Wheat-bran-roasted Trifoliate Orange Peel is a processed form of the traditional Chinese medicinal material Trifoliate Orange Peel. It consists of the dried, unripe fruits of Citrus aurantium L. (bitter orange) and its cultivated varieties, which are cleaned, sliced, and roasted with wheat bran.This product is produced in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and other regions. It primarily has the effects of regulating qi, strengthening the stomach, and aiding digestion, and is commonly used to treat conditions such as food stagnation and vomiting or belching.
Bran-Roasted Trifoliate Orange Peel
Wheat-bran-roasted Trifoliate Orange Peel is a processed form of the traditional Chinese medicinal material Trifoliate Orange Peel. It consists of the dried, unripe fruits of Citrus aurantium L. (bitter orange) and its cultivated varieties, which are cleaned, sliced, and roasted with wheat bran.This product is produced in Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and other regions. It primarily has the effects of regulating qi, strengthening the stomach, and aiding digestion, and is commonly used to treat conditions such as food stagnation and vomiting or belching.
Chinese Name : 麸炒枳壳
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : It has a bitter, pungent, and sour taste, is slightly cold in nature, and enters the Spleen and Stomach meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Wheat-Bran-Roasted Zhi Ke has a bitter, pungent, and sour taste, a slightly cold nature, and enters the Spleen and Stomach meridians. It primarily serves to regulate qi, strengthen the stomach, and aid digestion.
Indications
Wheat-bran-fried Zhi Ke is primarily used to treat stagnation of undigested food, vomiting, and belching.
Usage and Dosage
Take 3–10 g as a decoction; or incorporate into pills or powders.
Precautions
1. Use with caution in pregnant women. 2. Use with caution in patients with hypertension. 3. This product should not be decocted for an extended period. 4. This product should not be used concurrently with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, calcium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, ferrous sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, bismuth carbonate, or digitalis. 5. Avoid cold, raw, sticky, or greasy foods that promote phlegm and dampness while taking this medication.
Chemical Constituents
Wheat-roasted Zhi Ke contains flavonoids, essential oils, coumarins, alkaloids, and other components.
Pharmacological Actions
Modern pharmacological studies have found that this product regulates gastrointestinal motility and possesses anti-ulcer and antithrombotic effects.
Applications
Related Compatibility
1. Wheat-bran-roasted Zhi Ke is often used in combination with Mu Xiang, Bin Lang, and Xiang Fu. It has the effect of promoting qi circulation and resolving food stagnation, and can treat symptoms such as epigastric and abdominal distension and pain, epigastric fullness, tenesmus, and loss of appetite caused by internal food stagnation.
2. Wheat-roasted Zhi Ke is often used in combination with Mu Xiang, Bai Dou Kou, and Sha Ren. It has the effect of regulating qi and descending counterflow, and can treat symptoms such as vomiting, belching, and loss of appetite caused by disharmony of stomach qi and impaired spleen function.
3. Wheat-bran-roasted Zhi Ke is often used in combination with Trichosanthes peel, Perilla seed, and Apricot kernel to promote lung function and eliminate phlegm. It is used to treat symptoms such as cough with excessive phlegm and chest and diaphragm fullness caused by impaired lung qi and disrupted descent.
Medicinal Identification
Raw Zhi Ke and wheat-bran-fried Zhi Ke are different processed forms of Zhi Ke, and their therapeutic focuses differ. Among them, raw Zhi Ke has a relatively potent nature, with effects focused on regulating qi, relieving epigastric fullness, and eliminating distension. It can treat epigastric and abdominal distension and pain, or distension and pain in the flanks caused by qi stagnation and fullness, as well as pain due to blood stasis, uterine prolapse, rectal prolapse, and gastric ptosis;Wheat-bran-fried Zhi Ke has a milder nature, with effects focused on regulating qi, strengthening the stomach, and aiding digestion; it is often used to treat stagnation of undigested food, vomiting, and belching.
