Sour vine fruit, also known as sour qianzi, sour vine head, and xintongzi, is the fruit of the plant sour vine, belonging to the Rubiaceae family. It is distributed in southern China, mainly growing in grasslands, shrubs, or understory at an altitude of 100-1800m. Sour vine fruit has the effects of nourishing blood and stopping bleeding. It is used to treat sore throat, gum bleeding, spleen deficiency diarrhea, bruises, and hemorrhoids, among other conditions.
I. Morphology of the Original Plant
The original plant is a deciduous vine-like shrub or vine, 1-3 meters tall. The branches are gray or reddish-brown, smooth. The leaves are alternate, papery, inverted-ovate to narrowly rectangular, 3-6 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, blunt or rounded at the apex, wedge-shaped at the base, with entire margins and smooth on both sides. The leaf stalk is about 5 mm long. The flowers are monoecious; the dense cymose inflorescences are axillary or lateral; the inflorescence is 5-10 cm long with 3-8 flowers; the flower stalk is about 2 mm long; the calyx is 4-lobed, ovate, and smooth; the petals are 4, white, ovate or rectangular, blunt or round at the apex, smooth on the outside, and have powdery small protrusions on the inside; the stamens are 4, longer than the petals in male flowers, with ovate or kidney-shaped anthers, and no glands on the back; the ovary degenerates in male flowers, and is globose or ovate in female flowers, with a cylindrical style and a head-shaped stigma. The berries are globose, about 5 mm in diameter, dark red when ripe, and bloom in spring. The roots and branches/leaves (sour vine wood) of this plant are also used for medicinal purposes.
II. Medicinal Morphology of Sour Vine Fruit
Sour vine fruit is spherical or ellipsoidal, with a diameter of 3-8mm. The surface is greenish-brown or purplish-gray, often wrinkled. The top retains the stigma remnants, and the bottom is often attached to a 2-5mm long pedicel and small persistent calyx. The fruit peel is brittle and easily peeled off. The seed is usually covered with a brown seed coat, and the endosperm is hard, with a yellowish-white horny-like cross section. The outer side also shows patterns of the seed coat embedded in the endosperm. It has a slight scent, a mild taste, and a spicy and numbing sensation when chewed for a long time.
III. Efficacy and Functions
It is used to treat sore throat, gum bleeding, spleen deficiency diarrhea, bruises, and hemorrhoids.
① It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. It is used to treat oral inflammation, pharyngitis, gingivitis, and ulcerative sores. It can also counteract the toxicity of large tea medicine, Mu Ru poison, and Croton poison.
② It has insecticidal, anti-swelling, and digestion-promoting effects. It is used externally to treat bruises and infected sores. It can be taken internally to treat both internal and external hemorrhoids (and used for external washing), throat pain, and foot pain (when cooked with dog's feet).
③ It can dispel blood stasis, relieve pain, and constrict the intestines. It is used to treat bruises and pain, enteritis and diarrhea, and sore throat.
