Emblica, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the fruit of Phyllanthus emblica L., a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family. This herb has a bitter, sweet, and sour taste; a cool nature; and enters the Liver, Lung, Spleen, and Stomach meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving sore throat, moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm, and promoting fluid production to quench thirst. It is primarily used to treat common cold with fever, cough, sore throat, diphtheria, restlessness with fever and thirst, and hypertension.
Emblica
Emblica, a name in traditional Chinese medicine. It is the fruit of Phyllanthus emblica L., a plant of the Euphorbiaceae family. This herb has a bitter, sweet, and sour taste; a cool nature; and enters the Liver, Lung, Spleen, and Stomach meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving sore throat, moistening the lungs and resolving phlegm, and promoting fluid production to quench thirst. It is primarily used to treat common cold with fever, cough, sore throat, diphtheria, restlessness with fever and thirst, and hypertension.
Chinese Name : 余甘子
Latin Name : Phyllanthi Fructus
Aliases : Amla, Yugan, Anmoluo, Amalaka fruit, wild olive, Wangguo, Youganzi, Niuganzi, Olive seed, Houganzi
Authentic Producing Area : Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Guizhou
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Tastes bitter, sweet, and sour; nature is cool; enters the Liver, Lung, Spleen, and Stomach meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat and soothes the throat; moistens the lungs and resolves phlegm; promotes fluid production and quenches thirst.
Indications
Common cold with fever, cough, sore throat, diphtheria, restlessness with fever and thirst, hypertension.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decoct 15–30 g; or extract juice from fresh fruit.
Precautions
Use with caution in patients with spleen and stomach deficiency-cold.
Chemical Constituents
1. The fruit contains tannins, including glucose gallotannate, gallic acid, and other gallic acid derivatives, as well as tannin extract, protocatechuic acid, chebulic acid, chebulic acid, chebulic acid derivative, 3,6-digalloylglucose; dried fruit contains mucilage. 2. The fruit peel contains gallic acid, oleanolic acid, and amla phenol. 3. The seeds contain approximately 26% fixed oil; the oil consists of 8.8% linolenic acid, 44% linoleic acid, 28.4% oleic acid, 2.2% stearic acid, 3.0% palmitic acid, and 1% myristic acid, among others.
Pharmacological Actions
Extracts from the dried fruit exhibit antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus and Salmonella typhi, among others. This product is rich in vitamin C and has nutritional benefits. It has also been found to have a certain lipid-lowering effect in domestic rabbits.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Newly Revised Materia Medica*: “Treats wind-induced deficiency heat.”
2. *Supplement to the Materia Medica*: “Serves as a tonic and strengthens vitality. Extract the juice by pressing the seeds, mix it with oil, and apply to the scalp to promote hair growth and relieve wind-induced itching. Initially, hair may fall out upon application, but it will later grow back as thick as lacquer.”
3. *Hǎiyào Běncǎo*: “Treats lung damage caused by mineral pigments, shortness of breath, and cough. Long-term use lightens the body and prolongs life.”
4. *Běncǎo Yányì*: “Neutralizes the toxicity of mineral substances; grind into powder, mix with soup, and take orally.”
5. *Fujian Chinese Herbal Medicine*: “Aids digestion and relieves food stagnation. Treats food accumulation with vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. For treating common cold with fever, cough, sore throat, dry mouth and thirst, and vitamin C deficiency (scurvy): Use 10–30 fresh (amla) fruits each time, decoct in water, and drink the decoction. (Guangzhou Military Region, *Manual of Common Chinese Herbal Medicines*)
2. For diphtheria: (Yunnan) 500 g of olives, 30 g each of Scrophularia root and licorice root. Soak in cold boiled water until a frost-like substance forms; collect the substance, spread it out on cotton paper, and sun-dry. Then mix with 6 g of Gentiana macrophylla powder, 1.5 g of borneol, and 1.5 g of roasted ginkgo nut powder, and apply to the throat.
3. For asthma: (Yunnan) 21 olives. First, boil pork heart and lungs; skim off the scum, then add the olives and cook until tender. Consume the olives along with the broth. (Formulas 2–3 are from *Commonly Used Folk Herbs of Kunming*)
4.Treatment for food stagnation, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea: Chew and eat 5–10 (amla) fruits or 5–8 salt-cured fruits; alternatively, mix 1 tablespoon of salt-soaked fruit juice with boiling water and drink. (*Fujian Chinese Herbal Medicine*)
5. Treatment for hypertension: Eat 5–8 fresh (amla) fruits raw, twice daily. (*Fujian Materia Medica*)
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with traditional Chinese medicine should first consult a licensed TCM hospital, where a TCM practitioner will conduct a professional pattern differentiation and issue a prescription.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest when the fruit ripens in September–October; blanch thoroughly in boiling water or soak in salt water, then sun-dry.
