Bencao Gangmu: Huanglian (Coptis)

Basic Information

【Alias】Huanglian, Chuanlian, Jianglian, Chuanhuanglian, Jianghuanglian, Jiangchuanlian, Jiangzhi Huanglian, Yulian, Yuhuanglian, Chao Huanglian, Wuyuhuanglian, Jiu Lian, Jiu Huanglian, Jiu Yinlian, Pig bile fried Huanglian, Salt fried Huanglian, Huanglian charcoal, Jiang juice fried Chuanlian, Weilian, etc. 【Source】 This product is the dried rhizome of the plant Coptis teeta Wall. of the Ranunculaceae family. 【Original Plant】 1. Huanglian: A perennial herb with branched rhizomes resembling chicken feet. The leaves are basal with long petioles; the leaf blades are ovate-triangular, trifoliate, with the central lobe being ridged and deeply lobed, and the edges serrated. There are 1-2 flower stalks, terminal, with 3-8 flowers in a compound umbel. 2. Yunlian: The central lobe of the leaf is ovate-ridged or long-ridged. Deeply lobed with 3-6 pairs of lobes. 【Properties】Bitter, cold. Meridians: Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder, Large Intestine. 【Functions and Indications】 Clear heat and dry dampness, drain fire and detoxify. Used for damp-heat fullness, vomiting, acid regurgitation, diarrhea, jaundice, high fever with delirium, excessive heart fire, irritability and insomnia, blood-heat vomiting and epistaxis, red eyes, toothache, diabetes, carbuncles; externally used for eczema, damp sores, and ear discharge. Jiu Huanglian is good for clearing upper jiao heat. Used for red eyes and oral ulcers. Jiang Huanglian harmonizes the stomach and stops vomiting. Used for cold-heat counterflow, damp-heat obstruction, fullness and vomiting. Yuhuanglian soothes the liver and harmonizes the stomach to stop vomiting. Used for liver-stomach disharmony, vomiting and acid regurgitation. 【Applications】 1. Used for damp-heat accumulation, gastrointestinal damp-heat, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Combined with Huangqin (Scutellaria baicalensis), Dahuang (Rhubarb), etc., it can treat damp-heat accumulation. For damp-heat lingering in the gastrointestinal tract, often combined with Banxia (Pinellia ternata), Zhuru (Bamboo shavings); combined with Muxiang (Aucklandia), Huangqin, Gegen (Pueraria) to treat diarrhea. 2. Used for warm diseases with high fever, thirst, irritability, blood-heat recklessly moving, and heat-toxicity sores. For warm diseases with high fever and excessive heart fire, combined with Zhizi (Gardenia), Lianqiao (Forsythia), etc.; for blood-heat recklessly moving, can be combined with Huangqin, Dahuang, etc.; for heat-toxicity sores, can be combined with Chisha (Red Peony), Mudanpi (Moutan Root), etc. In addition, Huanglian can also be used for stomach fire blazing in the middle jiao, can be combined with Tianhuafen (Trichosanthes), Zhimu (Anemarrhena), Shengdihuang (Rehmannia), etc.; applied orally, can treat oral and tongue ulcers. 【Dosage and Administration】 Decoction, 2-5g. For external use, apply as needed. 【Precautions】 This product is very bitter and cold; excessive or prolonged use can harm the spleen and stomach. It is contraindicated for those with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold. Bitter and dry can injure fluids; use cautiously for those with yin deficiency and fluid injury. 「Indications」1. Heart meridian excess heat. Use Huanglian Qiyi, add 1.5 bowls of water, decoct to 1 bowl, take warm after meals (after a while). Reduce dosage for children. 2. Summer heat causing fever, thirst, vomiting, and red-white dysentery. Use 1 jin of Huanglian, cut small, add 2.5 sheng of good wine, boil until dry, then roast and grind into balls the size of a wutong seed. Take 50 balls each time, three times a day. This formula is called “Huanglong Wan”. 3. Bone heat and yellowing. Use 4 fen of Huanglian, cut small, add 5 large cups of children’s urine, soak overnight, simmer for 3-4 boils, remove the dregs, take in two doses. 4. Children’s malnutrition heat (skin sores, tidal fever, abdominal distension, thirst). Use 5 liang of Huanglian, cut into pieces, moisten with water, place in a pig’s stomach, sew it up, steam with rice until cooked, mash with a little rice into balls the size of mung beans. Take 20 balls each time, with rice soup. Additionally, take blood-regulating heart medications for faster recovery. 5. Diabetes with frequent urination. Use Huanglian powder mixed with honey to form balls the size of a wutong seed, take 30 balls each time. Another formula: 0.5 jin of Huanglian, 1 sheng of wine, place in boiling water for a while, dry, grind into balls the size of a wutong seed. Take 50 balls each time, with warm water. 