Black Plum is a name in traditional Chinese medicine referring to the dried, nearly ripe fruit of Prunus mume (Sieb.) Sieb. et Zucc., a plant in the genus Prunus of the Rosaceae family. This product has the effects of tonifying the lungs, astringing the intestines, promoting fluid production, and calming roundworm-induced symptoms. It is primarily used to treat chronic cough due to lung deficiency, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, deficiency-heat with excessive thirst, and roundworm-induced syncope, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Black Plum
Black Plum is a name in traditional Chinese medicine referring to the dried, nearly ripe fruit of Prunus mume (Sieb.) Sieb. et Zucc., a plant in the genus Prunus of the Rosaceae family. This product has the effects of tonifying the lungs, astringing the intestines, promoting fluid production, and calming roundworm-induced symptoms. It is primarily used to treat chronic cough due to lung deficiency, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, deficiency-heat with excessive thirst, and roundworm-induced syncope, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Chinese Name : 乌梅
Latin Name : Mume Fructus
Aliases : Plum Fruit, Smoked Plum, Orange-Flavored Plum Pulp, Plum, Spring Plum
Authentic Producing Area : Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Neutral in nature; sour and astringent in taste; enters the Liver, Spleen, Lung, and Large Intestine meridians
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Astringes the lungs, astringes the intestines, generates body fluids, and calms roundworms.
Indications
1. Chronic cough due to lung deficiency: This herb has a sour and astringent taste and an astringent nature; when entering the Lung Meridian, it can consolidate lung qi and relieve coughing. 2. Chronic diarrhea and dysentery: This herb’s sour and astringent properties enter the Large Intestine Meridian, effectively astringing the intestines to stop diarrhea and dysentery; it is a commonly used herb for treating chronic diarrhea and dysentery. 3. Abdominal pain and vomiting caused by roundworm infestation: Roundworms are calmed by sour flavors. As this herb is extremely sour, it has the effects of calming roundworms, relieving pain, harmonizing the stomach, and stopping vomiting, making it an excellent remedy for roundworm infestation. 4. Deficiency-heat with excessive thirst: This herb has a sour taste and neutral nature; it is highly effective at generating body fluids and alleviating restlessness and thirst. 5. When charred, this herb’s astringent properties outweigh its sourness, resulting in strong astringent power. It can consolidate the Chong Meridian and stop uterine bleeding, making it suitable for uncontrolled uterine bleeding and hematochezia; when applied topically, it can eliminate toxin from sores and treat protruding skin tags and scalp sores.
Usage and Dosage
1. Internal Use: Decoct 6–12 grams in water; or incorporate into pills or powders. 2. External Use: Calcify, grind into powder, and apply dry or mix with a paste for topical application.
Precautions
Avoid excessive or prolonged use.
Chemical Constituents
This product primarily contains citric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, carbohydrates, sitosterol, waxy substances, and oleanolic acid-like compounds.
Pharmacological Actions
This product has effects such as regulating smooth muscle, suppressing cough, stopping diarrhea, arresting bleeding, and antibacterial activity.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica*: “It descends qi, eliminates heat, restlessness, and fullness, calms the mind, relieves pain in the limbs, treats hemiplegia and numbness, revives dead muscle tissue, removes blue-black hemorrhoids, and erodes necrotic tissue.”
2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “It astringes the lungs and the intestines, stops chronic cough, diarrhea, and dysentery, treats regurgitation and dysphagia, and alleviates symptoms caused by roundworm infestation such as syncope, vomiting, and diarrhea.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
1. To treat chronic cough due to lung deficiency, characterized by scant phlegm or a dry cough without phlegm, it is combined with poppy shells, apricot kernels, and other ingredients, such as in the “Single-Dose Powder” (from *Effective Prescriptions of the World’s Physicians*).
2. To treat chronic diarrhea and dysentery, it can be combined with poppy shells, chebulic myrobalan, and other ingredients, such as in the Gut-Fortifying Pills (from *Zhengzhi Zhunsheng*). Leveraging its ability to astringe the intestines and stop dysentery, when combined with Coptis—which detoxifies and halts dysentery—it can also be used for damp-heat-induced diarrhea and dysentery with pus and blood in the stool, such as in the Black Plum Pills (from *Shenghui Fang*).
