A Brief History of Luo Han Guo Fruit [Luo Han Guo] by Prof. Lan Fusheng China's reconized expert in the cultivation of Luo Han Guo. 

Luo Han Guo, (Siraitia grosvenorii), is a perennial vine. The plant is a calabash which belongs to the cucumber family. The name Luo Han Guo became associated with the plant from its use by a Yao Minority doctor, Luo Han Guo, more than 200 years ago. This doctor was the first person to cultivate it and use it for curing human illness. In Chinese culture, Luo Han Guo is associated with the saints that surround Buddha.

Although the geographical distribution of Luo Han Guo plants covers parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou provinces, it mainly grows in the mountains of Guangxi near Guilin. Guilin provides over 90% of the total commercial production and is known as the ancestral home of Luo Han Guo fruit production with a history of cultivated production spanning more than 100 years. Luo Han Guo fruit is a protected plant and by International Convention law, must not be grown outside of China.

The skin, flesh and seeds of Luo Han Guo fruit are very sweet and possess a unique taste and smell.  The fruit are traditionally associated with abundant health, and their use by Asian populations in many parts of the world as food and Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 300 years, is documented in historical literature in China.

The most complete report in English on the traditional uses of Siraitia grosvenorii in China is the unpublished manuscript written in 1938 by Professor G.W. Groff and Hoh Hin Cheung. Professor Groff  reports that during a visit in 1917 to the US Department of Agriculture botanist Dr. Frederick Coville's office, Groff was shown a Luo Han Guo fruit obtained from a local Chinese store in Washington, DC that had been purchased by Dr. Coville and Dr. Walter T. Swingle. Seeds from Siraitia grosvenorii fruits purchased in a San Francisco Chinese store were included in Swingle's original botanical description of the species in 1941. 

Large numbers of dried fruit have been exported from Canton to Cantonese populations in the United States since their immigration to California to work on the Transcontinental Railroad in the mid 1860’s.
Thus the exportation and safe use of this material out of China into the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other foreign markets is well documented.

According to the records in The History of Yongning (Now called Yongfu) (1885) and The History of Lingui (1905), Luo Han Guo fruit had been used in China as medicine to treat various human conditions. Thus the history of medicinal usage of this fruit in China spans many years. 

According to the records of The Grand Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine and The History of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangxi, Luo Han Guo fruit contains, “compositions which are good for the health of human beings and can affect many illnesses” and are not only used as Traditional Chinese Medicine, but also widely used in the daily life of the local people. The dried fruits are usually stored and used for making various drinks, teas, and soups which are consumed daily all year round. They are also widely used in candy, crackers, cakes, and juices.

A Japanese company has imported Luo Han Guo fruit extract, which contains the active ingredient mogroside, from China for many years for use in its own manufactured product and as a powdered sweetener for domestic and international markets.

The active ingredient responsible for the sweet taste has been identified chemically as a mix of three compounds, mogroside IV, mogroside V, and mogroside VI. Mogroside V ( the sweetest of the three mogrosides) is highly soluble in water and alcohol, is non-fermentable, and is extremely heat stable and thus has broad applications in natural medicine, food, beverage, and personal healthcare products. There are no reports in either the medical or public literature of any safety issues or health problems arising from the regular use of mogroside.

Description:

Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey ex Lu & Zhang. Botanical synonyms are Momordica grosvenorii Swingle and Thladiantha grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey.

Common names: Luo Han Guo, Lo Han Kuo, Arhat Fruit, Fructus Momordicae, Momordicae Grosvenori Fructus. Mogroside.

Plant Family: Cucurbitaceae. The cucumber, melon, squash, and gourd family.