Related Medicines
Pingxiao Capsules, Xuefu Zhuyu Oral Liquid, Jiawei Zuojin Pills, Qu Mai Zhi Shu Pills, etc.
Related Prescriptions
Muxiang-Binlang Pills (from *Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang*) and others.
Medicinal Diet Therapy
Ganlu Tea
1. Ingredients: 90 g aged tea leaves; 24 g each of Taiwanese Evodia, roasted hawthorn, ginger-roasted Sichuan magnolia bark, and wheat bran-roasted Trifoliate Orange Peel; 120 g tangerine peel; 45 g wheat bran-roasted Shenqu; and 30 g roasted barley sprouts.
2. Preparation: Soak the tangerine peel in salt water, then stir-fry it in a pan until dry. Grind it into a coarse powder together with the other herbs.
3. Effects: Regulates qi and harmonizes the stomach; aids digestion and relieves food stagnation.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with wheat bran-fried Zhi Ke should first consult a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital to receive a TCM prescription following a professional TCM differential diagnosis.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest in July when the fruit peel is still green; cut each fruit in half crosswise from the middle, then sun-dry or dry at a low temperature. Slice thinly.
Processing Methods
First, heat the roasting pan over medium heat until smoke rises immediately upon sprinkling in wheat bran. Sprinkle the wheat bran evenly, add the cleaned Zhi Ke slices, and roast until the surface of the Zhi Ke turns pale yellow. Remove from heat, sift out the wheat bran, and allow to cool. Use 10 kg of wheat bran for every 100 kg of Zhi Ke slices.
Storage Methods
Store in a cool, dry place, taking care to prevent insect infestation and mold growth.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
Trifoliate orange peel is hemispherical, 3–5 cm in diameter. The outer pericarp is brownish-gray to brown, with granular protrusions; the tips of these protrusions feature pitted oil glands. There are distinct remnants of the style or scars from the fruit stalk.In cross-section, the middle pericarp is yellowish-white, smooth and slightly convex, 0.4–1.3 cm thick, with 1–2 scattered rows of oil glands along the edges; the pulp sacs consist of 7–12 segments, occasionally up to 15; the juice sacs are shriveled and brown to brownish-yellow, containing seeds. The texture is hard and difficult to break. It has a fresh, fragrant aroma and a bitter, slightly sour taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
Wheat-roasted Zhi Ke appears as thin, irregular, arched strips. The surface is relatively dark in color, with occasional scorched spots. It is brittle. It has a fragrant aroma and a relatively mild taste.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A plant of the genus Citrus in the family Rutaceae.
Morphological Characteristics
An evergreen small tree. Branches are triangular in cross-section and bear long thorns. Leaves are alternate; the petioles have narrow-lanceolate or narrow-lanceolate-inverted-cordate stipules, 8–15 mm long and 3–6 mm wide;Leaf blades are leathery, obovate-elliptic or ovate-oblong, 3.5–10 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide, with a short, blunt apex that is gradually tapering or slightly concave; the base is cuneate or rounded; margins are entire or slightly wavy, with translucent oil dots. Flowers are solitary or clustered in small groups in leaf axils and at the tips of current-year branches; they are white and fragrant;The calyx is cup-shaped and 5-lobed; there are 5 oblong petals; more than 20 stamens; the ovary is superior, with pistils shorter than the stamens and a capitate stigma. The citrus fruit is nearly spherical, orange-yellow when ripe, and sour in taste. Flowering occurs from April to May, and fruiting from June to November.
Distribution Area
It is cultivated throughout the Yangtze River Basin and in provinces and regions south of it, with a primary distribution in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.
Growth Habits
It thrives in warm, humid environments and requires ample sunlight. It is drought-tolerant, cold-hardy, and highly disease-resistant, but is sensitive to waterlogging. Highly adaptable and resilient, it can grow in purple soil, red and yellow loess, as well as on sandy beaches and tidal flats.