6. Urine like oil (note: this is a late-stage diabetes condition). Use 5 liang of Huanglian, 5 liang of Gualou (Trichosanthes), grind into powder, mix with fresh Rehmannia juice to form balls the size of a wutong seed. Take 50 balls each time, with milk. Twice a day. Avoid cold water and pork. 7. Tetanus. Use 5 qian of Huanglian, add a bowl of wine, decoct until 70% done, then add 3 qian of yellow wax, dissolve, take warm. 8. Leucorrhea. Use equal parts Huanglian and Baifuling (Poria), grind into powder, add wine and paste to form balls the size of a wutong seed. Take 30 balls each time, with soup made from Bu Guo Zhi (Psoralea). Three times a day. 9. Dysentery with blood. Use 1 liang of Huanglian, add 2 sheng of water, boil down to half a jin, expose overnight, take warm on an empty stomach the next day. Another formula: 1 liang of Huanglian, mix with egg white to make a cake, roast until purple, grind finely, with 3 sheng of water, simmer into a paste. Take half a cup, with warm rice soup. Simply mixing egg white with Huanglian powder into balls is also acceptable. Another formula: 2 liang of Huanglian, cut into pieces, roast until charred, add 1 liang of Danggui (Angelica), grind into powder, then add a little musk. Take 2 qian each time, with aged rice soup. 10. Cold and hot dysentery. Use 1.5 liang of Huanglian, 1 liang of Longgu (Dragon Bone), 1 Dazhuzi (Aconite), 1.5 liang of Ganjiang (Dried Ginger), 1.5 liang of gelatin, cut finely, add 5 cups of water, boil and stop, slightly cool, add water to boil, repeat this nine times, finally obtain 1 sheng of medicinal juice, take all at once. 11. Dysentery with abdominal pain, urgency, and heaviness. Use equal parts Huanglian and Muxiang (Aucklandia), grind into powder, mix with honey to form balls the size of a wutong seed. Take 20-30 balls each time. Once a day. This formula is called “Xianglian Wan”. 12. Hemorrhoids. Use Huanglian powder to apply, adding red adzuki bean powder is even better. 13. Hemorrhoids with constipation. Use equal parts Huanglian and Zhike (Bitter Orange), grind into powder, mix with paste to form balls the size of a wutong seed, take 50 balls each time, with rice soup. 14. Diarrhea, spleen deficiency. Use 1 liang of Huanglian, 4 liang of fresh ginger, stir-fry until the ginger is crispy. Remove, grind separately. For diarrhea, use ginger powder; for spleen deficiency, use Huanglian powder. Take 2 qian each time, on an empty stomach, with hot water. This formula is called “Shensheng Xianghuang San”, also treats dysentery. 15. Continuous vomiting of blood. Use 1 liang of Huanglian, crush, add 20 grains of drum, boil with water to remove dregs, take warm. 16. Eye diseases. Use Huanglian in any amount, crush, soak in clear water for 60 days, then extract the juice and simmer until dry. Additionally, use Ai (Mugwort) to cover tiles, burn Ai, place the dried medicinal bowl on top, allowing it to be smoked by Ai. After the Ai smoke is gone, scrape the bottom of the bowl to make balls the size of small beans. Take 10 balls each time, with sweet bamboo leaf soup. 17. Sudden red and painful eyes. Use Huanglian crushed and soaked in egg white overnight, the next day, filter out the dregs, use chicken feathers to dip in egg white to apply to the eyes. Another formula: use Huanglian and wintergreen leaves to decoct and wash the eyes. Another formula: equal parts Huanglian, Ganjiang, and Xingren (Apricot Kernel), grind into powder, wrap in cotton, soak in hot water, use while hot to wash the eyes. 18. Itchy and painful eyes. Use Huanglian soaked in milk, take the juice at any time to apply to the eyes. 19. Continuous tearing. Use Huanglian soaked in water to make a concentrated juice for washing. 20. Toothache. Use Huanglian powder to apply to the painful area. 21. Oral and tongue ulcers. Use Huanglian decocted in wine, gargle frequently. 22. Children’s oral thrush. Use equal parts Huanglian and Aloe, take 5 fen each time, with honey soup. If it is a case of running horse thrush, add toad powder in equal parts, reduce Qingdai (Indigo) by half, and add a little musk. 23. Children’s ear sores (called monthly erosion). Use Huanglian powder to apply. 24. Fetal movement with bleeding. Use Huanglian ground into powder, take 1 teaspoon each time, with wine. Three times a day. 25. Pregnant women with irritability and insomnia. Use Huanglian ground into powder, take 1 qian each time, with thin rice porridge. 26. Unknown swelling and toxicity. Use equal parts Huanglian and Binglang (Betel Nut), grind into powder, mix with egg white to apply to the affected area. This formula can be used whether the sore has ruptured or not. 27. Poisoning from Ba Dou (Croton) causing continuous diarrhea. Use equal parts Huanglian and Ganjiang, grind into powder, take 1 teaspoon, with water.

