🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Ginkgo is the oldest living fossil among gymnosperms, native to China. Besides wild populations in certain natural forests, it is cultivated throughout most regions. The seed kernel, known as Bai Guo (white fruit), is the focus here.
According to Li Shizhen’s *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “(This herb) originally grew in southern China, with leaves resembling a duck’s foot, hence named ‘duck foot’ (Duck Foot Seed). It was first presented as tribute during the Song Dynasty, renamed ‘Ginkgo.’ Because it resembles a small apricot and has a white kernel. Now it is called Bai Guo.” Thus, its medicinal use came relatively late compared to its ancient lineage. Initially used in folk consumption, later became imperial tribute, dramatically increasing its value. For example, Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty wrote: “Red bags entered tribute, Ginkgo became precious in Central China.” Yang Wanli’s poem: “Deep gray ashes piled up, slightly bitter and subtly sweet, highest in flavor. Not necessarily as good as lotus root, but Ginkgo pairs beautifully with golden peaches.” Since the Ming Dynasty, its medicinal use has gradually increased.
Collection Method
Ginkgo seeds are harvested in late autumn when mature. The seeds are fleshy fruits, oval to nearly spherical, with a whitish outer layer, turning orange-yellow when ripe. Remove the fleshy outer layer, wash, and dry—this yields the familiar shelled Bai Guo. High-quality Bai Guo has yellow-white shells, plump kernels, and pale yellow cross-sections. Kernels are covered by a membranous seed coat. For medicinal or edible use, break the shell, remove the kernel. For medicine, use raw or steam/boil and stir-fry; for food, remove the membranous skin and embryo (heart).
Properties and Applications
Bai Guo is neutral in nature, sweet and slightly bitter-astringent, with mild toxicity, entering the lung meridian. It has functions to constrict the lungs, relieve asthma, stop leukorrhea, and reduce urination; externally, it can “disinfect and kill parasites.”
The kernel contains abundant carbohydrates, followed by protein and fat, as well as vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, etc., offering high nutritional value. However, the specific components responsible for medicinal effects remain unclear. Pharmacological studies show it has expectorant effects and inhibits tuberculosis bacilli and pathogenic skin fungi. Compounds like ginkgolic acid and ginkgo phenol have certain toxicity.
Beyond general consumption, Bai Guo is primarily used for: (1) asthma and cough with phlegm. (2) excessive leukorrhea, white turbidity, frequent urination, or enuresis due to kidney qi deficiency.
Additionally, applying crushed raw material as a paste treats cracked hands and feet, rhinophyma, and fungal skin lesions on the face and hands.
Main Formulas Using Bai Guo
Dingchuan Tang (from *She Sheng Zhong Miao Fang*) treats asthma, wheezing, upward surging breath, yellow phlegm, thick tongue coating. Ingredients: 21 roasted Bai Guo, 9 grams of Ephedra, 6 grams of Apricot Kernel, 9 grams of Winter Flower, 6 grams of Perilla Seed, 9 grams of Pinellia, 9 grams of Scutellaria, 9 grams of Mulberry Bark, 3 grams of Licorice. Boil with water, extract juice. Divide into three doses daily. As recorded in *Compendium of Materia Medica*, a pharmacy in Jinling once promoted this formula for asthma, claiming “everyone who took it was cured, and the person became wealthy from it.” This formula remains widely used today.
Yinxing Gao (from *Shou Shi Bao Yuan*) treats chronic cough with phlegm; useful for chronic bronchitis, thick phlegm, breathing difficulty, and lung qi deficiency. Ingredients: 120 grams each of Bai Guo, fine tea leaves, walnut kernels. Lightly roast and powder the tea leaves, crush Bai Guo and walnut kernels, mix with 250 grams of honey, simmer into a paste. Take 1 teaspoon daily, 2–3 times.
Bai Guo Shan Yao Fen (from *Modern Practical Chinese Materia Medica*) treats frequent urination, leukorrhea, and dizziness. Ingredients: Equal parts roasted Bai Guo and yam. Dry and grind into fine powder, mix evenly. Take 40 grams daily, divided into 3–4 doses, washed down with rice gruel or warm water.
Bai Guo Stewed Black-Boned Chicken (from *Binhu Ji Jian Fang*) treats spleen-kidney deficiency in women, with clear, copious leukorrhea. Ingredients: 15 grams each of Bai Guo, lotus seeds, glutinous rice, 5 grams of pepper, 1 whole black-boned chicken. Grind the four ingredients into powder, fill into the chicken’s cavity, tie securely. Add water, a little ginger, and salt. Simmer over low heat until tender. Divide into 3–4 portions for consumption.
Roasted Bai Guo (from *Compendium of Materia Medica*) treats frequent urination or enuresis. Use 14 roasted Bai Guo, consume twice daily.
Additionally, stewed or braised chicken with Bai Guo is a common folk dish: use about 50–100 grams of fresh Bai Guo kernels, 1 whole chicken (cut into pieces), stew with mushrooms or braise with lettuce, seasoned with ginger and salt. This dish also shows some efficacy for the above conditions.
Usage Reminders
1. For medicinal use, dosage is small—daily 6–10 grams. For cooked or stewed consumption, slightly higher but should not exceed 25 grams (per person).
2. Bai Guo has mild toxicity and should not be eaten raw, especially not in excess. Poisoning has a latency of 1–12 hours, presenting symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fear, screaming, convulsions, coma, and even death. Records from the Jin-Yuan dynasties document cases of poisoning or fatalities from Bai Guo.
3. Due to its astringent nature, use with caution in cases of thick, difficult-to-cough-up phlegm.