3. To treat the syndrome of “Ascaris-induced cold extremities” (蛔厥), characterized by abdominal pain, vomiting, and cold extremities caused by Ascaris, it is combined with Xixin, Sichuan pepper, Coptis, and Aconite, as in the Wu Mei Wan (from *Treatise on Cold Damage*).
4. To treat deficiency-heat with excessive thirst, it can be used alone as a decoction or combined with Tianhuafen, Maidong, and Ren Shen, as in the Yuquan San (from *Shen’s Book on Valuing Life*).
Related Compatibility
1. Black Plum Combined with Papaya: Black plum has a sour taste; it is cooling, promotes the production of body fluids, nourishes the stomach, and quenches thirst. Papaya is sour and warm; its warm, fragrant nature enters the spleen, harmonizes the liver and spleen, generates gastric fluids, and aids digestion. When these two herbs are combined, their effects are greatly enhanced, strengthening their ability to soothe the liver and harmonize the stomach, regulate the spleen and transform dampness, nourish stomach yin, generate gastric fluids, stimulate the appetite, and increase food intake.Indicated for conditions following febrile diseases characterized by deficiency of both qi and yin, loss of appetite, and lack of taste in food; chronic gastric disorders where gastric yin is damaged, leading to dry mouth, insufficient saliva, loss of appetite, a red tongue, and a thin pulse; chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, hypochlorhydria, and loss of appetite.
2. Black Plum Combined with Raw Turtle Carapace: Black plum has a sour and astringent taste; its sourness enters the Liver meridian. Turtle carapace has a salty taste and a neutral nature, entering the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney meridians. It softens hardness, disperses nodules, breaks up blood stasis, and unblocks the meridians. When used together, these two herbs enhance the effects of softening hardened masses and dispersing blood stasis. This combination is suitable for chronic, intractable malaria and splenomegaly.
3. Black Plum Combined with Licorice: Black plum has a sour and astringent taste; its astringent nature is effective at consolidating the lungs and relieving coughs. At the same time, its sourness promotes the production of body fluids, thereby quenching thirst. Licorice has a sweet and moist nature, is mild in character, and enters the Lung meridian; it tonifies lung qi, moistens the lungs, and relieves coughs.When used together, the sweet and sour flavors harmonize to nourish yin, enhancing the effects of promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, while significantly increasing the ability to moisten the lungs, consolidate lung qi, and relieve coughing. This combination is suitable for conditions such as deficiency-heat-induced thirst and chronic dry cough.
4. Black Plum Combined with Coptis: Black plum has a sour taste and enters the Liver Meridian; it harmonizes the stomach, promotes fluid production, calms roundworms, and stops vomiting;Huanglian has a bitter taste and enters the Liver and Stomach meridians; it excels at clearing damp-heat stagnation in the middle jiao, neutralizing acidity, and stopping vomiting. When these two herbs are combined, the sour and bitter tastes work together: roundworms are subdued by the sour and calmed by the bitter, while the formula also clears excess fire in the Liver and Stomach. This combination is suitable for conditions characterized by intense heat in the Liver and Stomach, loss of appetite, restlessness, abdominal pain, flushed face, mental agitation, a red tongue, a rapid pulse, fever, and vomiting of roundworms.
5. Black Plum combined with Schisandra: Black Plum enters the Lung Meridian and can consolidate the Lung, relieve wheezing, and stop coughing; Schisandra also consolidates Lung Qi above and nourishes Kidney Yin below to relieve wheezing. When used together, these two herbs enhance the effect of consolidating the Lung and relieving wheezing. This combination is suitable for chronic cough due to Lung deficiency and wheezing and cough caused by Lung-Kidney deficiency.
6. Charred Black Plum combined with Sichuan Pepper: Black plum is sour and astringent, providing an effective astringent effect on the intestines to stop diarrhea; when charred, its astringent properties are enhanced, making it particularly effective for stopping diarrhea. Sichuan pepper is pungent and hot, entering the Spleen and Stomach meridians; it excels at warming the stomach, dispelling cold to relieve pain, and warming the spleen to dry dampness and stop diarrhea.When used together, one addresses the root cause by warming the spleen and dispelling cold, while the other addresses the symptoms by astringing the intestines and stopping diarrhea. This combination is suitable for chronic diarrhea and dysentery caused by spleen deficiency with cold and dampness, as well as bloody stools.