Processing Methods
Take the raw herbal material, remove impurities, wash thoroughly, and dry.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container in a cool, dry place.
Crude Drug Identification
Identification
1. The powder of this product is pale brownish-yellow. The epidermal cells of the exocarp are irregularly polygonal or nearly square, with thick walls. The palisade cells of the seed coat appear polygonal in surface view and nearly rectangular in cross-section; they are densely arranged, with a diameter of 53–96 μm, extremely thick walls, fine and dense pores and grooves, and distinct cell cavities.Fibers occur singly or in clusters of several, are elongated, 12–29 μm in diameter, with both ends mostly rounded and blunt; their walls are thick and lignified, and some cell cavities contain a yellowish-brown substance. Stone cells are circular-triangular or irregular in shape, 17–75 μm in diameter, with thick walls and distinct pore channels. Calcium oxalate cluster crystals are 7–66 μm in diameter, and calcium oxalate prismatic crystals are also visible.
2. Take 0.5 g of the powdered sample, add 20 mL of ethanol, subject to ultrasonic treatment for 20 minutes, filter, and evaporate the filtrate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in 20 mL of water, add 30 mL of ethyl acetate, and shake to extract. Take the ethyl acetate solution, evaporate to dryness, and dissolve the residue in 1 mL of methanol to prepare the test solution.Separately, take 0.5 g of Amla reference material and prepare a reference material solution using the same method.Test by thin-layer chromatography (General Chapter 0502): Pipette 2–4 μL of each of the two solutions and apply them separately onto the same silica gel G plate. Develop with a mobile phase of chloroform–ethyl acetate–methanol–formic acid (9:9:3:0.2), remove the plate, and allow it to air-dry.spray with a 10% ethanol solution of sulfuric acid, and blow with hot air until the spots become clearly visible; then examine under a UV lamp (365 nm). In the chromatogram of the test sample, fluorescent spots of the same color appear at positions corresponding to those in the reference herbal material chromatogram.
Properties of Crude Drugs
The fruit is spherical or flattened-spherical, with a diameter of 1.2–2 cm. The surface is brownish to dark green, with pale yellow granular protrusions, wrinkles, and indistinct six ridges. The fruit stalk is approximately 1 mm long, and the pulp (mesocarp) is 1–4 mm thick, hard and brittle.The endocarp is yellowish-white, hard and nut-like, with a slightly 6-angled surface; several vascular bundles are present in the upper part of the dorsal suture, and it splits into 6 segments when dried. There are 6 seeds, which are nearly triangular in shape and brown. It has a faint odor and a sour, astringent taste with a lingering sweetness. Those that are large, thick-fleshed, and have a strong lingering sweetness are considered superior.
Properties of Processed Slices
See “Characteristics of the Medicinal Material.”
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Emblica, a plant of the genus Emblica in the Euphorbiaceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
A deciduous small tree or shrub, 3–8 m tall.The bark is grayish-white, thin, and easily peeling, exposing large patches of reddish-brown inner bark. Leaves are alternate on slender twigs, arranged in two rows, densely packed, and closely resembling pinnate compound leaves; they are nearly sessile; when the leaves fall, the entire twig is shed; stipules are linear-lanceolate; leaf blades are oblong-linear or linear-oblong, 1–2 cm long, and 3–5 mm wide.Flowers are clustered in the leaf axils; they are small and yellow; unisexual, with both male and female flowers on the same plant, and bear short pedicels; each cluster contains one female flower; each flower has 5–6 sepals and no petals; the disk of the male flower consists of 6 minute glands, and the 3 stamens are fused into a column; the disk of the female flower is cup-shaped with a lacerated margin, and the ovary is partially concealed within it.The fruit is fleshy, about 1.5 cm in diameter, round with slightly six-angled edges; it is initially yellowish-green and turns reddish-brown when ripe, with a taste that is initially sour and astringent but becomes sweet. Flowering occurs from April to May, and fruiting from September to November.
Distribution Area
It is distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other regions.
Growth Habits
It prefers a warm and humid climate and is sensitive to cold; frost can easily cause leaf and flower drop and may even freeze and damage young shoots. It is not particular about soil type and can be grown on various types of mountainous terrain in southern China. It is best cultivated on sunny slopes, terraced fields, and orchards.
Propagation Methods
Propagated by seeds and grafting.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Seed Propagation: Sow seeds in spring to raise seedlings. Once the seedlings reach 70–100 cm in height, they can be grafted onto superior varieties.
2. Grafting: Select 2–4-year-old wild amla trees as rootstocks and use 2-year-old branches from high-quality cultivars as scions for grafting between February and May. After the grafts take root, transplant the trees at a spacing of 4 m × 3 m or 4 m × 4 m, with 600–825 trees per hectare.
Pest and Disease Control
Pests include the wood-boring moth, scale insects, and aphids; these can be controlled by spraying with 0.1%–0.8% methamidophos or similar pesticides.