Long Yan Rou (Flesh of the Longan Fruit)

Chinese Herb Actions

Chinese Herb Dosage

• What is the typical dosage of Long Yan Rou?

  9–15 g in decoction. Larger amounts, up to about 30 g, are used when it is taken alone or as a food — steeped, in congee or soup, or prepared with wine.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (3–5 chien; up to 1 liang for soup); standard materia medica ranges. Reference only — not a prescription.

Chinese Herb Contraindications & Cautions

• Are there cautions or contraindications for Long Yan Rou?

  Long Yan Rou is sweet, warm and cloying, so it is contraindicated where there is phlegm-fire, damp-heat, or dampness and fullness in the middle jiao (for example water retention or a stifling epigastrium). Use it with care in heat or excess patterns, and pair it with Spleen-strengthening or qi-moving herbs to prevent cloying and indigestion.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (“Contra: Phlegm-Fire; Dampness in Middle Jiao”); standard materia medica.

Chinese Herb Toxicity & Overdose

• Low. Longan flesh is a common edible fruit, and no significant toxicity is reported at normal culinary or therapeutic doses.

  Source: materia medica consensus; longan is a food-grade fruit, with no toxicity signal in the reviewed research.

Herb-Drug Interactions

• No well-established clinical herb–drug interactions are documented for Long Yan Rou. As a sweet, sugar-rich fruit, practitioner attention to overall sugar intake is reasonable, for example in diabetes. (Flagged for practitioner confirmation — absence of documented interactions is not proof of safety.)

Western / Biomedical Research

Chinese Herb Clinical Studies & Research

Provided as research context — a summary of published biomedical study, not a therapeutic or medical claim.

• Is there modern research on Long Yan Rou (longan)?

  Yes, but it is largely preclinical and focused on the fruit’s constituents rather than the TCM indication. Reviews catalogue longan’s polyphenols, polysaccharides and GABA; polysaccharides from longan pulp show immunomodulatory activity in laboratory models and antioxidant/anti-aging activity in C. elegans, and an animal study of a longan-containing herbal mixture reported improved spatial memory and raised BDNF under stress. Human clinical evidence remains limited.

  Sources: PubMed 37897820 (Food Chemistry, 2024 — longan functional-food review); PubMed 36170929 (Int J Biol Macromol, 2022 — longan pulp polysaccharide, immunomodulatory); PubMed 38636747 (Int J Biol Macromol, 2024 — longan polysaccharide, antioxidant/anti-aging); PMC 4268823 / PubMed 25431319 (DARU, 2014 — longan-containing mixture, memory & BDNF in mice). Research context, not a therapeutic claim.

Chinese Herb Notes

• How is Long Yan Rou used in formulas, and how does it compare to Da Zao?

  Long Yan Rou is the signature Heart-and-Spleen tonic of Gui Pi Tang (Restore the Spleen Decoction), combined with qi tonics and calm-spirit herbs for deficiency insomnia, palpitations and poor memory from worry and overwork. Compared with Da Zao — another sweet, warm Spleen tonic — Long Yan Rou more directly nourishes Heart blood and calms the spirit.

  • In Gui Pi Tang — with Ren Shen / Huang Qi and Bai Zhu (tonify qi), Dang Gui (nourish blood), and Suan Zao Ren / Yuan Zhi (calm the spirit).
  • vs Da Zao — both are sweet, warm and tonify the Spleen and blood; Long Yan Rou is preferred when calming the Heart spirit (insomnia, palpitations, forgetfulness) is the aim.
  • With qi tonics — its sweet, cloying nature is balanced by combining it with qi-tonifying and qi-moving herbs.

  Source: owner’s Five Branches notes (Gui Pi Wan; “+ Tonify Qi Herbs”); standard materia medica.