INDIVIDUAL HERBS

Pharmaceutical Latin: Cortex Phellodendri
Common English: Amur Cork-Tree Bark
Phellodendron Bark
Siberian Cork-Tree Bark
Herbs That Clean Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs That Clean Heat and Dry Dampness
Taste Temperature Entering Meridians Dosage
Bitter
Cold
Kidney
Urinary Bladder
(Large Intestine)
3-12g
Tincture: 2-4ml
Actions Indications/Syndromes

Drains Damp-Heat especially from the Lower Jiao

Thick, yellow vaginal discharge, foul smelling diarrhea or dysenteric disorder

Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao

Hot Leg Qi with red, swollen, painful knees, legs or feet

Damp-Heat jaundice

Drains Kidney Fire (False Heat, Deficiency Heat)

Kidney Yin Deficiency with Empty Fire Rising (steaming bone disorder, night sweats, afternoon fevers and sweating, occasionally with nocturnal emissions and spermatorrhea)

Drains Fire and relieves Fire toxicity

Toxic sores and Damp-skin lesions (internally and topically)

CONTRAINDICATIONS
  • Contraindicated in Spleen and Stomach Deficiency with or without diarrhea.
  • Contraindicated for those with general Yang Deficiency.
INCOMPATIBILITIES
HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

Sm. Plantaginis
Che Qian Zi

Sm. Plantaginis
Che Qian Zi
Rx. Dioscoreae
Shan Yao
Sm. Euryales
Qian Shi
Sm. Ginkgo
Bai Guo

Rx. Paeoniae Rubra
Chi Shao

Burning, painful, hesitant urination.

Yellow vaginal discharge due to Damp-Heat.

Hot, bloody dysenteric disorders.

Rz. Coptidis
Huang Lian
Rx. Pulsatillae
Bai Tou Weng
Cx. Fraxini
Qin Pi

Rx. Aucklandiae
Mu Xiang

Hb. Asari
Xi Xin

 

Damp-Heat diarrhea or dysenteric disorders.

Acute diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Urinary frequency, urgency, discomfort and pain.

Rz. Atractylodis
Cang Zhu
Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae
Niu Xi

Fr. Gardeniae
Zhi Zi
Hb. Artemisiae Scopariae
Yin Chen Hao
(Rx. et Rz. Rhei)
(Da Huang)

Rz. Anemarrhenae
Zhi Mu

 

Damp-Heat leg Qi.

Damp-Heat jaundice.

Yin Deficiency fever with steaming bones and night sweats.

Lower Jiao Damp-Heat.

Rx. Rehmanniae
Sheng Di Huang
Plastrum Testudinis
Gui Ban

Rx. Angelicae Sinensis
Dang Gui
Rx. Achyranthis Bidentatae
Niu Xi

Rx. Sophorae Flavescentis
Ku Shen
Periostracum Cicadae
Chan Tui

Steaming bone disorder and spermatorrhea due to Yin Deficiency.

Sore and weak low back and legs.

Eczema.

Pig Gall

Rz. Atractylodis
Cang Zhu

Fr. Gardeniae
Zhi Zi

Topically for sores and abscesses.

Eliminates Dampness and clears Heat for:
Lower Jiao Damp-Heat with pain, swelling, and weakness in the lower limbs.
Damp-Heat vaginal discharge.
Damp-Heat sores.

Regulates painful obstruction in the legs and knees.

Resolves constraint and directs Qi downward for clearing Heat and Fire from the Liver channel.

Eliminates pathogenic Dampness from the Liver/Gallbladder for Yang type jaundice with noticeable fever, markedly yellow/orange skin and eyes, thirst and a red tongue with a yellow coat.

Lower Jiao Damp-Heat leading to hot, painful urinary dysfunction.

Rz. Coptidis
Huang Lian
Rx. Aucklandiae
Mu Xiang
Hb. Portulacae
Ma Chi Xian
Rx. Paeoniae Alba
Bai Shao

Rz. Atractylodis
Cang Zhu
Rx. Cyathulae
Chuan Niu Xi
Sm. Coicis
Yi Yi Ren

Cx. Eucommiae
Du Zhong
Rx. Angelicae Sinensis
Dang Gui
Rx. Cyathulae
Chuan Niu Xi

Dysentery.

Bi syndrome.

Bi syndrome with sore and weak low back and knees.

Hb. Polygoni Avicularis
Bian Xu
Caul. Akebiae
Mu Tong

Charred Rz. Imperatae
Bai Mao Gen
Herba sive Radix Cirsii Japonici
Da Ji
Hb. Cirsii
Xiao Ji
Caul. Akebiae
Mu Tong

Fr. Gardeniae
Zhi Zi
Rz. Alismatis
Ze Xie
Sm. Plantaginis
Che Qian Zi

Lin syndrome.

