Chinese white olive

Singer, teacher, or speaker with a raw, dry, hoarse throat and a need to keep talking

Lingering sore throat after a fever with thirst, dry mouth, and thick sticky phlegm that is hard to raise

Heavy drinker with dry throat, foul breath, and stomach heat the morning after

Overview. Canarium album is a tall evergreen tree of the frankincense family native to southern China and northern Vietnam, cultivated for its olive-shaped green fruit that is eaten fresh, pickled, candied, and made into throat lozenges. In Chinese medicine the ripe dried fruit is qing guo, a gentle heat-clearing remedy for the throat and stomach that generates fluids while resolving toxicity. It is a food-grade herb, sweet and sour with a lingering astringency, and it appears in many over-the-counter throat and cough preparations in China and Southeast Asia.

Clinical Notes. Qing guo is a throat herb first. Use it when the throat is sore, dry, and hot, the voice is hoarse, and there is a thirst that water does not fully satisfy. It works well as a simple decoction, 5 to 10 g simmered gently, or as the fresh fruit chewed slowly, letting the juice bathe the throat.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: neutral. Taste: sweet, sour. Channels: Lung, Stomach. Actions: Clears heat and resolves toxicity; Benefits the throat and relieves swelling and pain; Generates fluids and relieves thirst; Resolves fish and crab poisoning and eases alcohol intoxication.