Medicinal Identification
1. Raw Chinese plum, Chinese plum pulp, vinegar-processed Chinese plum, and charred Chinese plum: The main components of Chinese plum are organic acids (malic acid and citric acid), which in the plant are often bound to metal ions to form salts; vinegar processing restores them to their free forms, allowing them to exert their pharmacological effects.Therefore, in clinical practice, raw Chinese plum or Chinese plum pulp is used to promote fluid production and quench thirst, as well as to consolidate the lungs and relieve cough. However, since the kernels of Chinese plum contain amygdalin, high doses can cause poisoning by paralyzing the medulla oblongata—the vital center of life—it is advisable to remove the kernels and use only the pulp. The sour taste enters the Liver meridian, and as roundworms are subdued by sourness,after vinegar processing, the sourness of the black plum is enhanced rather than diminished; therefore, vinegar-processed black plum is suitable for harmonizing the stomach, subduing roundworms, and tonifying the liver. When charred, the astringent nature of the black plum is enhanced, making it more suitable for astringing the intestines to stop diarrhea and consolidating the uterus to stop bleeding; it can be used to treat chronic diarrhea, chronic dysentery, and uterine bleeding.
2. Schisandra and Black Plum: Both herbs have a sour taste and possess the functions of astringing the lungs to relieve cough, astringing the intestines to stop diarrhea, and generating body fluids to quench thirst. They are often combined to treat chronic cough due to lung deficiency, chronic diarrhea and dysentery, thirst caused by fluid depletion, and deficiency-heat-induced diabetes.However, Schisandra, which is sour, sweet, and warm in nature, can also nourish the kidneys and secure essence, reduce sweating and tonify qi, and calm the heart and soothe the spirit. It is further used for cough and wheezing due to deficiency of both the lungs and kidneys, seminal emission and premature ejaculation due to kidney deficiency, spontaneous sweating and night sweats due to general physical weakness, as well as restlessness of the mind manifested as palpitations, insomnia, and frequent dreaming.Black Plum has an extremely sour taste and excels at expelling roundworms and relieving pain, as well as harmonizing the stomach and stopping vomiting. It can be used for roundworm-induced syncope characterized by abdominal pain, vomiting, and cold extremities; it can also astringe to stop bleeding and eliminate toxin from sores, and is used for metrorrhagia and menorrhagia, hematuria, and conditions such as polyps and scalp sores.
3. Papaya and Black Plum: Both have a sour, astringent, and warm nature and taste, and both benefit the stomach and promote the production of body fluids. They can be used to treat conditions following febrile diseases characterized by deficiency of both qi and yin, loss of appetite, as well as damage to stomach yin resulting in dry mouth, insufficient saliva, and poor appetite. *Ben Cao Qiu Zhen* states, “Black plum is sour, astringent, and warm, and seems similar to papaya,” but the therapeutic effects of the two differ significantly.Black plum focuses on astringing the lungs and intestines, nourishing the stomach and promoting the production of body fluids, as well as stopping bleeding and expelling roundworms. Papaya, on the other hand, primarily enters the Liver and Spleen meridians and specializes in dispelling dampness from the tendons, bones, spleen, and stomach. Therefore, it is commonly used for stiffness and pain in the tendons and meridians caused by dampness retained in the tendons and bones, as well as for diarrhea caused by dampness invading the spleen and stomach. The former involves tonifying deficiency, while the latter involves expelling pathogenic factors.
Related Medicines
Pediatric Rapid Diarrhea Relief Granules, Intestinal Consolidation and Diarrhea Relief Pills (Colitis Pills), and Pediatric Kang Granules.
Related Prescriptions
Wu Mei Pills (*Treatise on Cold Damage*), Jiu Xian Powder (*Treasury of Health*)
Medicinal Diet Therapy
Black Plum Porridge:
1. Effects: Generates body fluids to quench thirst, tonifies the lungs to relieve cough, and astringes the intestines to stop diarrhea. Suitable for chronic diarrhea and chronic cough accompanied by dry mouth and loss of appetite.
