Xi Gua
English Name: watermelon (fruit)
Literal Translation: “west fruit”
Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Citrulli
Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Fire-Purging Herbs
Properties: Xi Gua enters the Heart, Stomach, and Urinary Bladder channels; it is sweet in nature and cold in temperature.
What is Xi Gua?:
The Chinese Herb Xi Gua is watermelon fruit.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Xi Gua:
Xi Gua clears summer-heat and relieves thirst, and generates body fluids. It is revitalizing and rejuvenating when summer heat has damaged body fluids leading to thirst, dysuria, and irritability (i.e. varying degrees of heat/sun stroke).
Additional notes: Watermelon Frost (also listed on ingredient panels as “watermelon fruit extract”) is a a common ingredient is a formula used topically to treat canker sores and other oral ulcerations. It is made by drilling a hole in a watermelon and packing it with salt and hanging it up to dry. The “frost” forms on the outside and is scraped off to be combined with other herbs.