Huanglian Compatibility and Contraindications

Spleen deficiency with vomiting, spleen deficiency with diarrhea, and five o’clock kidney diarrhea should be used cautiously. 1. Bencao Jing Jizhu: Avoid Chrysanthemum, Wuhua, Xuan Shen, Baixian; avoid Kuan Dong. 2. Yao Xing Lun: Avoid Bai Jiangcan, avoid pork. 3. Shu Bencao: Avoid Niuxi. 4. Gangmu: Huanglian is very bitter and very cold; it should be used to drain fire and dry dampness, and should be stopped when the condition is resolved; how can it be used for a long time, causing the cold and harsh energy to persist, thus harming the vital energy? 5. Bencao Zheng: Huanglian is good for draining heart and spleen excess fire; using it recklessly for deficiency heat will lead to Yang collapse, hence the caution from Kou Zongying: those who are deficient and cold should not use it lightly; Wang Haizang states: Huanglian should not be used for prolonged blood dysentery in summer, as it is yin within. 6. Bencao Jing Shu: For patients with blood deficiency and qi deficiency, weak spleen and stomach, insufficient blood leading to palpitations and insomnia, along with irritability, thirst, and postpartum insomnia, blood deficiency with fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain, children with smallpox, Yang deficiency causing diarrhea, post-dysentery diarrhea, elderly with weak spleen and stomach causing diarrhea, and yin deficiency causing morning diarrhea, the condition is called kidney diarrhea, true yin deficiency, internal heat, and irritability should be avoided. Offending it can be dangerous. 7. Bencao Xinjian: Huanglian, bitter in taste, cold in nature, can ascend and descend, is yin, and non-toxic. It enters the heart and collaterals. It is the best for draining fire, and can also enter the liver. Generally, it can enter the meridians, especially the heart meridian. It stops vomiting, relieves thirst, treats fiery eyes, calms the mind, stops nocturnal emissions, alleviates fullness, and reduces swelling in women. It treats children’s malnutrition and relieves summer heat, damp heat, and stagnant heat, with specific efficacy.

Bencao Literature

Shennong Bencao Jing: Bitter, cold. Main indications include heat qi, eye pain, tearing, brightening the eyes, intestinal dysentery, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and swelling and pain in women’s genitalia. Long-term use leads to forgetfulness. Mingyi Bielu: Slightly cold, non-toxic. Main indications include the five organs’ cold and heat, chronic diarrhea, purulent blood, stopping thirst, relieving great fright, removing water, benefiting bones, regulating the stomach, thickening the intestines, benefiting the gallbladder, and treating oral ulcers. Bencao Shiyi: Main indications include emaciation and shortness of breath. Yao Xing Lun: Avoid Bai Jiangcan, avoid pork, avoid cold water. Kills children’s parasites, alleviates red eyes and pain, calms the liver, and removes heat toxicity. Rihua Zibencao: Treats the five labors and seven injuries, benefits qi, stops heart and abdominal pain, calms fright, relieves irritability, moistens the heart and lungs, promotes flesh growth, stops bleeding, and treats sores and sweating, and summer heat diseases. Steamed pig stomach balls treat children’s malnutrition. Kaibao Bencao: Bitter, slightly cold, non-toxic. Treats the five organs’ cold and heat, chronic diarrhea, purulent blood, stopping thirst, relieving great fright, removing water, benefiting bones, regulating the stomach, thickening the intestines, benefiting the gallbladder, and treating oral ulcers. Bencao Tujing: Huanglian treats many eye diseases, especially the sheep liver pill is particularly unique. Eye diseases are caused by blood stasis, hence using blood-moving herbs combined with Huanglian for treatment. Blood flows when heated, hence the need for hot washing. Bencao Yanyi: Nowadays, many use it to treat dysentery, which is based on the bitter and dry nature. For diarrhea, if there is slight blood and qi deficiency, it should not be used. Also, do not consider the balance of cold and heat, but use the full dosage, which can lead to danger. If the qi is solid at