✵The article records the herb Bitter Apricot Seed—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical sources (four plant species): (1) Prunus armeniaca L., (2) Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim., (3) Prunus sibirica L., and (4) Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these four plants; the morphological and quality features of the herb Bitter Apricot Seed; its pharmacological actions; medicinal efficacy; and administration guidelines.
Semen Armeniacae Amarum (Bitter Apricot Seed)
Pinyin Name: Kǔ Xìng Rén
English Name: Bitter Apricot Seed
Latin Name:Semen Armeniacae Amarum Property and Flavor: Slightly warm, bitter, mildly toxic
Brief Introduction:Semen Armeniacae Amarum is the dried, ripe seed or kernel of Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim., Prunus sibirica L., Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne, or Prunus armeniaca L. It is used to relieve cough and dyspnea with profuse expectoration and to alleviate constipation. The herb is commonly known as Semen Armeniacae Amarum, Bitter Apricot Seed, or Kǔ Xìng Rén.
Botanical Source:Semen Armeniacae Amarum (Bitter Apricot Seed) is the dried, ripe seed or kernel of (1) Prunus armeniaca L., (2) Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim., (3) Prunus sibirica L., or (4) Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne. These are plants of the genus Prunus, family Rosaceae (rose family), order Rosales. The four commonly used species are introduced below:
(1) Prunus armeniaca L.
Botanical Description:Prunus armeniaca L. is also known as Armeniaca vulgaris Lam. It is a deciduous small tree of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called Prunus armeniaca, almond tree, or Xing Shu. It grows up to 4–10 meters tall; crown is round, oblate or oblong; bark is dark reddish-brown, vertically fissured; leaves are simple and alternate; leaf blades are ovoid or broadly ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide.
Flowers bloom before leaves in spring; they are solitary and grow at branch tips, densely arranged and slightly raceme-like. Flowers are subsessile (nearly sessile); the calyx base is tubular, externally pubescent, and apically 5-lobed; petals 5, white or light pink, rounded to broadly obovate; stamens are numerous, inserted along the margin of the hypanthium (calyx tube); pistil with a single carpel, inserted at the base of the hypanthium.
Drupes are typically round, rarely obovate, and over 2.5 cm in diameter. Each fruit contains one seed—cordate-ovate and light red. Flowering occurs from March to April; fruiting from June to July.
Growth Characteristics: The tree is cultivated in low mountainous or hilly regions.
Prunus armeniaca L. exhibits strong adaptability and tolerance to drought, cold, aridity, salinity, and alkalinity. It grows normally at summer temperatures up to 43.9 °C (111.02 °F) and survives winter at temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F). It can be planted on flatlands or slopes, and soil requirements are not strict.
Characteristics of the Herb: The seeds are flat and cordate (heart-shaped), with a sharp apex, a bluntly rounded and thick base, and slight asymmetry between the left and right sides; they measure 1.2–1.7 cm in length, 1.0–1.3 cm in width, and 4–6 mm in thickness. The surface is brown to dark brown and bears thin, dense, granular protrusions. At the apex, there is a linear hilum of deep color on one side; at the base, there is an elliptical chalaza; and numerous dark brown, concave vascular bundle veins radiate from the chalaza, forming vertically oriented, irregularly dimpled grooves that cover the seed coat (testa). The seed coat is thin; the cotyledons are fleshy and thick, white, odorless, and when ground with water, release an aroma of benzaldehyde; the taste is bitter. High-grade herb material consists of large, plump, unbroken grains with white kernels.
The fruit is harvested from June to July during ripening; the pulp is removed, the seeds are washed thoroughly, sun-dried, cracked to extract the kernels, then air-dried and protected against moths.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Slight inhibition of the respiratory center; (2) Anthelmintic effects against Ascaris, hookworm, and pinworm; antibacterial activity against typhoid and paratyphoid bacilli; laxative and bowel-relaxing action; (3) Weak antitumor activity; (4) Immune-enhancing effect; (5) Toxicity upon overdose.
Medicinal efficacy: Directing Qi downward, relieving cough and wheezing, moistening the intestines and promoting defecation; indicated for cough and wheezing, chest fullness with excessive phlegm, blood deficiency and depletion of body fluids, intestinal dryness and constipation.
Administration of Semen Armeniacae Amarum (Kǔ Xìnɡ Rén):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Semen Armeniacae Amarum (Kǔ Xìnɡ Rén)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally:4.5–9 grams; (2) 3–10 grams, administered as a water decoction—with the raw herb added in the final stage of decoction ("decocted later"). Internal use must not exceed the recommended dosage to avoid toxicity.
Precautions and Adverse Reactions: Overdosage must be avoided during internal administration to prevent cyanide poisoning.
(2) Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim.
Botanical Description:Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim. is also known as Armeniaca vulgaris Lam. var. ansu (Maxim.) Yü et Lu. It is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called bitter almond, mountain almond, or Shan Xing. It grows as a shrub or small tree up to 2–5 m tall; bark is dark gray; branchlets are glabrous, sparsely pubescent when young, and grayish-brown or reddish-brown. Leaf blades are ovate or suborbicular, 5–10 cm long and 4–7 cm wide; apex is long-acuminate to caudate; base is rounded to subcordate; margin is obtusely serrate; both surfaces are glabrous, with submerged veins and intersecting pubescence; petioles are 2–3.5 cm long, glabrous, bearing or lacking small glands.
