Longan aril is the ripe pulp of the fruit of the evergreen tropical tree Dimocarpus longan Lour./Euphoria longan (Lour.) steud., of the family Sapindaceae. Native to southern China, the plant is introduced into India in 1798, and into other warm regions of the world thereafter, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Florida and Hawaii of the USA, etc. Longan is often grown between elevations of 150-450 m.
Longan is called "mamoncillo chino" in Cuba, and has been referred to as the "little brother of the Lichi", it is closely allied to the glamorous fruit lichi. Botanically, though, longan is placed in a separate genus. Generally speaking, longan is less important than lichi to the Chinese as an edible fruit, but more widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, particularly its fruit pulp, or the aril.
The longan tree is handsome, erect, 9-12 m in height and about 14 m in width, with rough-barked trunk about 76 cm thick. It has long, spreading, slightly drooping, heavily foliaged branches. The evergreen, alternate, paripinnate leaves have 4 to 10 opposite leaflets, elliptic, ovate-oblong or lanceolate, blunt-tipped; 10-20 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. They are leathery, wavy, glossy-green on the upper surface, minutely hairy and grayish-green beneath. New growth is wine-colored and showy. The pale-yellow, 5- to 6-petalled, hairy-stalked flowers, larger than those of the lichi, are borne in upright terminal panicles, male and female mingled.
The fruits, in drooping clusters, are globose, 1.25-2.5 cm in diameter, with thin, brittle, yellowish-brown to light reddish-brown rind, more or less rough. The flesh (aril) is whitish, translucent, somewhat musky, sweet, but not as sweet as that of the lichi. The seed is round, jet-black, shining, with a circular white spot at the base, giving it the aspect of an eye. Thus its Chinese name "Dragon's Eye."
In China, longan tree is produced mainly in the southern provinces, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, etc.
The fruit is collected when getting mature in the beginning of autumn, dried on fire or in the sunlight to shrink the flesh and facilitate peeling of the rind. The pulp is taken out following peeling off the fruit skin and removing the nucleus (seed), and dried over a slow fire. The dried product, the longan aril, is black, leathery and smoky in flavor. In China, it is also called as "Guiyuanrou (dried longan pulp)".
Also spelled Lungan Aril, or called Dragon's Eye Aril or Dragon's Eyeball Aril.
See also Food, Fruits, Longan; and Longan Aril. |
1. For deficiency of both the heart and spleen, insufficiency of both qi and blood, anorexia (loss of appetite), fatigue, loose stool, palpitation, insomnia and amnesia (forgetfulness):
Longan aril is often used together with Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Sinensis Pilosulae, Rhizoma Atractylodis Mactocephalae, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Semen Ziziphi Spinosae, etc., to invigorate the spleen, replenish qi, nourish blood and tranquilize the mind, as in Decoction for Invigorating the Spleen.
2. For anemia:
Use 5 g dry longan pulp, 10 g lotus seeds and 100 g rice to cook porridge at meal.
3. For dizziness, general weakness:
Cook 30 g dry longan pulp, 30 g Chinese dates in water. Consume at a draught.
4. For infirmity and postpartum weakness:
Put 30 g dry longan pulp and 3 g sugar in a bowl and then cover with gauze. Steam and then consume 1-2 teaspoonful with boiled water. |
Longan is rich in glucose, sucrose, choline and vitamins B and C, tartaric acid, protein and fat.
The fluid of Arillus Longan (1:2) has a bacteriostastic action on microsporum audouini.
Longan aril is administered as a stomachic, febrifuge (reduces fever) and vermifuge (destroys or expels parasitic worms), and is used to counteract poison. In both North and South Vietnam, the "eye" of the longan seed is pressed against a snakebite in the belief that it will absorb the venom.
The seeds, because of their saponin content, are used like soapberries (Sapindus saponaria L.) for shampooing the hair. The seeds are administered to counteract heavy sweating and the pulverized kernel, which contains saponin, tannin and fat, serves as a styptic.
The seeds and the rind are burned for fuel.
Leaves and flowers are sold in Chinese herb markets but are not a part of ancient traditional medicine. The leaves contain quercetin and quercitrin.
The dried flowers are exported to Malaysia for medicinal purposes. |