the onset of the disease, with much heat and blood dysentery, it can be used, but it is not necessary to use the full dosage. If it is deficient and cold, it should not be used. Other references are in the classics. Yao Lei Fa Xiang: Drains heart fire, removes damp heat from the spleen and stomach, treats irritability and nausea, and resolves heat in the middle jiao, leading to a desire to vomit. It is essential for treating heart fullness. Zhang Zhongjing treated nine types of heart fullness, all using the same heart-draining decoction. Yao Xing Fu: Bitter, neutral, cold, non-toxic. It is heavy and yin. Its uses are fourfold: draining heart fire, eliminating heart fullness; treating intestinal dysentery, removing mixed blood from the intestines; treating sudden eye diseases; and healing sores and ulcers. Tangye Bencao: Cold in nature, bitter in taste. The taste is thick, and the energy is thin, indicating yin within yang. It ascends and descends, and is non-toxic. Xiang: Drains heart fire, removes damp heat from the spleen and stomach, treats irritability and nausea, and resolves heat in the middle jiao, leading to a desire to vomit. It is essential for treating heart fullness. Zhang Zhongjing treated nine types of heart fullness, all using the same heart-draining decoction. Yao Xin: Drains heart fire, treats red and swollen eyes and various sores, and is essential for use. Bitter and cold indicate excess yang, and bitterness removes it. It calms parasites, regulates cold, and treats lower body deficiency, strengthening the kidneys. Zhen: Wine-fried Huanglian ascends, while wine-soaked Huanglian ascends to the head. Bencao: Main indications include heat qi, eye pain, tearing, brightening the eyes, intestinal dysentery, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and swelling and pain in women’s genitalia. Long-term use leads to forgetfulness. Yao: Enters the hand’s Shaoyin, bitter and dry, hence enters the heart, where fire becomes dry. However, draining the heart actually drains the spleen, as the child can make the mother solid, and when solid, it drains the child. Treating blood and preventing wind is best done with Huanglian as the middle agent, and Dihuang as the lower agent. The ancient method of using Huanglian to prevent rashes: decoct Huanglian once, and when the child has not yet cried, administer it, which is very effective. If the child has already cried, it will still be mild. The ancient formula uses Huanglian as the best for treating dysentery. Yanyi: Treats dysentery with slight blood, and should not be used recklessly. It is a bitter and dry agent; for the deficient, it can lead to danger, while for the solid, it is suitable. Bencao also states: Longgu, Lishi, and Huangqin are used, while avoiding Chrysanthemum, Wuhua, Xuan Shen, and Baixian, and avoiding Kuan Dong, which is stronger than Wutou, and can resolve Ba Dou toxicity. Bencao Yanyi Buzhi: Frying with ginger juice disperses heat effectively. Bencao Huifang: Cheng Liao She states: Bitter enters the heart, cold removes heat. The bitterness of Dahuang and Huanglian guides the draining of heart heat. It is also stated: For upper heat, drain it with bitterness; Huanglian’s bitterness descends yang. It is also stated: Parasites move with sweetness, but are calmed by bitterness; Huanglian and Huangbai’s bitterness calms parasites. The ancient texts state: Draining heart fire, removing damp heat from the spleen and stomach, treating irritability and nausea, and resolving heat in the middle jiao, leading to a desire to vomit. Bitter and cold indicate excess yang, and bitterness removes it. It calms parasites, regulates cold, and treats lower body deficiency, strengthening the kidneys. Disclaimer:Content on this site is added and organized by users for learning and reference purposes. Information on the site may not be accurate, comprehensive, or up-to-date, and the content should not be considered the final basis for diagnosing or treating diseases.Shanhe Pharmaceutical Networkreminds users that if you feel unwell, please seek medical attention promptly. Thank you for your support and love; we will strive to do better~!!!