Bottle Gourd Peel

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Promotes urination and reduces edema - used for facial swelling, abdominal distention from water retention, scanty urine, and damp fluid accumulation that needs a gentle draining herb.
• Drains Dampness and supports resolution of jaundice and urinary heat - extended to damp-heat jaundice, hot strangury, and hematuria in regional and folk practice.
• Relieves mild fluid-related fullness and swelling through a light food-medicine approach - the dried peel is milder than harsher diuretics and is often used when daily-life retention patterns need steady, moderate support.

Secondary Actions

• As a peel medicine, Hu Lu Ke is used more for fluid movement than for nourishment; it should be distinguished from the fresh vegetable, the seeds, and the bitter toxic fruit variants.
• Its reputation is strongest in household, regional, and adjunctive TCM use rather than in a handful of famous named classical formulas.

Classic Formulas

• Hu Lu Ke with Fu Ling, Zhu Ling, and Ze Xie - a straightforward edema pairing strategy for swelling, oliguria, and generalized water retention.
• Hu Lu Ke with Hua Shi, Mu Tong, and Che Qian Zi - used when damp-heat obstructs urination and produces burning, dribbling, or dark scanty urine.
• Hu Lu Ke with Yin Chen, Zhi Zi, and Jin Qian Cao - regional combination pattern for damp-heat jaundice with yellowing, abdominal fullness, and poor fluid movement.

Classical References

• IMPORT NOTE: the source XLSX used the generic pinyin 'Hu Lu' while the Latin clearly specifies Pericarpium Lagenariae. This record standardizes the drug-part identity to Hu Lu Ke, the dried bottle gourd peel or shell.
• TCMLY records Hu Lu Ke as sweet and relatively neutral, acting mainly through the Lung and Kidney channels, with traditional use for edema, difficult urination, jaundice, and hematuria.
• Regional sources vary in whether they describe the peel, shell, or whole fruit and in how strongly they emphasize modern metabolic uses, but they consistently agree on the core water-draining and swelling-reducing function.