Chrysanthemum fruit, also known as Gardenia fruit, was first mentioned in the "Shennong Bencao Jing" and classified as a medium-grade herb. It is known for its effects of clearing heat, relieving restlessness, promoting diuresis, cooling blood, and detoxification. It is commonly used in the treatment of symptoms such as fever with restlessness, jaundice with red urine, blood in the urine with pain, vomiting blood due to blood heat, red and swollen eyes with pain, and fire toxins causing sores and ulcers. However, some people in the market substitute the water chrysanthemum, which belongs to the same family, as chrysanthemum, deceiving consumers. Water chrysanthemum is generally only used for extracting dyes in the industry and is not used as a medicinal herb. It is a fake product of chrysanthemum. The following are the points for distinguishing the characteristics and physicochemical properties of water chrysanthemum and chrysanthemum, for reference:
Distinguishing Characteristics
Chrysanthemum is the dried mature fruit of Gardenia, which belongs to the Rubiaceae family. Water chrysanthemum is the dried fruit of the big flower Gardenia, which also belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The fruit of chrysanthemum is generally oval or elongated oval, 1.5-3.5 cm long, and 1.0-1.5 cm in diameter. The surface is red, yellow, or reddish-brown. There are six wing-like longitudinal ribs on the surface, with one prominent longitudinal vein between each rib. Most of the veins have branches. The top of the chrysanthemum fruit retains sepals, the base is slightly pointed, and some have remnants of fruit stalks. The skin of the chrysanthemum fruit is generally thin and brittle, with a lighter color on the inner surface, glossy, and has 2-3 false septa. The seeds of the chrysanthemum fruit are generally flat-ovate in shape, ranging in color from dark red to reddish-yellow, with a slightly sour and bitter taste and a mild odor.
Water chrysanthemum is similar in shape to chrysanthemum but larger, with a fruit diameter of 1.2-1.7 cm and a color ranging from brownish-brown to brownish-yellow. The wing-like longitudinal ribs on the surface are higher, and the fruit skin is generally thicker than that of chrysanthemum.
Physicochemical Identification
Take 0.2 grams of chrysanthemum powder and water chrysanthemum powder separately in test tubes, add 5 ml of ethanol, heat on a water bath for 2 minutes, and draw 2 drops of the supernatant on filter paper, evaporate, and observe under 365nm ultraviolet light. Chrysanthemum exhibits bright yellow fluorescence, while water chrysanthemum does not.
