central region and expelling through the intestines and stomach. When used appropriately, it has the power to break through barriers, thus cleansing the five zang and six fu-organs, opening blockages, and once the blockages are opened, the pathways for water and grain naturally flow smoothly. Its fierce nature allows it to remove malignant flesh. Its energy aligns with Yangming, thus eliminating ghost toxins, gu infestations, and evil substances, killing worms and fish. The classic says: the combination of two fires is Yangming. Croton Fruit is extremely pungent, very warm, possessing the nature of two fires, aligning with Yangming, hence its main treatments are as such.
Note: Whenever taking Croton Frost, it causes intense heat in the chest and ribs, spreading to the limbs, emerging through the skin and hair, and then exiting through the intestines and stomach. The "Cold-Damage Disease Treatise" has a White Powder formula, using this to treat cold-damage disease with cold solid thoracic accumulation. The ancients called it the general who breaks through barriers and seizes gates, using it correctly can truly cure diseases with drastic effects, but using it incorrectly can be harmful rather than beneficial.
Bencao Qiuzhen: [Comment] Dispels deep cold from the zang-fu organs, unblocks cold constipation.
Croton Fruit specifically enters the intestines and stomach. It is pungent, hot, and highly toxic. According to texts, it is fierce when raw and mild when cooked, can ascend and descend, move and stop, resuscitate and unblock stagnation, dispel deep cold from the zang-fu organs, acting as a barrier-breaking lifesaver. Since it can unblock stagnation and relieve stuffiness, the medicine can descend and move, but why do texts also say it can ascend and stop? These words are somewhat puzzling. Upon investigation, the descent mentioned in texts is due to deep cold and stubborn cold, masses in the organs, deeply entrenched, making it hard to remove, hence the need for the fierce, hot, swift, and direct action of Croton Fruit to sweep away the gloom, push out the old and bring in the new, how else could it cleanse so thoroughly! This is what the texts mean by being able to descend and move. As for chronic sloppy diarrhea, taking ascending and astringent medicines worsens the diarrhea, with a slippery and deep pulse, indicating long-term injury to the spleen and stomach, caused by cold accumulation and congealed qi, the method should be to use heat to purge, then the cold is expelled, the diarrhea stops, and the pulse begins to rise, this is what is meant by being able to ascend and stop. Li Shizhen said: A woman over sixty, suffering from sloppy diarrhea for five years, would have pain upon consuming raw, cold, oily, or meaty foods. Taking ascending and astringent medicines worsened the diarrhea. The pulse was deep and slippery, indicating long-term injury to the spleen and stomach, with cold accumulation and congealed stagnation. The method should be to use heat to purge. Using fifty wax-coated Croton Fruit pills, she was cured within one or two days without diarrhea. Since then, nearly a hundred people have been cured of diarrhea and dysentery using this method. Medical principles are profound, endlessly changing, one must extend and connect, not be bound by texts, then the use of medicine will not be misguided. Just as Rhubarb Rhizoma is also a product for opening and unblocking bowel movements, it is most suitable for heat conditions in the fu organs, but using Rhubarb Rhizoma to unblock and benefit in cold conditions of the zang organs would be contradictory. Therefore, Zhang Zhongjing used Rhubarb Rhizoma mostly for heat conditions in cold-damage disease transmitted internally. Li Dongyuan used Croton Fruit mostly for five accumulations in the zang organs, taking it with Rhubarb Rhizoma, it does not cause diarrhea. Hence, misuse can have the danger of pushing walls and toppling walls, but proper use has the marvel of quelling chaos and regulating the center. Zhang Yuansu said: The world uses it to treat alcohol disease and diaphragm qi, using the pungent heat of Croton Fruit to open and unblock the depressed heat in the intestines and stomach. Croton Fruit inherits the fierce fire energy. Although the depression is unblocked, the blood is lost, the yin is injured, cold thoracic accumulation and diaphragm, infantile malnutrition with accumulation, using it can be deadly or dangerous. Why do mediocre people fear Rhubarb Rhizoma but not Croton Fruit, because of its hot nature and small dosage. Try rubbing a little on the skin, it will blister in no time, let alone in the intestines and stomach, can it not cause ulceration and burning? Even in emergencies where it must be used, Wang Ang said: For acute throat blockage, slow treatment leads to death, use the removing toxin pill. One tael of Realgar, one qian of Curcuma Root, fourteen peeled and oiled Croton Fruit, made into pills. Take five fen each time, swallow with saliva. Realgar breaks congealed qi, Curcuma Root breaks malign qi, Croton Fruit expels thick saliva, but it is a harsh agent, not to be used lightly; or use a paper wick dipped in Croton Fruit oil, light it and prick the throat; or mash Croton Fruit, wrap it in cotton, insert it into the nose on the affected side, expel the evil saliva and purple blood to relieve. Press out its oil, take the frost [Comment] Croton Fruit frost. A little can be used in medicine. Li Shizhen said: The small and tight Croton Fruit is female, those with ridges and Radde Anemone Rhizome are male, the male is even more fierce. Used appropriately, both have power. Not removing the membrane harms the stomach, not removing the heart causes vomiting.
