Sponge gourds are also called towel gourds, “silk gourds (‘Si Gua’),†“cloth gourds (‘Bu Gua’),†“water gourds (‘Shui Gua’),†and “cotton gourds (‘Xu Gua’)†in Chinese culture. They can clear heat, resolve phlegm, cool the blood, and remove toxins and toxic materials.
Sponge gourds can be used for healing fever, irritability and restlessness, and thirst in febrile diseases. They can relieve asthma and cough caused by phlegm retention, furuncles, carbuncles, swelling, bloody urination or stools, hemorrhoids, profuse leucorrhea, and cessation of lactation (galactostasis).
Sponge gourds have a sweet taste and a cool property. They can act on the meridians or channels of the Liver and Stomach.
To eat sponge gourds, they can be cooked to make soups, or cooked with other vegetables to make dishes. Their juice can be extracted to be applied at the affected areas. However, those with deficiencies or interior cold should not eat too much of sponge gourds.
Sponge gourds are the fresh fruits of Luffa cylindrica or L. acutangula. They belong to the Cucurbitaceae family. They contain citrulline, xylan, saponin, and vitamins and minerals.
