Most people are familiar with the herbal cough syrup known as pipa gao, which uses loquat leaves - called pipa ye in Chinese - as its main ingredient.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the leaves and fruit of the evergreen shrub, harvested throughout the year, are used to relieve coughs, said Ms Pansy Yeo, a TCM practitioner at Chong Hoe Health Products Chinese Medical Store.
The plant is mainly grown in provinces in south-east China such as Guangdong and Guangzhou. It can also be found in European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, Ms Yeo added.
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