Depei Bencao: Lilac Daphne is its assistant. It fears Rhubarb Rhizoma, false hellebore, Coptis Rhizome, asparagus, fermented soybeans, bean juice, and cold water. It dislikes straw and lobedleaf pharbitis seed.
Obtain milk, myrrh, and yellow wax to treat dysentery; obtain borax, bitter apricot seed, and tooth soap to take with water pills to treat phlegm asthma. Light a lamp and blow it out, then use the smoke to fumigate the nose to treat apoplexy, phlegm, and syncope.
Improper use, zang-fu organs ulcerate. Poisoned by it, Mung Bean juice can detoxify it.
Bencao Fenjing: Pungent, very hot, highly toxic. Drastic purgation, resuscitation, dispersing stagnation, removing zang-fu organs' deep cold, retention of food, treating pharyngitis emergencies. Used raw for acute treatment, stir-fried black for slow treatment, defatted named Croton Fruit frost. Rhubarb Rhizoma, Coptis Rhizome, cold water, black soybean, Mung Bean juice can detoxify it.
bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology
- The effect of Croton Fruit on the digestive system: Croton Fruit frost administered orally can significantly enhance gastrointestinal propulsion and promote the reduction of intussusception. In isolated rabbit ileum tests, it can significantly increase the contraction amplitude of the ileum. Oral administration of Croton Fruit oil can produce a sensation of heat in the mouth, throat, and stomach, and has an emetic effect. After hydrolysis in the intestine, Croton Fruit oil releases Croton Fruit acid, which stimulates the intestinal mucosa and can cause inflammatory reactions. Severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, and tenesmus occur within 30 minutes to 3 hours.
- The effect of Croton Fruit on immune function. Croton Fruit frost administered orally can significantly reduce the carbon clearance rate, thymus weight, and inhibit the phagocytic function of macrophages in mice.
- Croton Fruit has anti-pathogenic microbial effects, killing the intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis and fasciolopsiasis, and is also toxic to river snails, fish shrimp, earthworms, etc.
- Croton Fruit extracts, Croton Fruit oil emulsion, Croton Fruit oil injection, etc., have anti-tumor effects.
- Croton Fruit has tumor-promoting effects. Croton Fruit oil, Croton Fruit resin, and Croton Fruit alcohol esters all have weak tumorigenic activity and can promote the carcinogenic effects of certain chemical carcinogens.
- Croton Fruit has the effect of raising blood pressure and accelerating respiration.
- Croton Fruit has analgesic effects, possibly related to the local irritant effect of Croton Fruit oil.
- The effect of Croton Fruit on the blood system: Croton Fruit toxin can dissolve red blood cells of rabbits, hedgehogs, pigs, snakes, and chickens. It has agglutinating effects on red blood cells of cattle, sheep, pigs, and frogs. The active ingredient PMA (Porbolmyristateacetrate) in Croton Fruit oil acts on platelets, increasing the concentration of cyclic guanosine monophosphate in platelets, making it an effective platelet aggregator.
- The effect of Croton Fruit on protein synthesis: Croton Fruit toxin can affect the interaction of elongation factors 1 and 2 with ribosomes, inhibit the formation of new peptides at the aminoacyl site, hinder the translocation reaction, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis. Injection of Croton Fruit oil can increase serum alpha-fetoprotein in rats.
- Croton Fruit decoction has an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation.
- Croton Fruit has cell differentiation-inducing effects.