Star fruit, a precious medicinal herb in the hot season

Star fruit is rich in vitamins and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus, magnesium... and the sour taste of tartaric and oxalic acids, so it has a clear effect of cooling, quenching thirst, and generating body fluids.

According to Oriental medicine, star fruit called ngu liem tu has a sour and astringent taste, neutral properties, non-toxic, has the effect of eliminating wind, clearing heat, eliminating impurities, and helping to heal wounds. Star fruit is often used to treat colds, thirst, alcohol poisoning, little urination, heat toxins, and bleeding wounds. Star fruit flowers have a sweet taste, neutral properties, and have the effect of detoxifying and reducing inflammation.

Often used to treat malaria, dry cough, cough with phlegm, dysentery, and children with convulsions. People often use star fruit flowers soaked in ginger juice or ginger wine, then roasted and boiled to drink to treat cough with phlegm. Use 4-12g per day. Star fruit bark and leaves have a sour, astringent taste, neutral properties, and diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Although the nutritional value of star fruit is not much, it is a precious fruit in the summer. Besides its culinary value, star fruit is also a medicine used in oriental medicine for a long time. Among our people, star fruit is used to treat many diseases.

*Treatment of sunstroke, heatstroke:100g fresh young star fruit leaves, 40g fresh lemon leaves, wash, pound and squeeze to get the juice to drink. Apply the pulp to the temples and soles of the feet. Or take an unripe star fruit, roast it, boil the juice to drink.

*Treatment of headaches and little urination:100g fresh star fruit leaves, toasted until fragrant, cook with 750ml water, reduce to 300ml, divide into 2 doses to drink before meals. Or use 100g fresh star fruit leaves, 20-40g fresh lemon leaves, wash both thoroughly, crush, squeeze out the juice, divide into 2 doses to drink before meals.

*Treat ulcers, boils, and foot rot:Boil star fruit leaves in water combined with wormwood leaves, camphor leaves... to make bath water, or boil star fruit juice to wash the painful area every day or take 1-2 ripe star fruit, bury in hot ash until warm and then apply to the painful area.

*Treatment of allergies and itching:Take fresh crushed star fruit leaves and apply to the rash, combined with drinking the decoction of núc nác bark.

*Treatment of mushroom poisoning:Take 20g star fruit leaves, 10g betel leaves, 20g red broad beans. Use all fresh, wash, pound in a mortar, mix with 200ml boiled water, let cool, filter the water and drink all at once. Usually only need to drink 2-3 times to cure the disease.

*Dengue fever prevention:Boil 16g of star fruit leaves with 12g of kudzu, mulberry leaves, bamboo leaves, plantain, and rehmannia glutinosa each. Drink the water every day during a local dengue fever epidemic to proactively prevent the disease.

*Treat urinary retention and bladder pain: 7 star fruit, each fruit only take 1/3 near the stem. Boil with 600ml of water until 300ml remains, drink while still warm. In addition, take 1 star fruit and 1 garlic bulb, crush them, and apply to the navel.

*Treatment of colds and body aches:Grill 3 star fruit, squeeze to get the juice, mix with 50ml white wine, drink at once or divide into 2 times, drink when not too full or too hungry.

*Treatment of acute pharyngitis:80 - 100g fresh star fruit leaves, add a little salt, crush, squeeze to get the juice, divide into 2 - 3 times to gargle and swallow gradually.

*Treatment of dry cough, cough with phlegm:Star fruit flower (roasted with ginger water) 8 - 12g, licorice 12g, perilla 8 - 10g, Vietnamese balm 8 - 10g. Cook with 750ml water, reduce to 300ml, divide into 2 doses to drink before meals.

According to Vietnam Agriculture - NT