Galangal Fruit

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Warms the middle and dispels cold - Hong Dou Kou is used for cold abdominal pain, weak digestion, and damp-cold obstruction affecting the middle burner.
• Dries dampness and promotes digestion - it is chosen when food stagnation, fullness, foul taste, or heavy dampness complicate an already cold digestive pattern.
• Stops nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea from cold-damp disorder - traditional indications include rebellious stomach qi with nausea as well as cold-type loose stool.

Secondary Actions

• Although the name overlaps with other cardamom and galangal lines, Hong Dou Kou is kept distinct from Bai Dou Kou, Yi Zhi Ren, and Katsumada galangal because its medicinal part and warming-digestive emphasis are not identical.
• The herb is aromatic and moving rather than deeply tonifying, so it is usually paired with qi-regulating or middle-warming companions.

Classic Formulas

• Middle-warming digestive combinations with Gan Jiang, Chen Pi, or Mu Xiang - used when nausea, cold fullness, and food stagnation appear together.
• Cold-damp diarrhea pairings with Gao Liang Jiang or Sha Ren - traditional strategy when vomiting and loose stool reflect middle-burner cold rather than heat.

Classical References

• TCM Wiki describes Hong Dou Kou as pungent and warm, entering the Spleen and Lung channels to dispel cold, dry dampness, and promote digestion.
• Later herb summaries emphasize that Hong Dou Kou is especially useful when cold and dampness suppress appetite and drive vomiting or abdominal pain.