Cao Guo
English Name: tsaoko fruit, cochin cardamon, red cardamon
Literal Translation: “grass fruit”
Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Tsaoko
Medica Category: Aromatic Damp-Dissolving Herbs
Properties: Cao Guo enters the Spleen and Stomach channels; it is acrid in nature and warm and aromatic in temperature.
What is Cao Guo?:
The Chinese Herb Cao Guo is the ripe fruit from a ginger-like plant (Amomum tsaoko Crevost et Lemaire) that grows in the highlands of South China (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces).
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Cao Guo:
Cao Guo warms the middle jiao and dries dampness to treat abdominal fullness and pain (w/cold presentation), nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Cao Guo treats malaria accompanied by presentation of abdominal cold and dampness.