Excellent Fruit and Medicine—Citrus
Excellent Fruit and Medicine—Citrus
During autumn and winter, citrus fruits are widely available, their golden fruits tempting to the taste.
Throughout history, many famous figures have described citrus. "Green leaves flourish, splendidly pleasing." "Mixed green and yellow, dazzling in pattern. Pure white inside, worthy of trust." These lines come from Qu Yuan’s "Ode to the Tangerine," China's great poet. The poet praises the tangerine tree for its lush foliage, vibrant vitality, colorful beauty, and pure, exquisite fruit, likening it to a person of noble character.
In botany, citrus broadly refers to species within the Citrus genus of the Rutaceae family, including oranges, pomelos, lemons, mandarins, and honey tangerines. China is the homeland of citrus, with over 4,000 years of cultivation history. Numerous varieties exist, among which the Jiaoguan from Fujian, Huangyan honey tangerines, Xinhui oranges from Guangdong, E'dan tangerines from Sichuan, and Shatian pomelos from Guangxi are particularly renowned.
Citrus fruits are rich in sugars, organic acids, and various vitamins. Tests show that seedless honey tangerines contain 9.3% sugar and 0.6% citric acid, with 23.9 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of juice. Especially notable is the peel of kumquats: 100 grams of peel contains 200 mg of vitamin C—five times more than the pulp—and can be consumed along with the fruit.
Citrus has multiple benefits such as regulating Qi, relieving cough, improving digestion, resolving phlegm, reducing swelling, alleviating pain, and soothing liver Qi. Thus, citrus serves not only as a premium fruit but also as an effective traditional medicine. Clinically, it is used to treat scurvy, night blindness, skin keratosis, vomiting due to cold stomach, chest tightness, rib pain, intercostal neuralgia, hernia, blocked milk flow, and testicular swelling and pain.
Historically, there is a well-known tale about using citrus leaves to cure illness. Legend says that during the Western Han Dynasty, a physician named Su Dan from Guiyang was highly skilled and cured many patients. One year, a contagious disease spread, and Su Dan told his mother: “The well water in the courtyard and one branch of the citrus tree—using one liter of well water and one citrus leaf—can heal one person.” His mother followed this method and successfully treated many people. Later, some herbal shops hung plaques inscribed with “Jújǐng Quán Xiāng” (Fragrant Spring of the Orange Well), a name derived from this story.