Hawthorn Fruit Shan Zha: A Traditional Herb for Aiding Digestion and Promoting Blood Flow
- Health Lab
- Jun 13
- 5 min read
Hawthorn Fruit, also known as Shan Zha or Red Fruit, is the dried, mature fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida or Crataegus hupehensis from the Rosaceae family. Valued for its ability to aid digestion and promote blood circulation, it is widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat food stagnation and blood stasis.
Hawthorn Fruit has been documented in ancient Chinese medical texts for centuries. The Tang Bencao includes early descriptions, though initial records were brief. Over time, TCM practitioners expanded their understanding of its benefits through clinical practice.
Insights from Historical Texts
Ben cao Gang mu: Li Shizhen described Hawthorn Fruit’s appearance, origin, and effects in detail. He noted it grows in mountainous areas across China, with trees about 10 feet tall, leaves like elm with lobes, and deep red fruits resembling small apples. He highlighted its ability to "digest food stagnation, move blood stasis, break up masses, detoxify alcohol, and stop dysentery."
Ben cao Zai xin: This text states Hawthorn Fruit "digests food stagnation, strengthens the spleen, boosts qi, clears meat-related stagnation, detoxifies alcohol, eliminates bad breath, and stops diarrhea."
Dian nan Ben cao: It notes Hawthorn Fruit "digests meat stagnation, opens the stomach, clears phlegm, and relieves blood stasis pain."
Ancient healers valued Hawthorn Fruit for its dual action in aiding digestion and resolving blood stasis, making it a key remedy for food accumulation and related disorders.
Characteristics of Hawthorn Fruit Shan Zha
Taste and Properties
Hawthorn Fruit is sour, sweet, and slightly warm in nature. In TCM, it is associated with the spleen, stomach, and liver meridians, making it effective for digestive and blood-related issues.
Origin and Harvesting
It is mainly grown in northern China, including Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Liaoning. The fruits are harvested in autumn when ripe, cleaned of impurities, and dried in the sun or steamed before drying.
Appearance
Hawthorn Fruit is nearly spherical, 1–1.5 cm in diameter, with a glossy red, purple-red, or brownish-red surface marked by irregular wrinkles. It has a persistent calyx at the top and a stalk remnant at the base. The flesh is thin, yellowish-brown or pale yellow, with a mild fragrance and a sour, slightly sweet taste.
Preparation
Hawthorn Fruit is used raw, stir-fried, or charred:
Raw: Strongest for digesting food stagnation.
Stir-fried: Softens its sourness, supporting spleen and stomach health.
Charred: Helps stop diarrhea.
Clinical Uses: Addressing Food Stagnation and Blood Stasis
Hawthorn Fruit is used to treat conditions caused by food accumulation and blood stasis. Its main applications include:
Food Stagnation: Symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, belching with a sour smell, nausea, vomiting, foul-smelling stools, or constipation, often with poor appetite and a thick tongue coating.
Meat-Related Indigestion: Especially effective for digestive issues from overeating meat or greasy foods.
Postpartum Blood Stasis: Persistent or scanty postpartum lochia with dark, clotted blood and abdominal pain.
High Cholesterol: May help lower blood lipids as an adjunct therapy.
High Blood Pressure: Supports blood pressure management.
Coronary Heart Disease: Improves cardiovascular function.
Key Benefits of Shan Zha
Aids Digestion: Contains lipase to break down fats, relieving bloating and sour belching from food stagnation.
Promotes Blood Flow: Improves circulation, easing postpartum issues and injury-related pain.
Lowers Cholesterol: Reduces serum cholesterol and triglycerides, supporting heart health.
Supports Blood Pressure: Helps lower blood pressure.
Herbal Combinations for Enhanced Effects
Hawthorn Fruit is often combined with other herbs in TCM formulas to boost its effects. Common prescriptions include:
Bao He Wan: Combines Hawthorn Fruit, medicated leaven, pinellia, poria, tangerine peel, forsythia, and radish seed to digest food stagnation and support the spleen and stomach, used for bloating and sour belching.
Jiao San Xian: Includes charred Hawthorn Fruit, charred malt, and charred medicated leaven to digest food stagnation and relieve bloating.
