- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- China; widely cultivated in Asia
Asia · Food · № 636
Ziziphus jujuba
Food · Asia
Jujube (red date)
Ziziphus jujuba
Traditionally attributed effects: sweet and strengthening in fatigue, anaemia and low energy; builds strength and blood and softens herbal dishes.
Safety notes
Safe as food. According to tradition not with a bloated feeling or much phlegm. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (1)
- Chinese materia medica: Not with dampness, food stagnation, worms or dental problems.
Preparation
Dried, pitted fruits in soups, tea and stews.
Use in traditions
Grown in China for thousands of years and a fixed sweet component of tonic dishes.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese food therapy
Attributed effects
Jujubes make soups naturally sweet. The pork soup strengthens lungs and spleen, dissolves phlegm and soothes cough. Black chicken with jujubes and longan is traditionally given after childbirth to replenish blood and strength. The sweet soup with white fungus and lotus balances the blood and helps with fatigue and weakness.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, neutral
- Meridians
- spleen, stomach
Attributed effects
Da zao strengthens the qi of spleen and stomach in fatigue, soft stools and poor appetite, nourishes the blood, calms the mind in irritability and palpitations, and softens the action of other herbs.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 10–30 g a day, about 2–10 jujubes.
Caution: Not with dampness, food stagnation, worms or dental problems.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)Powder and kitchen
- Recipes
- Lingzhi soup with lean porkPork soup with water chestnuts and jujubesSweetcorn soup with astragalusSteamed black chicken with jujubes and longanVegetarian eight-treasure soupSweet soup with white fungus, lotus root and jujubesDaechu-cha, jujube tea
- Formulas
- Ba zhen tangBan xia xie xin tangChai hu gui zhi tangChai hu jia long gu mu li tangDa chai hu tangDang gui si ni tangFang ji huang qi tangGan mai da zao tangGe gen tangGui pi tangGui zhi long gu mu li tangGui zhi tangHuo xiang zheng qi sanJuan bi tangMai men dong tangPing wei sanWei ling tangWen dan tangWu zhu yu tangXiao chai hu tangXiao jian zhong tangXing su sanXuan fu dai zhe tangZhi gan cao tang