Modern scientific studies have shown the important therapeutic
value of melons, fruits and vegetables for the treatment of
diseases and their high nutritive value for the preservation of
human health.
1.?Melons
Pumpkins, watermelons, white gourds, bitter gourds,
loofahs, ficus tikauas and cucumbers have great importance for
clinical therapy. Pumpkins and watermelons contain an average of 4
mg % and 3 mg % of vitamin C, and 2.4 mg % and 0.17 mg % carotin,
respectively. Pumpkins also contain 20.9 mg % of citrulline and
small amounts of vitamin B and glucose.
According to modern studies, pumpkin seeds can expel tapeworms
and ascaris, and kill blood fluke. As proved by experiments, a 40 %
decoction of seed powder of pumpkin or a 30 % extract can paralyze
the middle and posterior segments of beef and pork tapeworms.
Besides vitamin C and carotin, watermelons also contain apple
sugar, glucose and some minerals, and the skin and pulp of
watermelons can produce a diuretic and hypotensive effect.
The content of vitamin C in white gourds is as high as 16 mg %,
and they also contain a small amount of protein, sugar and sodium
salts. Because of the low content of sodium salts, it can be used
to promote urination and resolve edema in patients of nephritis.
This is similar to the experience obtained in the clinical practice
of traditional Chinese medicine.
Bitter gourds contain glycoside, 5-serotonin and many amino
acids. A reducing blood sugar effect produced by bitter gourds was
found in animal experiments, but the blood sugar level of diabetic
patients could not be reduced in clinical trials.
As proved by pharmacological studies, ficus tikauas contain
poisonous substances, a group of derivatives of rotenone, which can
kill fish and insects. The seeds and leaves of ficus tikauas
contain another similar poisonous substance, glycoside of
pachyrhizus erosus. Both rotenone and this glycoside are toxic to
the central nervous system, more remarkably to the respiratory
center in the brain. The administration of this gourd in a large
quantity may directly attack the heart and cause bradycardia, and
the patient may suffer from nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,
diarrhea, dizziness, fever and even convulsions, coma and
respiratory failure in severe cases. Cucumbers contains glucose,
fructose, xylose, rutin, vitamin B2 and vitamin C. the bitter taste
in cucumbers is due to the presence of cucurbitacin A, B, C and D.
Cucurbitacin C, with a low toxicity, shows an antitumorigenic
effect in animal experiments, so that it is useful for the
preparation of antineoplastic.
The medical application of melons has been profoundly studied,
and experiments on loofahs and sweet melons have achieved certain
valuable results.
2.?Fruits
Fruits can be divided into the fresh and preserved varieties. Fresh
fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, haws, grapes, pineapples
and bananas are the ones most commonly used in clinical practice;
and the fruits of the latter group are prepared from the fresh
fruits, including candied dates, dried persimmons and raisins.
The important nutritive components of fresh fruits are the
vitamins (chiefly vitamin C) and inorganic salts. As analyzed by
nutriologists, the content of vitamin C in fresh dates is as high
as 540 gm %, and it can be 30-100 times this amount in other fruits
and ordinary vegetables. The content of vitamin C is even higher in
wild jujubes, sometimes reaching 850-1170 mg %. The absorptive
ratio of vitamin C in the intestines may reach 86.3%. Haws,
tangerines and lemons are also rich in vitamin C. Red and yellow
fruits, like apricots, oranges and tangerines, contain more carotin
and inorganic salts, including calcium, phosphorus and iron.
Through the process of manufacture, preserved fruits may lose
many of their vitamins, but the relative contents of proteins,
carbohydrates and inorganic salts are increased after the marked
loss of water from fresh fruits. For example, the contents of
protein and carbohydrate in grapes are 0.7 % and 11.5 %, but in
raisins they are raised to 4.1 % and 78.7 % respectively.
The iron and copper in fruits are useful for the production of
hemoglobins in anemic patients. The high content of potassium and
low content sodium in fruits can produce a diuretic effect. Organic
acids such as malic acid and citric acid can stimulate secretion of
gastric acid and improve the digestion. Succinic acid contained in
unripe fruits can produce a strong stimulation effect in the
stomach and intestines.
Fruits can have a remarkable therapeutic effect. For example,
haws can dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure and blood
cholesterol level, improve the heart function, inhibit and kill
bacteria and improve the digestion. According to pharmacological
studies, haws contain many flavone glycosides and complicated di-
or polyflavanoids. The toxicity of polyflavanoids is low, and it
can produce an apparent hypotensive and cordial effect. Flavone and
derivatives of flavanoid can dilate coronary arteries and produce a
sedative effect. The fresh fruits and leaves of haws contain the
precursor of diflavanoid, anthocyanidin, and catecuric acid and
anthocyanidin may be produced after hydrolysis to improve
contraction of the myocardium, increase blood flow in the coronary
artery and prevent arrhythmia. According to in vitro bacteriostatic
experiments, haws can produce a strong inhibitory effect on
Flexner’s coli and Bacillus pyocyaneus. Recently, it has been
discovered that haws can increase secretion of amylase and lipase
in the stomach, and promote digestion.
Apples can both stop diarrhea and promote bowel movement mild
diarrhea (except bacillary dysentery) can be stopped a few days
after the intake of apple paste alone. The organic acids and tannic
acid in apples can produce an astringent effect, and the pectine
and cellulose in apples can absorb bacterial toxin to stop
diarrhea; but the organic acids and cellulose can stimulate
intestine and promote the motility of the stomach and intestines to
treat constipation.