Botanical Notes and Description: The original botanical description of Siraitia grosvenorii (Mogroside)  was published in 1941 by W.T. Swingle from plants collected in southern China. Swingle named the plant Momordica Grosvenori in honor of Dr. Gilbert Grosvenor, the president of the National Geographic Society, the sponsor of an expedition to collect Lo Han Guo in China by Professor G.W. Groff. In 1941, Swingle described the plant as a cultivated dioecious vine with bifid tendrils, climbing 2-5 meters with tuberous, perennial roots. The fruits and leaves of the four principal cultivated varieties were described as showing "rather striking differences in the shape and color of the fruit and in the shape and size of the leaves…." Fruits of plants that were of wild origin were not studied by Swingle (Swingle, 1941).

 Human Use

Historical uses. The most complete report in English on the traditional uses of Siraitia grosvenorii or Mogroside in China is the unpublished manuscript written in 1938 by Professor G.W. Groff and Hoh Hin Cheung. In China, the fruits were reported as frequently used as the main ingredient in "cooling drinks" or "cooling tea". The juice of fresh fruits was reported to be very sweet. Groff and Hoh reported that all Siraitia grosvenorii fruits of commerce were carefully dried over fires in special drying sheds.

 Groff and Hoh reported that the, "Lo-Han fruit of commerce when cooked with pork or steeped with tea provides a common Chinese household remedy for colds and congestion of the lungs." Groff and Hoh concluded from interviews and the fact that Siraitia grosvenorii was not listed in several classical Chinese Medical texts that the plant had only become extensively used in China in recent history.

However, the development of distinct cultivars and the amount of knowledge of Luo Han Guo's growth, pollination, climatic, and drying requirements implies a fairly long history of use by some group of people. The origin of the plant’s common name is uncertain but Siraitia grosvenorii in Chinese culture is associated with the saints that surrounded Buddha and Guo or kuo generally refers to a fruit. If the plant was brought into cultivation by aboriginal or tribal people as proposed by Groff, then the common name may have had a different meaning to the original tribe. Although Swingle (1941) reported the plant to be cultivated by the non-Chinese Miao-tze people, the Zhuangs are the most numerous of the more than ten nationalities that live in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The earliest report of Lo Han in America is Professor Groff's report that during a visit in 1917 to United States Department of Agriculture botanist Dr. Frederick Coville's office, Groff was shown a Lo Han fruit obtained from a local Chinese store in Washington, DC that was purchased by Dr. Coville and Dr. Walter T. Swingle. Seeds from Siraitia grosvenorii fruits purchased in a San Francisco Chinese store were included in Swingle's original botanical description of the species in 1941.

Current uses. Dried fruits are used whole, powered or in block forms as a beverage, seasoning, and as a traditional medicine for analgesic, expectorant, antitussive, and to treat infiltration of the lungs (Takamoto, et al., 1978).

The Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Jiangsu New Medical College, 1977) recommends the use of dried fruits as good for lung complaints including dry coughs and as a laxative at a consumption rate of 10-15 g or one fruit
boiled in water per day. The Chinese book Fruit as Medicine (Dai and Liu, 1986) reports the fruits are used for heat stroke with thirst, acute and chronic throat inflammation, aphonia, chronic cough, constipation in the aged, and as a
sugar substitute for diabetics. 

 In general, the preparation is to boil or simmer the fruit in water and drink as an herb tea. As a sugar substitute in cooking, the fruits may be simmered into a thick juice and added during the preparation of the food. The prepared block form "Luohanguo Chongji" is reported to be a popular treatment for colds in China (Dai and Liu, 1986).

In the United States, there is, in general, a strict dichotomy of foods and medicines. To provide a more accurate understanding of the use of Siraitia grosvenorii by the Chinese we should consider the role of food and medicine from the Chinese perspective. As emphasized in Food in Chinese Culture, an overriding idea about food in China is that food is intimately relevant to health and "Food, therefore, is also medicine." In south China, Anderson and Anderson (1977) report that the major concern is to balance "cooling" and "heating" foods to maintain good health. They report that carrots and watercress are consumed almost as often as "cooling" medicines as for food.