2. Ingredients: 20 grams of black plums, 100 grams of japonica rice, and rock sugar to taste.
3. Preparation: Decoct the black plums to extract a concentrated liquid, strain out the residue, and add the japonica rice to cook into porridge. Once the porridge is cooked, add rock sugar to taste and simmer briefly until dissolved.
4. Usage: Take twice daily while still warm.
Notes
Patients requiring treatment with Chinese herbal medicine should first consult a licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital to receive a prescription following a professional TCM differential diagnosis.
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest the fruit in summer when nearly ripe; dry at a low temperature, then steam until the skin wrinkles and turns black. Remove the pit and use raw or charred.
Processing Methods
1. Black Plum: Take the raw material, remove impurities, wash thoroughly, dry at a low temperature, then steam until the skin wrinkles; it is ready when the color turns black.
2. Black Plum Pulp: Take clean black plums, soak in water or steam until soft, let cool slightly, crush, and extract the clean pulp.
3. Charred Black Plum: Place the cleaned black plums in a pan and heat over high heat. Stir-fry until the skin and flesh bulge and the surface turns charred black. Sprinkle with a small amount of water to extinguish all embers, then remove and allow to cool completely.
4. Vinegar-Preserved Black Plums: Take the cleaned black plums or black plum pulp, mix thoroughly with rice vinegar, and heat over a water bath for 2–4 hours. Remove and dry. Use 10 kg of rice vinegar for every 100 kg of black plums.
5. Steamed Black Plums: Place the black plums in a steamer, cover tightly, and place the steamer over a pot of boiling water. Steam until steam rises, then turn off the heat and let sit for 5 hours. Remove and dry.
Storage Methods
Store in a dry container. Black plum pulp, black plum charcoal, vinegar-treated black plums, and steamed black plums should be kept in airtight containers and stored in a cool, dry place. Black plum charcoal must be allowed to cool to prevent reignition.
Crude Drug Identification
Identification
1. The powder of this product is reddish-brown. It contains a very large number of endocarp stone cells, which occur singly or in clusters of several. They are nearly colorless or pale greenish-yellow, polygonal, circular, or oblong in shape, with a diameter of 10–72 μm. The cell walls are thick, with fine, dense pores and grooves, and often contain reddish-brown material. Non-glandular trichomes are unicellular, slightly curved or hook-shaped, and their cell cavities often contain yellowish-brown material.The stone cells of the seed coat are brownish-yellow or brownish-red; when viewed from the side, they are shell-shaped, helmet-shaped, or roughly rectangular, with a relatively wide base and an outer wall that is crescent-shaped or arched, featuring fine, dense striations. The epidermal cells of the pericarp are pale yellowish-brown; when viewed from the surface, they are roughly polygonal, with slightly thick walls; traces of non-glandular hairs or downy hairs that have fallen off are commonly observed.
2. Take 5 g of the powdered sample, add 30 mL of methanol, subject to ultrasonic treatment for 30 minutes, filter, and evaporate the filtrate to dryness. Dissolve the residue in 20 mL of water, extract with ether by shaking twice (20 mL each time), combine the ether solutions, and evaporate to dryness. Soak the residue twice in petroleum ether (30–60°C),15 mL each time for approximately 2 minutes. Discard the petroleum ether; dissolve the residue in 2 mL of anhydrous ethanol to prepare the test solution. Separately, take 5 g of black plum reference material and prepare a reference solution using the same method.Next, take an arbutin reference standard and dissolve it in anhydrous ethanol to prepare a solution containing 0.5 mg per mL, which serves as the reference standard solution. Perform the test according to the thin-layer chromatography method (General Rules 0502): pipette 1–2 μL of each of the three solutions and apply them separately onto the same silica gel G thin-layer plate. Develop the plate using a mobile phase of cyclohexane–chloroform– ethyl acetate – formic acid (20:5:8:0.1) as the developing agent, remove the plate, allow it to air-dry, spray with a 10% ethanol solution of sulfuric acid, and heat at 105°C until the spots become clearly visible. In the test sample chromatogram, spots of the same color appear at positions corresponding to those in the reference herbal material chromatogram and the reference standard chromatogram.