Use charred with the above herbs for hematuria.

Yellow vaginal discharge.

Hb. Polygoni Avicularis
Bian Xu
Talcum
Hua Shi
Caul. Akebiae
Mu Tong

Flos Sophorae
Huai Hua
Rx. Sanguisorbae
Di Yu
Rx. Saposhnikoviae
Fang Feng

Rz. Coptidis
Huang Lian
Fr. Forsythiae
Lian Qiao

Dysuria.

Bleeding hemorrhoids.

Skin abscesses and lesions.

Rx. Sophorae Flavescentis
Ku Shen
Periostracum Cicadae
Chan Tui
Fr. Forsythiae
Lian Qiao

Fel Porcus
Zhu Dan

Egg Whites

Rashes and eczema.

Topically for carbuncles or furuncles.

Topically for breast abscesses.

Hb. Artemisiae Annuae
Qing Hao
Carapax Trionycis
Bie Jia

Rz. Anemarrhenae
Zhi Mu

Rz. Curculiginis
Xian Mao
Hb. Epimedii
Yin Yang Huo
Rx. Morindae Officinalis
Ba Ji Tian

Sm Tritici Levis
Fu Xiao Mai

Severe Yin Deficiency Fire.

Kidney Yin and Yang Deficiency with Yin Deficiency Fire.

Night sweats.

Fossilia Ossis Mastodi
Long Gu
Concha Ostreae
Mu Li

Mel
Feng Mi
Rx. Codonopsis
Dang Shen

Rz. Atractylodis Macrocephalae
Bai Zhu
Rx. Aconiti Lateralis Preparata
Zhi Fu Zi

 

Irritability.

For stomatitis, roast with the above herbs and gargle.

 

  1. This is the primary herb for treating Deficiency Fire.
  2. It is known as “the poor man’s cure-all because of its antibiotic properties and low cost.
  3. The bark is ground to a powder and applied externally for Damp-Heat skin ailments.
  4. It creates a nauseating flavor in herb teas because of its bitterness.
  5. It is used as an eye wash when decocted in liquid.
  6. It is used to clear Heat from the Stomach and Intestines.
  7. It is also said to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
  8. This herb is said to eliminate uric acid.
  9. It is also known to be a cholegogue.
  10. It can treat gastrointestinal infections, cerebrospinal meningitis, suppurative otitis media, urinary tract infections, candida, trichomonas and gout.
  11. It is said to prolong sleep.
  12. This herb, in combination with Four Substances Decoction Si Wu Tang, treats migrating bone pain in the extremities, feet and knee pain, malignant sores all over the body, serious beriberi, nausea, and hiccup.
  13. This herb reduces Excess Heat and Yin Deficiency Fire when roasted with wine, extinguishes lower Jiao Fire when roasted with salt, expels Phlegm-Fire when roasted with ginger, eliminates Damp-Heat when roasted black with ginger juice and diminishes Deficiency Fire when roasted black with salty wine.
  14. This herb treats Heat in the Urinary Bladder, dysuria, Damp swelling in the Lower Jiao, early-stage bloody dysentery, navel pain and Kidney Yin Deficiency.
  15. For stomatitis, roast this herb with honey and gargle.
  16. Dry-fried Phellodendron Chao Huang Bai  has reduced cold properties and is reduced potential for damaging the Spleen.  It is used to direct Lower Jiao Fire downward to protect Kidney water.
  17. Wine-fried Phellodendron Jiu Chao Huang Bai  is best for cooling Upper Jiao Blood Heat.  It is used for when Yin Fire flares upward causing ulcers of the mouth and tongue. It also adds Blood Invigorating, Stasis Dispersing qualities to the herb and makes it useful in treating Blood Stagnation with Heat.
  18. This herb is an excellent remedy for a wide range of intestinal dysbiosis and toxicosis conditions including food allergies, giardiasis, and acute skin and middle ear infections.
  19. Huang Bai, Rz. Coptidis Huang Lian and Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin all clear Heat, drain Fire, relieve toxicity and dry Dampness and are used for Damp-Heat or Heat Toxin with overwhelming Fire. Huang Bai primarily drains Kidney Fire and reduces Lower Jiao Damp-Heat. Huang Lian is best for for draining Heart and Stomach Fire, stopping nausea and eliminating focal distention in the Middle Jiao. Huang Qin is best for draining Lung Fire and calming the fetus.
  20. Huang Bai and Cx. Ailanthi Chun Pi both clear Heat, dry Dampness and treat Damp-Heat vaginal discharge. Huang Bai is very bitter and cold with strong cooling and drying properties to treat a wide variety of syndromes, while Chun Pi restricts, binds and cools the Blood for incessant uterine bleeding, hemafecia and chronic dysentery disorders.