Are loquat leaves toxic, and what is the market price per jin?

Loquat leaves are the leaves of the loquat tree, an evergreen small tree in the Rosaceae family. A TV drama said that “new loquat leaves are toxic, while old leaves are not”, and many people became frightened after watching it. So, are loquat leaves really toxic? What is the price per jin?

1. Are loquat leaves toxic?

Loquat leaves themselves are not toxic.

1. Loquat leaves are the leaves of the loquat tree, 12-30 cm long and 3-9 cm wide, leathery, lanceolate, oblanceolate, obovate, or elliptic-oblong, with an acute or acuminate apex, a cuneate base or one that gradually narrows into the petiole, sparse serrate margins, a wrinkled upper surface, and dense gray-brown tomentum on the lower surface.

2. The loquat tree is distributed in central and southern China as well as Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, China, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places, and its leaves can be harvested throughout the year; whether new leaves or old leaves, they themselves are not toxic, but new leaves have a layer of fine hairs on the surface and are slightly toxic, and eating them raw will release a trace amount of cyanide, so the fine hairs need to be brushed off; if they are not brushed off, the fine hairs may stick to the throat wall, thereby causing worsened coughing symptoms, and in severe cases may cause throat edema, leading to difficulty breathing.

3. Loquat leaves are a common traditional Chinese medicinal material, bitter and slightly pungent in taste and slightly cold in nature, with the effects of clearing the lungs and stopping cough, harmonizing the stomach and directing qi downward, and quenching thirst, and are mainly used for lung-heat phlegm cough, yin-deficiency consumptive cough, coughing blood, epistaxis, vomiting blood, stomach-heat vomiting and hiccups, severe vomiting during pregnancy, vomiting of milk in infants, consumptive thirst, and lung-wind facial sores and other conditions; however, it must not be taken by those with stomach-cold vomiting and wind-cold cough patterns, because if taken, it will not only fail to relieve the symptoms but will also worsen the condition, so for patients with stomach-cold vomiting and wind-cold cough patterns, loquat leaves are “toxic”.

2. What is the price of loquat leaves per jin?

Loquat leaves differ in price depending on the specification, place of origin, and market.

1. According to the 8u58 medicinal materials website, the price of loquat leaves (green general grade) is 4 yuan/kg, and loquat leaves (yellow general grade) are 3 yuan/kg.

2. According to the China Medicinal Materials Market website, the price of loquat leaves (green-colored goods) is 4 yuan/kg, and loquat leaves (general goods) are 2.8 yuan/kg.

3. According to the Kangmei Traditional Chinese Medicine website, the price of loquat leaves (general goods) is 3.5 yuan/kg in the Bozhou area, 3.8 yuan/kg in Anguo, 4 yuan/kg in the Chengdu, Lianqiao, and Puning areas, and 4.2 yuan/kg in the Yulin area.

4. According to the Traditional Chinese Medicinal Materials World website, the place-of-origin price of loquat leaves (green general grade) is 2.4 yuan/kg in Chengdu, Sichuan, 2.2 yuan/kg in Yiling District, Hubei, and 2.3 yuan/kg in Putian, Fujian; the place-of-origin price is 4 yuan/kg in the Hehuachi medicinal market, Yulin medicinal market, Bozhou medicinal market, and Anguo medicinal market.

Summary: Loquat leaves themselves are not toxic, and they are a common traditional Chinese medicinal material with the effects of clearing the lungs and stopping cough, harmonizing the stomach and directing qi downward, and quenching thirst, but new leaves have a layer of fine hairs on the surface and are slightly toxic, and eating them raw will release a trace amount of cyanide, so the fine hairs need to be brushed off; their price is mostly between 3-4 yuan/kg, and the specific price is subject to the local area.