Liquidambar formosana.  路 路 通 Lù lù tōng   Chinese sweet gum, Formosan gum  Family: Altingiaceae     
PART USED: Fruit
Nature: Neutral   FLAVOR: Slightly bitter
FUNCTIONS
1. Facilitate channels, benefit water.[1]
INDICATIONS
1. Arthritis, diminished urination, shortage of milk secretion.[1]
PREPARATIONS: Dry ripe fruit 4-9 g.[1]

ORIGIN: East Asia
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

Essential oil from leaves of Liquidambar formosana ameliorates inflammatory response in lipopolysaccharide-activated mouse macrophages.
Hua KF, Yang TJ, Chiu HW, Ho CL.
Abstract
The essential oil from Liquidambar formosana leaves (EOLF) was demonstrated to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity in mouse macrophages. EOLF reduced nitrite oxide generation, secretion levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6, and expression levels of prointerleukin-beta, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated mouse macrophages. EOLF also reduced NLRP3 inflammasome-derived interleukin-1beta secretion. The underlying mechanisms for the EOLF-mediated anti-inflammatory activity were (1) reduction of LPS-induced reactive oxygen species generation; (2) reduction of LPS-induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and p38 MAP kinase; (3) reduction of LPS-induced nuclear factor-kappaBeta activation. Furthermore, 25 compounds were identified in the EOLF using GC-FID and GC-MS and the major compounds were terpinen-4-ol (32.0%), beta-pinene (18.0%), gamma-terpinene (13.8%), and alpha-terpinene (9.7%). We found that LPS-induced nitrite oxide generation was inhibited significantly by terpinen-4-ol. Our results indicated that EOLF has anti-inflammatory activity and may provide a molecular rationale for future therapeutic interventions in immune modulation.
PMID: 25115103 Nat Prod Commun. 2014 Jun;9(6):869-72. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pentacyclic triterpenes from the resin of Liquidambar formosana
Nian-Yun Yang1, Jian-Hua Chen, Gui-Sheng Zhou, Yu-Ping Tang, Jin-Ao Duan, Li-Juan Tian, Xun-Hong Liu
Abstract
Two new pentacyclic triterpenes and eight known pentacyclic triterpenes were isolated from the petroleum ether extract of Liquidambaris Resina. The structural elucidation of these compounds was determined by spectroscopic data interpretation. Their cytotoxic and antiplatelet aggregation activities were examined to find potent cytotoxic and antiplatelet aggregation compounds from natural resources. The results showed that 3-keto oleane triterpenes had strong cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-435S cancer cells and that 28-carboxyl oleane triterpenes possessed significant inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by ADP.
Fitoterapia 2011 Sep;82(6):927-31. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2011.05.003. Epub 2011 May 14. PMID: 21605635 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2011.05.003 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov