Moisten Throat & Get Charming Voice With Malva Nut Tea

Last Updated on 06/24/2023 by Desmond

Have you ever seen some dried seeds, which look like olives, on the dazzling herbal teas shelf? That’s Malva Nut. It has a funny name in Chinese – Fat Ocean(Pang Da Hai). Malva nut tea is considered the best remedy to cure hoarseness in Southeast Asia.

What Is Malva Nut

Malva nut is the seed of the Scaphium affine tree, originating in Southeast Asia and distributed in countries like Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. It was widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian Ayurveda Medicine, sometimes also taken as a food, bringing unique flavor and health benefits to a dish.

Malva nut is a dried fusiform seed that looks like brown olives. But after you soak it in water, it will swell to eight times its original volume and looks like a blob of peach gum(also the color is), so the Chinese call it Fat Ocean(Pangdahai).

It was said that Pangdahai was spread to China through the Silk Roads during Tang and Song Dynasties. Still, it wasn’t used as a medicine until Qing Dynasty. Although Scaphium Affine trees are also cultivated in Nanhai and Guangxi, China, their quality is far from those originating in other Southeast Asia countries.

What Is Malva Nut Tea Good For

Chinese medicine emphasizes “the same origin of medicine and food.” Some herbs with less medical effects can be used as a health supply in daily life, even if you’re not sick; Malva nut is a common one of them. Folks living in China and many Southeast Asia countries have a habit of making tea with malva nuts.

Moisten Your Throat

It is benefited from the antioxidation of flavonoids contented in malva nut. People love making malva nut tea to release sore throat(pharynx actually) and hoarseness caused by hyper vocalization. Many Asian singers and speakers get used to drinking a cup of malva nut tea before they start to work.

Another reason that malva nut is popular in Asia is based on the numerous smokers. Malva nut tea can moisten the dried throat through long-term smoking. But one thing is sure is that it is nothing to help with the bad health effect of smoking. And studies also tell that malva nut tea is also futile with the hoarseness caused by smoking and drinking.

Related Reading: Try These 9 Best Herbal Tea For Sore Throat Relieve

Moisten Your Lung

In TCM, malva nut belongs to a “cool” medicine, which can neutralize the “heat” in the human body, especially the heat in the lung. It helps moisten the lung, release cough, and remove sputum. Well, another self-comforting health benefit for smokers.

Relaxing Bowel and Purgative

TCM thought the cool property of malva nut could help relax the bowel and purgative. It may benefit from the acetylcholine (ACH) component, which can increase gastrointestinal motility.

Diuretic

Malva nut contains diuretic components, plus the water you make it in tea with, stimulates your kidney and helps urination.

Who Is Not Suggested To Drink Malva Nut Tea?

Although malva nut tea comforts your throat, its medicinal effect is a bit stronger than the normal herbals like honeysuckle and monk fruit, etc.; it’s not suitable for long-term intake. TCM advises less than two malva nuts for a brew, and not to take more than one cup daily. Besides, people who are in the following situation should avoid having malva nut tea.

Hypotensive

Malva nut has a certain effect on reducing blood pressure. Hypotensive patients having malva nut tea may cause blood pressure to over-reduce and get symptoms like dizziness and palpitations.

Diabetes

Studies pointed out that some components of malva nut help diabetes. Although the sweet taste of malva nut tea is hard to note, still, malva nut indeed contains sugar itself. So it’s not good for diabetes patients to control their blood glucose.

Diarrhea

People who are suffering from diarrhea should not have malva nut tea; its cool property may exacerbate the symptoms.

Allergy

Some people may be allergic to malva nut, causing symptoms like itching skin, papules, edema lip, palpitation, and chest distress.

Pregnancy

No evidence shows that malva nut tea is bad for pregnant women. However, females during pregnancy should avoid having malva nut tea, for safe.

Avoid Having Moldy Malva Nut

Malva nut contains sugar and it’s easy to go moldy and create aflatoxin. It’s toxic, leads to food poisoning, and worse, may threaten life.

Generally, it’s hard to distinguish the moldy malva nut. You can break it apart and see if there are full of white and green mold.

Malva Nut Tea Recipes

Although malva nut contains sugar and the tea infusion looks colored, in fact, the taste is weak, just a slight sweetness. Thus, people usually brew it with other herbs to get more flavor and health benefits.

Malva Nut Honey Tea

Malva nut and honey both have relaxing bowel and purgative, and release throat effects. Also honey can improve the malva nut weak flavor.

1. Put two malva nuts into an about 500ml cup, fill 100℃ water;
2. Steep for 10-15 minutes(because honey can’t withstand high-temperature, we should wait for the malva nut tea cool down first);
3. Now the tea should cool down to about 40℃, add some honey according to your taste;
4. Enjoy

Malva Nut Pear Tea

Malva nut and pear both have moisten the throat and remove sputum effects, and wolfberry and red dates can help neutralize the cool property of the first two, and bring liver protection benefits.

1. Prepare 2 malva nuts, 1 pear, 4 red dates, moderate honey and wolfberry;
2. Remove the red dates’ pits, cut them into blocks, then put them into a pot, heat in a small fire with water for about 10 minutes;
3. Add in the cleaned-up malva nuts, keep heating with the small fire for about 3 minutes till they are swell;
4. Remove the pit and peel off the pear, then cut it into pieces, add it into the pot with wolfberry, keep heating with the small fire for 2 minutes;
5. Turn off the fire, filter the ingredients off and get the infusion;
6. Season it with honey after it cools down;
7. Enjoy;

Malva Nut Chrysanthemum Dried Tangerine Peel Tea

The joining of the chrysanthemum can help relieve the inflammation caused by over meat and spicy food eating, which is called “heat” in TCM. And dried tangerine peel can bring charming fruit flavor.

1. Prepare 2 malva nuts, 3 red dates, 1 pear, 3g wolfberry and dried tangerine peel, and 20g rock sugar;
2. Remove the pit and peel off the pear, then slice it up;
3. Put the pear slices, red dates, rock sugar, malva nuts and tangerine peel into a pot, fill in water, heating with a small fire for about 15 minutes;
4. Add in chrysanthemum and wolfberry, keep heating with the small fire for about 3 minutes, then turn off;
5. Filter the ingredients off and get the infusion;
6. Enjoy;

Reference

Facts about Malva Nuts Tree;

Overview of Pharmacological Research of Sterculia lychnophora Hance;

Secondary metabolites from Sterculia lychnophora Hance (Pangdahai);

Effect of extracted malva nut gum on reducing high glucose levels by Caco-2 cells;

Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Sterculia lychnophora Hance (Pangdahai);