Fructus Rosae Laevigatae — the dried ripe fruit of Rosa laevigata Michx. (family Rosaceae), collected when red and processed to remove the interior hairs and seeds.
Nature and flavour. Sour, sweet and astringent, neutral. Kidney, Bladder and Large Intestine systems.
A hedgerow rose whose fruit is used as an astringent, and one of the classical drugs for what the texts call insecurity of the kidney: frequent urination, enuresis, and the various traditional patterns grouped under involuntary loss of semen. It is also recorded for chronic diarrhoea and for prolapse-type complaints described as sinking of qi. It is well known outside the clinic as the base of a traditional fermented or sugared preparation, and that domestic use is probably why it is underestimated — its reputation for securing and retaining is a classical claim, and its clinical claims are not established by controlled evidence. Its vitamin C content is often quoted and is real, but it does not make the drug a nutritional supplement.
性味归经。酸、甘、涩，平。归肾、膀胱、大肠经。
一味篱墙蔷薇的果实被用做收涩药，也是古典上针对古籍所称「肾气不固」的药之一：尿频、遗尿，以及传统归在失精名下的各种证。文献亦载其用于久泻久痢与古籍所称中气下陷一类的下坠感。它在临床之外以传统发酵或糖渍制品的原料而广为人知，这种家常用法大概正是它被低估的原因——「固涩」的声誉是古典说法，其临床主张没有对照证据支持。其维生素 C 含量常被引用且属实，但这并不使它成为营养补充品。
它是收涩药，而在任何「需要排出去」的情形里，收涩都是错的方向。便秘、大便干结，以及古籍所称热证、实证一类的情形，涩肠就是走错路。更具体地说：排尿困难、尿线细弱或尿潴留，在服用任何减少排尿的东西之前必须先评估——在年长男性身上这通常是前列腺梗阻，收涩药会让机械性问题加重。糖尿病在这里要提两次：一是尿频可能是未被发现的高血糖，不能被盖住；二是传统的糖渍、蜜制制品含糖。果实必须剖开去除内壁绒毛；未经处理的材料对咽喉与消化道有机械性刺激。孕期与哺乳期证据缺如。