According to clinical observations, the increase of urine sugar
in diabetic patients after eating bananas is not a remarkable as
after the intake of other fruits. The ratio of glucose and fructose
in banana is 1:1, making them suitable for treating fatty diarrhea
and intoxic indigestion. The abundant minerals in bananas are
useful for correcting the disturbance of water and electrolyte
metabolism. The 5- serotonin in bananas can reduce gastric acid and
protect gastric mucosa from the stimulation of gastric acid.
However, the overeating of bananas may cause dysfunction of the
digestive system. Pears contain vitamin C, sugar, calcium,
phosphorus and sodium, and they can be used with the correspondent
specific medicines to treat pulmonary tuberculosis, acute or
chronic bronchitis and upper respiratory infection with dryness and
pain in throat, expectoration of profuse yellow sticky sputum and
discharge of dark urine in short streams.
Ripe fruits contain more digestible sugar, like glucose, and are
beneficial for the liver. Patients with liver disease should eat
more sweet fruits. Sour fruits, like plums, apricots, oranges and
tangerines can cause spasms in the biliary tract, so patients with
diseases of the liver or gallbladder should avoid eating sour
fruits.
3.?Vegetables
(1)?Leaf vegetables: Chinese cabbages (green and white),
amaranths, spinach, shepherd’s purse, leeks, celery and caraways
are included in this group of vegetables. They are rich in carotin,
vitamin C and vitamin B2. Green Chinese cabbage, amaranth, spinach
and shepherd’s purse are rich in carotin and vitamin C. For
example, spinach contains 3.87 mg % of carotin, and amaranth from
Sichuan Province contains 8.98 mg % of carotin. Leaf vegetables
also contain minerals such as iron, which is not only rich in
content but also easily absorbable. Therefore, they are an
important part of the diet of anemic patients, pregnant women and
breast-feeding mothers. The contents of protein, carbohydrate and
fat are low in leaf vegetables, less than 2 %, 5 % and 0.5 % on
average, respectively.
Leaf vegetables also contain folic acid, choline, calcium and
phosphorus, but the high content of calcium in amaranth, spinach
and bamboo shoots is combined with oxalic acid, making it difficult
for the body to absorb. The high content of oxalic acid in
vegetables can not only interfere with the absorption of calcium
but also disturb the calcification of bones after soluble oxalates
in food are absorbed by the body. Therefore, infants, pregnant
women and bone fracture patients should not take too many
vegetables rich in oxalic acid.
(2)?Root and rhizome vegetables: Radishes, Chinese yams,
lotus roots, potatoes, taros, sweet potatoes, garlic, green onions,
asparagus, lettuce and bamboo shoots belong to this group of
vegetables containing different nutrients. The starch in potatoes,
taros, lotus roots and sweet potatoes is as high as 15-30 %, and it
is 29.5 % in sweet potatoes. The content of carotin in carrots is
as high as 3.62 mg %. The contents of protein and fat in this group
of vegetables are low, and the protein in potatoes and taros is
slightly higher (2 %) than that of other root and rhizome
vegetables.
Different from leaf vegetables, many root vegetables can be
taken as staple foodstuffs, because they contain a great deal of
sugar. Although the content of vitamin C in radishes and asparagus
is not rich, the uncooked dishes of these vegetables can also
supply lots of vitamin C because it is not destroyed in uncooked
vegetables. According to pharmacological studies, the lignin in
radishes can produce an anti-cancer effect. In addition, the
potassium succinate in carrots can produce a hypotensive effect.
The juice of fresh carrots is a health-giving drink.
(3)?Fresh beans: Lentils, young soya beans, peas, broad
beans, cowpeas and kidney beans are included in this group of
vegetables. They have higher contents of proteins, carbohydrates,
vitamins and minerals than leaf vegetables. The iron in fresh beans
is easily absorbed. Therefore, they are all highly nutritive
vegetables.
In brief, vegetables contain small amounts of plant protein and
fat, but the content of sugar varies greatly in different
vegetables. Fresh vegetables contain various vitamins (vitamin C,
vitamin B2 and carotin) and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron and
potassium). They also contain pectine, organic acids and a large
amount of cellulose to stimulate peristalsis of the intestines.
Some vegetables can produce a good therapeutic effect. For
example, caraways can promote sweating and eruption of measles
because they can promote peripheral blood circulation. The eruption
of measles is induced by the promotion of peripheral blood
circulation, invasion of viruses into the capillaries of the skin,
proliferation of endothelial cells of capillaries and exudation of
serum.
The capsicine in chilies (red peppers) can stimulate gastric and
intestinal secretion, improve the appetite and digestive function,
inhibit Bacillus cereus and hay bacillus (ineffective against
Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus coli), stimulate the taste
receptors on the tongue and reflectively elevate blood pressure
(especially diastolic pressure). The external application of chili
ointment may cause reflective dilation of local cutaneous blood
vessels and improve local blood circulation, and tincture of chili
can be used to treat frostbite. Carrots rich in carotin can be used
to treat night blindness, dryness of the eyes and rickets in
children. They can also produce a cordial, anti-inflammatory and
anti-allergic effect. As proved by pharmacological experiments,
carrots with a hypoglycemic substance can be used to treat diabetes
mellitus.
(Soruce:?Diseases Treated with Melons, Fruits and
Vegetables, Foreign Languagues Press, 2002)