Properties of Crude Drugs
This product is subglobose or flattened globose, with a diameter of 1.5–3 cm. The surface is jet-black or brownish-black, wrinkled and uneven, with a circular pedicel scar at the base. The stone is hard, elliptical, and brownish-yellow, with pitted surface; the seeds are flattened-ovate and pale yellow. It has a faint odor and a very sour taste.
Properties of Processed Slices
1. Black Plum: See the “Herbal Material” entry.
2. Charred Black Plum: Resembles a black plum; the skin and flesh are swollen, the texture is brittle, the surface is charred black, and the taste is sour with a hint of bitterness.
3. Vinegar-Treated Black Plum: Resembles a black plum or black plum pulp; it is jet-black, has a relatively soft and moist texture, and has a faint vinegar odor.
4. Steamed Black Plum: Resembles a black plum; it is jet-black and has a relatively soft and moist texture.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A species of Prunus in the Rosaceae family.
Morphological Characteristics
A deciduous small tree, growing up to 10 m tall. The bark is pale gray; the twigs are slender and long, with spiny tips.Simple, alternate leaves; petioles 1.5 cm long, covered with short soft hairs; stipules early deciduous; leaf blades elliptic to broadly ovate. Flowers bloom before the leaves emerge in spring, are fragrant, and grow in clusters of 1–3 in the axils of second-year lateral branches. Flower stalks are short; the calyx is usually reddish-brown, though in some varieties it is green or greenish-purple;There are 5 petals, white or pale red, about 1.5 cm in diameter, and broadly obovate; numerous stamens. The fruit is nearly spherical, 2–3 cm in diameter, yellow or greenish-white, and pubescent; the seed is elliptical, with a small protrusion at the apex, grooves on the ventral surface and dorsal ridge, and a surface marked with honeycomb-like pits. Flowering occurs in spring, and fruiting occurs from May to June.
Distribution Area
It is widely cultivated throughout China, with the highest concentration in areas south of the Yangtze River basin.
Growth Habits
Plum trees are highly adaptable and cold-tolerant. They prefer a warm, humid climate and require ample sunlight. Temperatures during the flowering period have a significant impact on yield; temperatures below -5–6°C or above 20°C have a noticeable effect on fruit set. They are best suited for cultivation in regions with an annual average temperature of 16–23°C and annual average rainfall exceeding 1,000 mm.It is not particularly demanding regarding soil, though loose, fertile, deep, and well-drained sandy loam is preferred. It is susceptible to waterlogging but tolerant of drought; low-lying, damp areas are not suitable for planting.
Propagation Methods
Propagation is achieved through seeds, grafting, and layering.
Cultivation Techniques
1. Seed Propagation: Harvest seeds after fruit picking in June and sow them in the fall. Alternatively, store the seeds in sand over the winter and sow them in the spring (February–March) of the following year. Since seed propagation does not reliably preserve the original varietal characteristics, this method is used primarily for rootstock production or for breeding and selection purposes. Grafting is generally the primary method of propagation.
2. Grafting: Use branch grafting or bud grafting, with seedling rootstocks such as apricot, plum, or prunus. Branch grafting should be performed in the spring before bud break, while bud grafting should be done from late August to early September; choose an overcast day, and avoid rainy days. Once the graft has taken, transplant the plants from the nursery to their permanent location in the spring before bud break the following year.
Pest and Disease Control
1. Diseases include anthracnose, which begins to appear in late April and peaks from June to August.Before the onset of the disease, spray a 1:1:100–150 Bordeaux mixture 1–2 times to protect new shoots; after the disease appears, spray a 1,000-fold dilution of 50% methyl thiophanate or 50% carbendazim, once every 7 days, for a total of 2–3 applications.
2. Insect pests include the peach longhorn beetle, which bores into tree trunks; in severe cases, the main trunk may be hollowed out, causing the plant to die. Control methods include manually capturing adult beetles or using blacklight traps to attract and capture them. For peach aphids, apply a 2,5% cypermethrin solution diluted 2,000–3,000 times, spraying once every 7 days for 2–3 consecutive applications.