Dried fruits, known as ô mai, are a popular treat during the Tet holiday. Made from fresh fruit, ô mai also has significant medicinal benefits. Here, we introduce various medicinal uses of different types of ô mai.
Tamarind
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Tamarind (Image: TTO) |
Tamarind has a sour taste and is effective in clearing heat, quenching thirst, alleviating heat-related illnesses, aiding digestion, promoting bile flow, treating bloating, and improving eyesight. Ripe tamarind can be eaten fresh, made into jams, or mixed with sugar water to treat bleeding gums, liver pain, jaundice, bile secretion disorders, chronic gastritis, indigestion, and nausea during pregnancy. The recommended daily intake is 2-6 grams of tamarind flesh. Infusions made from tamarind are also used to treat malaria.
Dried tamarind is effective for cough relief, warming the stomach, stimulating digestion, and controlling nausea. It can be sucked on multiple times a day.
Apricot
Apricots can be made into dried apricot (bạch mai) or preserved apricot (ô mai). To make dried apricot, ripe fruits are harvested, thinly sliced, and rubbed with salt. They are then placed in a jar for 3 days and nights, removed, dried slightly, and returned to the jar for another day and night before being completely dried. The salt permeates the apricot, forming a white coating.
For preserved apricot, fully ripe fruits are harvested and dried in a cool place for 3 days until they wilt. They are then boiled in water until the skin wrinkles, steamed, and dried. This process is repeated 6-7 times until the apricots turn dark purple. Preserved apricots have a sour taste, while dried apricots have a sour and salty flavor and are effective for cough relief and generating body fluids.
Preserved apricots are used to relieve cough, expel phlegm, treat sore throat, asthma, shortness of breath, edema, dysentery with blood, and vomiting; the daily dosage is 4-8 grams in decoction or lozenge form. Preserved apricots can also treat worms, especially those in the bile duct, by creating an acidic environment that encourages the worms to exit the bile duct and return to the intestines, where they can be expelled.
Apricot-Based Remedies (using pitted preserved apricot):
For sore throat, persistent cough, and loss of voice: 100 ripe golden apricots, juice of one lemon, 40 grams of licorice, 320 grams of honey. Cook all ingredients until soft, strain out the solids, and concentrate the liquid into a syrup to suck on.
Salted apricot (pitted), tian men dong (asparagus root), mai men dong (lily bulb), baizhu (white atractylodes), and mulberry root, each in equal amounts. The dried herbs, except for the salted apricot, are ground into powder, mixed with honey and ginger juice, and rolled into balls the size of longan seeds. Each time, one ball is sucked on and swallowed gradually.
For chronic cough, hoarse voice, bronchitis, and sore throat: 4 grams of preserved apricot, 8 grams each of bamboo leaves and tolu balsam; 5 grams of licorice and tamarind leaves, 4 grams of lime leaves, and 2 grams of fresh ginger. Brew and drink one dose daily.
For heat-related cough and coughing up blood: 12 grams each of preserved apricot, sophora flower, and gardenia fruit, along with 12 grams of mulberry root. Brew for one dose daily.
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(Image: TTO) |
For dysentery: 20 apricots, 1 bowl of water, decoct until 6/10 remains, and drink on an empty stomach. Alternatively, use 10-15 preserved apricots, add water, boil, and keep boiling for 15 minutes. Drink this instead of water throughout the day.
For chronic dysentery: 8 grams of preserved apricot, 16 grams of codonopsis; 12 grams each of coptis, phellodendron, and angelica; 6 grams each of ligusticum, wasabi, fresh ginger, and cinnamon. Grind into powder and take 20 grams daily in small doses or brew one dose daily.
For acute bacterial diarrhea: 12 grams each of preserved apricot, cardamom, and wild yam; 20 grams of white bean; and 6 grams of licorice. Grind into powder and form pills, taking 20 grams daily with strong tea.
For worms in the bile duct: 16 grams of preserved apricot, 12 grams of coix seed, and 8 grams each of areca nut, wood fragrance, and bitter orange. Brew one dose daily.
For diabetes: 80 grams of preserved apricot (pitted), toasted and ground, mixed with 20 grams of black soybeans. Brew or cook to eat on an empty stomach.
For intermittent malaria: 4 pitted preserved apricots and 8 grams of common horsetail (prepared with vinegar, dried, and ground). Crush into powder, form pills, and take with liquor in the morning before symptoms start.
For chronic malaria with splenomegaly: 8 grams of preserved apricot, 16 grams of gui shao; 12 grams each of white atractylodes and astragalus; 8 grams each of cardamom, betel nut, ligusticum, white peony, tangerine peel, licorice, magnolia bark, ginger, and cinnamon. Grind into powder and take 40 grams daily in multiple doses or brew one dose daily.
Dracontomelon
Dracontomelon has a sour and slightly astringent taste, becoming sweet when ripe. It is effective for strengthening the stomach, aiding digestion, generating bodily fluids, quenching thirst, suppressing cough, and expelling phlegm. It is used to treat dry mouth due to heat, throat itching, sore throat, cough, vomiting during pregnancy, alcohol intoxication, rashes, swelling, and itching. Each time, use 4-6 grams of dracontomelon flesh, brew it, or soak it in salt and sugar before consuming, or dry it to make ô mai.
Fresh green dracontomelon can be used to make sour soup, enhancing appetite and improving digestion. Steamed dracontomelon with sugar is used as a refreshing drink. Ripe dracontomelon can be eaten or made into dracontomelon jam or syrup.
Dracontomelon-Based Remedies
For nausea in pregnant women: Cook dracontomelon with carp or duck meat and consume.
For cough: Use 4-6 grams of dracontomelon flesh, soak with a little salt, or brew and add sugar to drink. Repeat 2-3 times a day. Steamed dracontomelon flowers with honey can be used as cough medicine for children.
Starfruit
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Starfruit (Image: TTO) |
Starfruit has a sour taste and is slightly sweet when ripe. It is effective for clearing heat, quenching thirst, dispelling wind, and reducing inflammation. It is used to treat cough, sore throat, runny nose, allergies, skin rashes, urinary retention, fever, bleeding gums, and to promote the appearance of measles. The daily dosage is 20-40 grams or more, brewed for drinking.
Starfruit-Based Remedies
For cough and sore throat: 60-80 grams of fresh starfruit, juiced and consumed.
For urinary retention: Use 7 sour starfruits, cutting off 1/3 from the stem end of each fruit, place in a bowl of water, and boil until half a bowl remains, drinking while warm. Combine with one starfruit and a clove of crushed garlic applied to the navel.
To promote measles, facilitating quick and even outbreak: Dried starfruit slices, dandelion, measles leaf, and Chinese honeylocust, each 20 grams, roasted and ground. Brew and drink one dose daily.
To prevent illness in women postpartum: Starfruit and roots of the wormwood plant, each 20 grams, plus 30 grams of the bark of the Hong Bi tree. Brew and drink instead of water throughout the day.
