Tangerine peel, tangerine peel, and green peel can all regulate qi and resolve phlegm. Do you know the difference between them?

Tangerine peel, tangerine peel, and green tangerine peel are commonly used expectorants. They are commonly used Chinese herbal medicines for both treating diseases and maintaining health. Their effects have different focuses and there are differences between them. Here we will explain their differences to you.

1. Dried tangerine peel: It is the dried mature peel of the citrus plant and its cultivars of the Rutaceae family. The medicinal materials are divided into "dried tangerine peel" and "Guang tangerine peel". Pick the ripe fruits, peel them, and dry them in the sun or at low temperature.

Tangerine peel "comes" from a special kind of citrus peel, but citrus peel is not the same as tangerine peel. Only when it comes from a specific region, a specific variety, and has been naturally aged in a specific environment, it produces specific properties, flavors, and effects, and has the activity of "the older it is, the better", can it be called tangerine peel.

The core of tangerine peel lies in the word "Chen". "Chen" means "aging and transformation". The smell and medicinal properties of tangerine peel are developed through years of aging; only varieties with aging value can be called "tangerine peel". "Aging value" simply means "the older the better", the longer it is stored, the more fragrant it is and the better its efficacy.

Nature and flavor : bitter, spicy, warm.

Meridians : Lung and spleen meridians.

Efficacy : Regulates Qi and strengthens the spleen, dries dampness and resolves phlegm.

Indications : Used for abdominal distension, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, cough with excessive sputum.

Records of ancient herbal medicine:

① "Ben Jing": It is used to treat chest heat, adverse qi, and promote water and food intake. Long-term use can remove odor and relieve gas.

② "Bie Lu": It can relieve gas, stop vomiting and coughing, remove heat in the bladder, stop water retention, and promote urination. It can treat the spleen's inability to digest food, gas rushing to the chest, vomiting and cholera, stop diarrhea, and remove Cunbai.

③ "Materia Medica": Treats chest and diaphragm gas, stimulates appetite, cures dysentery, eliminates phlegm, and treats shortness of breath and cough.

④ "Bencao Shiyi" (Supplement to Materia Medica): Removes qi and regulates the middle.

⑤ "Bencao Gangmu" (Bencao Gangmu): It can eliminate phlegm and stop cough, and break up tumors, lumps and ringworms.

⑥ "Origin of Medicine": Removes cold evil in the chest, breaks up stagnant qi, and benefits the spleen and stomach.

⑦ "Compendium of Materia Medica": It can treat vomiting, nausea, vomiting of clear water, phlegm, malaria, large intestine obstruction, breast abscess in women. It can be added to food to remove fishy odor.

⑧ "Sui Xi Ju Diet": It can detoxify fish and crabs. It can treat belching, bloating, malnutrition, diarrhea, constipation and beriberi.

2. Green peel : It is the peel of young or immature fruits of the Rutaceae plant citrus and its cultivated varieties. The young fruits that fall by themselves are collected in May and June and dried in the sun, which is commonly known as individual green peel; the immature fruits are harvested in July and August, and the peel is cut into four petals to the base, the pulp is removed, and dried in the sun, which is commonly known as four-flower green peel, also known as four-flower green peel.

Nature and flavor : bitter, slightly warm.

Meridians : Enters the liver meridian and gallbladder meridian.

Efficacy : Soothes the liver and relieves qi, disperses stagnation and eliminates phlegm.

Indications : Treat chest, flank and stomach pain, hernia, food accumulation, breast swelling, breast nodules, and long-term malaria.

Records of ancient herbal medicine:

① "Compendium of Materia Medica": It can treat qi stagnation, defecation, breaking up stagnation and diaphragmatic qi.

② "Medical Origin": "Main Treatment Secrets" says that it is used for diseases of Jueyin and Shaoyang. It can break up hardness, disperse stagnant qi, remove dampness in the lower jiao, and treat qi accumulation in the left rib.

③ "Compendium of Materia Medica": Treats chest and diaphragm qi reversal, flank pain, lower abdominal hernia, eliminates breast swelling, soothes the liver and gallbladder, and drains lung qi.

④ "Bencao Beiyao": It can eliminate phlegm and relieve abdominal distension, treat liver-qi stagnation, flank pain and anger, long-term malaria, hernia pain, and breast swelling.

⑤ "Modern Practical Chinese Medicine": Treats stomachache, vomiting, relieves fever, and eliminates phlegm.

3. Orange peel This product is the unripe or nearly ripe dried outer peel of Huazhou pomelo or pomelo of the Rutaceae plant. The former is commonly known as hairy orange peel, and the latter is commonly known as Guangqizhao Guangwuzhao. The fruit is harvested in summer when it is immature, and after being slightly blanched in boiling water, the peel is cut into 5 or 7 pieces, the pulp and part of the mesocarp are removed, pressed into shape, and dried.

Nature and flavor : bitter, pungent, warm.

Meridians : spleen, lung meridian

Efficacy : Drying dampness and resolving phlegm, regulating qi and promoting digestion.

Indications : It is used to treat wind-cold, cough, asthma, excessive sputum, vomiting, hiccups, indigestion, and abdominal distension and pain.

Records of ancient herbal medicine:

"Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "The peeled tangerine is a fine product, with red and white flesh inside. It is twice as effective as other medicines in promoting qi, resolving phlegm and relieving cough... Its efficacy becomes better as it ages."

"Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "Tangerine peel can treat phlegm, eliminate greasiness, help digestion, sober up, relieve stomach discomfort, and relieve crab poison." "Huazhou Chronicles" written by Peng Yisun in the 14th year of the Guangxu period states that "Huazhou tangerine peel is a magical cure for phlegm, and each genuine piece is worth one gold piece."

"Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China": "Huajuhong is pungent, bitter, warm, and enters the lung and spleen meridians. It has the functions of dispelling cold, drying dampness, promoting qi, and eliminating phlegm. It is used for wind-cold cough, itchy throat with phlegm, food stagnation and alcohol damage, nausea and stuffiness."

Here is the difference between orange peel and orange peel:

Orange red orange red
First, properties and active ingredients:

(1) Tangerine peel: It is irregularly shaped, long or thin, with a yellow-brown or orange-red surface, shiny, and covered with oil spots. It has a fragrant smell and tastes slightly bitter, but then numbs the tongue. The main active ingredient is hesperidin.

(2) Huajuhong: It is made from the unripe or nearly ripe fruit of Huazhou pomelo, which is dried in the sun. The outer skin is yellow or yellow-green, densely hairy, with wrinkles and small pits. It has a slight fragrance and a bitter taste. It mainly contains naringin.

Second, the function :

Both are bitter and pungent, and warm in nature. However, Tangerine Peel can regulate Qi and relieve fullness, dry dampness and resolve phlegm, and is used to relieve cough, phlegm, indigestion and other symptoms without heat symptoms; Huatangerine Peel resolves phlegm and regulates Qi, strengthens the spleen and helps digestion, and is used to relieve phlegm stagnation in the chest, cough and asthma.

Finally, to sum up, after the ripe orange peel is dried and stored for a period of time, it is tangerine peel, while the unripe orange peel is dried and green peel. The white part of the orange peel is scraped off and only the outer peel is left and dried to become orange peel. Green peel has a strong ability to promote qi and break qi, tangerine peel is suitable for regulating qi, strengthening the spleen and regulating the middle, while orange peel has a better ability to dry dampness and resolve phlegm. Huajuhong is good at resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and is a commonly used medicine for colds and coughs.