Shan zha Dao Zhi Wan: Combines Hawthorn Fruit, rhubarb, morning glory seed, betel nut, immature bitter orange, medicated leaven, and malt to digest food and relieve constipation.
Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan: Clears heat, resolves stagnation, and relieves bloating, constipation, and sour belching.
Comparing Hawthorn Fruit with Similar Herbs
Other herbs with digestive benefits include medicated leaven, malt, and chicken gizzard lining, each with distinct traits:
Medicated Leaven: Strengthens the spleen and digests food, ideal for spleen weakness and food stagnation.
Malt: Digests starches like rice, noodles, and tubers, and reduces breast swelling.
Chicken Gizzard Lining: Strengthens the spleen, digests all types of food stagnation, and is especially effective for hard substances.
Hawthorn Fruit excels at digesting meat-related stagnation and promoting blood flow; medicated leaven supports spleen weakness; malt targets starchy foods; and chicken gizzard lining is versatile for all food stagnation.
Modern Research and Applications
Modern studies show Hawthorn Fruit contains flavonoids, organic acids, and triterpenoids with several benefits:
Promotes Digestion: Organic acids boost gastric acid and pepsin, aiding food breakdown.
Lowers Cholesterol: Flavonoids reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, preventing atherosclerosis.
Lowers Blood Pressure: Dilates blood vessels, supporting blood pressure control.
Antioxidant: Neutralizes free radicals, slowing aging.
Antibacterial: Inhibits certain bacteria.
Strengthens Heart: Enhances heart muscle contraction.
Modern Uses
Digestive Disorders: Used for indigestion, food stagnation, and gastritis.
Cardiovascular Diseases: Applied in managing high cholesterol, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.
Other Conditions: Shows potential in supporting diabetes, anti-tumor effects, and anti-aging.
Precautions
Hawthorn Fruit should be used carefully:
Weak Spleen/Stomach: Avoid overuse in those with poor appetite or weak digestion, as its sourness may harm spleen qi.
Excess Stomach Acid: Use cautiously, as it may increase acid production.
Empty Stomach: Avoid, as it may irritate the stomach lining.
Drug Interactions: Avoid with drugs like sulfonamides or aspirin, as it may cause adverse reactions; use under medical guidance.
Conclusion
Hawthorn Fruit is a versatile TCM herb, valued for its ability to aid digestion and promote blood flow. From ancient texts to modern research, its role in treating food stagnation, postpartum issues, and cardiovascular conditions is well-established. With careful use, avoiding overuse in those with weak digestion or on certain medications, Hawthorn Fruit remains a powerful remedy for health and vitality.
Chinese Name | 山楂 |
Chinese Pinyin | Shanzha |
English Name | Chinese Hawthorn Fruit |
Latin Pharmaceutical Name | Crataegi Fructus |
Category | Fruits and seeds |
Origin | The dried mature fruit of Crataegus pinnatifida Bge. var. major N. E. Br or Crataegus pinnatifida Bge.(Rosaceae). |
Production Regions | Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong. |
Macroscopic Features | Relatively small fruit, sub-spherical, 0.8~1.4cm diameter, sometimes pressed into a disc-like shape. Externally brown to brownish-red, with dense thin wrinkles, apex is indented, with remnants of calyx, base has fruit stem or it has already fallen. |
Quality Requirements | Superior medicinal material is large with thick flesh, lacks seeds, and has red skin. |
Properties | Sweet, sour, slightly warm |
Functions | Opens appetite, digests food, resolves stagnation, eliminates accumulation, invigorates blood, disperses stasis, resolves phlegm, moves qi. Apply to dyspeptic disease due to over consumption of meat, abdominal mass accumulation, abdominal swelling and fullness, abdominal pain due to stasis, phlegm and fluid retention, diarrhea, discharging fresh blood stool. |
Processed Form | Fried shan zha: Clean shan zha fried in pots with middle fire, until the color turned dark, take out and cool. Moderate the nature of medicinal material. Jiao shan zha: clean shan zha fried in pots with middle fire, until the external color turned burnt-brown, inner color is burnt-yellow, take out and cool. Apply to diarrhea in autum; clear aroma, sour and slightly astringent taste. Shan zha charcoal: clean shan zha fried in pots with fast fire, until the external color turned burnt-black, inner color is burnt-brown, take out and cool. Advanced in effect of stop-bleeding. |
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