Fructus Amomi, also known as Fructus Amomi Semen or Fructus Amomi Fructus, is warm in nature and pungent in taste. It enters the spleen and stomach meridians and has the effects of drying dampness, dispelling cold, resolving phlegm, stopping malaria, promoting digestion, and resolving accumulation. It is used to treat malaria, phlegm and dampness, fullness and pain in the epigastric region, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and food stagnation. In the market, there are cases where the seeds of the same family plant, Amomum villosum, are used as a substitute for Fructus Amomi. Although Amomum villosum belongs to the same family as Fructus Amomi and can also be used medicinally, its main effect is to regulate qi, and it does not have the warm and dry properties or the ability to stop malaria that Fructus Amomi has. Therefore, it cannot be used as a substitute for Fructus Amomi, and clinical attention should be paid to distinguishing between the two.
True Fructus Amomi: The dried fruit is elongated oval-shaped with three blunt edges, measuring 2 to 4 centimeters in length and 1 to 2.5 centimeters in diameter. It has a round protrusion at the top and is attached to the fruit stalk at the base. The surface is gray-brown to reddish-brown with noticeable longitudinal grooves and ridges. The fruit skin is tough and easily tears longitudinally. The fruit is divided into three lobes with yellow-brown membranes in between. Each lobe contains 8 to 11 seeds, which are fused into a long spherical shape. The seeds are four to multi-sided, with a length and width of 5 millimeters. The surface is reddish-brown, covered with a gray-white membranous false seed coat with longitudinal and vertical textures. There is a concave navel-like depression at the narrower end, and the hilum is located in the center of the back, forming a small concave pit. There is a longitudinal groove-like ridge between the hilum and the navel. The seeds are hard in texture and appear gray-white when broken, with a weak aroma. They emit a peculiar odor when crushed and have a spicy taste when tasted.
False Amomum villosum: The dried seed cluster is round or oval-shaped with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters. The surface is gray-white or gray-brown, with a yellow-white membrane in the middle, dividing the seed cluster into three lobes that are closely adhered to each other. The seeds are ovoid polyhedrons, measuring 3 to 5 millimeters in length and approximately 3 millimeters in diameter. They are covered with a light brown membranous false seed coat. There is a ridge along which the seed can be longitudinally split into two lobes. The longitudinal section of the seed appears obliquely heart-shaped, and the seed coat extends inward along the ridge, occupying about half of the total surface area. The endosperm is gray-white, with a fragrant aroma when smelled and a slightly bitter and spicy taste when tasted.