Flowers are solitary, 1.5–2 cm in diameter, and bloom before leaves; pedicels are 1–2 mm long; calyx is purple and fistuliform (tubular), with a minutely pubescent or glabrous base; sepals are oblong-elliptic with acute apices and reflex after flowering; petals are suborbicular or obovate, white or pink; stamens are nearly as long as the petals; ovary is pubescent.
Fruits are oblate spheroids, 1.5–2.5 cm in diameter, yellow or orange-red (sometimes reddish), pubescent; pulp is thin and dry, splitting open at maturity along ventral sutures, sour-tasting and inedible. The kernel is spheroid, easily separable from the pulp, with flattened lateral surfaces, a rounded apex, and a deflected, asymmetric base; its surface is relatively smooth, with a broad and sharp ventral face; it has a distinctly bitter taste. Flowering occurs from March to April; fruiting from June to July.
Growth Characteristics:Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim. grows wild or is cultivated.
Characteristics of the Herb: The seed of Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim. is morphologically similar to that of Prunus armeniaca L. High-grade herb consists of large, plump, unbroken grains with white kernels.
(3) Prunus sibirica L.
Botanical Description:Prunus sibirica L. is also known as Armeniaca sibirica (L.) Lam. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called Siberian almond or Xi Bo Li Ya Xing. It grows up to 2–5 m tall. Leaves are alternate, oval or orbicular (subrotund), with finely blunt-serrate margins, 3–10 cm long and 2.5–7 cm wide.
Flowers are solitary, 1.5–2 cm in diameter; sepals are oblong-elliptic with acute apices; petals are orbicular or obovate, white or pink.
Drupes are oblate, 1.5–2.5 cm in diameter, slightly flattened laterally; pulp is thin and dry, splitting open at maturity, sour and astringent, inedible. The kernel separates readily from the pulp and exhibits unilateral asymmetry at the base; its surface is smooth. Flowering occurs from March to April; fruiting from June to July.
Growth Characteristics:Prunus sibirica grows on dry, sunny mountain slopes, hills, and grasslands at altitudes of 700–2,000 meters above sea level.
Characteristics of the Herb: The seed of Prunus sibirica is slightly flattened conical, 1–1.2 cm long, about 1 cm wide, and about 6 mm thick. The seed coat is yellowish brown. The seed kernel tastes bitter. A higher-grade herb has large, plump grains, a white kernel, and is intact.
(4) Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne
Botanical Description:Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne, also known as Armeniaca mandshurica (Maxim.) Skv., is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) in the genus Prunus. It is commonly called Manchurian apricot. Trees grow up to 5–15 meters tall; young branches are glabrous. Leaf blades are elliptical or ovate, 6–12 cm long and 3–8 cm wide.
Flowers are pink or white; stamens are numerous; the ovary is densely covered with pilose hairs.
Drupes are subglobose or broadly elliptic, 13–18 mm long and 11–18 mm wide, with a coarse surface and an obtuse margin. Flowering occurs from April to May; fruiting occurs in July.
Growth Characteristics:Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne grows in open, sunny mountain scrub or woodland (holt or mixed forest), at altitudes of 400–1,000 meters above sea level.
Characteristics of the Herb: The seed of Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne is nearly conical but not flattened, 8–11 mm long, 8–9 mm wide, and about 6 mm thick. The seed kernel tastes bitter, rarely sweet. A higher-grade herb has large, plump grains, a white kernel, and is intact.
✵The article records the herb Bitter Apricot Seed—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical sources (four plant species): (1) Prunus armeniaca L., (2) Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim., (3) Prunus sibirica L., and (4) Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these four plants; the morphological and quality features of the herb Bitter Apricot Seed; its pharmacological actions; medicinal efficacy; and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Kǔ Xìng Rén
Botanical Description: Prunus armeniaca L. is also known as Armeniaca vulgaris Lam. It is a deciduous small tree of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called Prunus armeniaca, almond tree, or Xing Shu. It grows up to 4–10 meters tall; crown is round, oblate or oblong; bark is dark reddish-brown, vertically fissured; leaves are simple and alternate; leaf blades are ovoid or broadly ovate, 5–9 cm long and 4–8 cm wide.
Botanical Description: Prunus armeniaca L. var. ansu Maxim. is also known as Armeniaca vulgaris Lam. var. ansu (Maxim.) Yü et Lu. It is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called bitter almond, mountain almond, or Shan Xing. It grows as a shrub or small tree up to 2–5 m tall; bark is dark gray; branchlets are glabrous, sparsely pubescent when young, and grayish-brown or reddish-brown. Leaf blades are ovate or suborbicular, 5–10 cm long and 4–7 cm wide; apex is long-acuminate to caudate; base is rounded to subcordate; margin is obtusely serrate; both surfaces are glabrous, with submerged veins and intersecting pubescence; petioles are 2–3.5 cm long, glabrous, bearing or lacking small glands.
Botanical Description: Prunus sibirica L. is also known as Armeniaca sibirica (L.) Lam. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree of the Rosaceae family (rose family) and genus Prunus, commonly called Siberian almond or Xi Bo Li Ya Xing. It grows up to 2–5 m tall. Leaves are alternate, oval or orbicular (subrotund), with finely blunt-serrate margins, 3–10 cm long and 2.5–7 cm wide.
Botanical Description: Prunus mandshurica (Maxim.) Koehne, also known as Armeniaca mandshurica (Maxim.) Skv., is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) in the genus Prunus. It is commonly called Manchurian apricot. Trees grow up to 5–15 meters tall; young branches are glabrous. Leaf blades are elliptical or ovate, 6–12 cm long and 3–8 cm wide.
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