Knowledge Base/Herbs/Monk Fruit

Educational and cultural reference only — not medical advice. We do not diagnose, do not prescribe, do not recommend medicines or doses, and make no claim to treat or cure any condition. Nothing here should delay you from seeking care. If you have a health concern, consult a licensed healthcare professional.

化痰止咳平喘药 · Phlegm-resolving, cough and breathing

Monk Fruit luó hàn guǒ · 罗汉果

Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey (Siraitiae Fructus)

Nature and flavour. Sweet and cool; Lung and Large Intestine systems.

Traditionally classed as clearing heat and moistening the Lung, easing the throat and restoring the voice, and moistening the intestine to move stool. Recorded for dry cough attributed to Lung heat or dryness, for sore throat and loss of voice, and for constipation from dryness. It is unusual among the drugs on this page in having a second life as a food: the mogrosides that make it intensely sweet are used as a non-sugar sweetener, and monk fruit extract is accepted as a food ingredient in several jurisdictions.

性味归经。甘，凉；归肺、大肠经。

传统归类为清热润肺、利咽开音、润肠通便。古籍用于肺热或肺燥所致干咳、咽喉肿痛与声音嘶哑，以及肠燥便秘。本页诸药中此味较为特殊：它同时是食品 —— 其所含罗汉果甜苷甜度极高，用作非糖甜味剂，其提取物在若干法域已被接受为食品配料。

Classical category · no formulas, no dosages, no herb-drug combinations are given.

Safety. As a food sweetener it has a long record of ordinary use, and that record is the strongest safety statement available for it. A 'food' status is not the same as a proven medicinal benefit, however: the traditional uses recorded here are recorded, not demonstrated, and using sweetened monk fruit drinks as a way of managing a persistent cough means delaying a diagnosis. Because it moves the stool, large amounts may cause loose stools. Safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding at medicinal amounts is not established; the food use is the better-evidenced of the two.

作为食品甜味剂，它有长期日常食用的记录，这也是关于它最有力的安全性陈述。但「食品」身份不等于已证实的药用功效：上述传统用途属文献记载而非已被证实；以罗汉果甜味饮品应对持续咳嗽，意味着推迟诊断。因其润肠，大量服用可致大便溏泄。孕期与哺乳期按药用剂量使用的安全性未确立；两者相较，食品用途的证据更充分。

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