Everyone should be familiar with the saying “A mute eats bitter herbs, unable to express the pain.” Naturally, the bitter taste of Huang Lian (Coptis chinensis) leaves a profound impression on us! The bitterness of Huang Lian is well-known, but as the saying goes, “Bitter medicine is good for the disease,” its medicinal value is beyond doubt. Huang Lian is a perennial herb from the Ranunculaceae family, with the medicinal part being the underground rhizome of the plant. It is a crucial herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), first recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing (Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica), classified as a superior herb. Li Shizhen noted: “Its roots are connected like beads and are yellow in color, hence the name.”
Huang Lian is categorized into three types, all of which are herbaceous plants: Huang Lian, San Jiao Ye Huang Lian (Triangular Leaf Coptis), and Yun Lian (Cloud Coptis). Huang Lian is primarily produced in Sichuan and Hubei; San Jiao Ye Huang Lian is mainly found in Hongya and Emei in Sichuan; Yun Lian is found in Yunnan and other regions. It is harvested in autumn, used fresh or after being roasted with ginger or wine. Over two thousand years ago, Huang Lian was already used medicinally, and it is now a renowned and precious medicinal material both domestically and internationally. Modern research indicates that Huang Lian possesses antiviral, blood sugar-lowering, anti-tumor, cardiovascular effects, anti-platelet aggregation, and thrombolytic properties, making it widely used in the medical field.
The Story of Huang Lian as a Medicinal Material
Once upon a time, there lived a poor family by the oil grass river in Huangshui, with the male head of the family known as “Huang Laoda.” The family of three lived in a hut made of straw, renting land from the local lord to make a living. Huang Laoda had a daughter named Huang Lian, who would go up the hill every day to cut pig grass and gather firewood, sometimes bringing back wild fruits to honor her parents. In the autumn of Huang Lian’s thirteenth year, a dysentery epidemic broke out locally, causing countless deaths. Both Huang Laoda and his wife fell ill and passed away, leaving Huang Lian all alone. Soon after, Huang Lian was captured by the local lord to serve the mad young lady of the family, where she worked as a servant for four years and met a young man named Qin Geng who took care of the horses.
The lord wanted to betroth her to his godson as a concubine. Upon learning this, Huang Lian hurried to seek help from Qin Geng, but he was too frightened to return home after losing a horse. With no way out, Huang Lian ultimately committed suicide by hanging herself from a pine tree using a vine. After learning of her death, Qin Geng built a straw hut by her grave. Days passed, and grass grew abundantly on Huang Lian’s grave. One day, after selling firewood, Qin Geng fell ill with persistent diarrhea. Half-awake, Huang Lian appeared in his dream, instructing him to use the green grass roots from her grave to brew medicine. The next day, Qin Geng indeed recovered from his illness. Later, he used the grass roots from Huang Lian’s grave to treat others, achieving excellent results. When people asked him what the grass was called, he replied: “Let’s call it Huang Lian.”
Medicinal Value of Huang Lian
Huang Lian is a type of TCM herb that clears heat and dries dampness, characterized by its bitter and cold properties, and it enters the Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder, and Large Intestine meridians. It has the effects of clearing heat, drying dampness, and detoxifying. Clinically, it is mainly used for damp-heat obstruction, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and can also be used for heat excess causing irritability, blood heat leading to bleeding, as well as for stomach heat vomiting, thirst, and carbuncles and sores. When using Huang Lian, for those with damp-heat obstructing the gastrointestinal tract causing diarrhea, milder cases can use Huang Lian alone; for those with abdominal pain and urgency, it can be combined with Mu Xiang (Aucklandia); for diarrhea with fever, it can be combined with Ge Gen (Pueraria), Huang Qin (Scutellaria), and other herbs; and for dysentery with pus and blood, it can be combined with Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla), Huang Qin, and others.
Huang Lian is a commonly used herb for treating excess heat in the Heart and Stomach meridians, and its fire-clearing effects are extensive. It can be used in various conditions, but it is particularly adept at clearing fire from the Heart and Stomach meridians. It is often used in combination with Zhu Sha (Cinnabar) and Sheng Gan Cao (Raw Licorice) to treat heat disturbing the Heart spirit, insomnia, and vivid dreams. If there is excessive Heart fire causing irritability and insomnia due to heat damaging Yin and blood, it is often combined with Ejiao (Donkey-hide Gelatin), Bai Shao (White Peony), and Huang Qin to nourish Yin and blood; if there is Heart fire flaring up and Heart-Kidney disharmony causing palpitations and insomnia, it can be used with Rou Gui (Cinnamon). It is important to note that Huang Lian is very bitter and cold; excessive or prolonged use can harm the Spleen and Stomach, affecting their transport and transformation functions, so it is not suitable for those with Spleen and Stomach deficiency and cold.
Protecting the Stomach
Huang Lian has a protective effect on the stomach, as its components can inhibit gastric acid secretion, protecting the gastric mucosa, and it is clinically used to treat ulcer disease.
Liver Protection and Gallbladder Benefits
Huang Lian has liver-protective and gallbladder-beneficial effects, helping hepatitis patients lower transaminase activity, which is beneficial for liver health and can also play a preventive role.
Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory
Huang Lian contains a large amount of berberine, which has inhibitory effects on common Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and can be used for diseases caused by bacteria, such as dysentery.
Blood Sugar Lowering
Huang Lian contains a natural hypoglycemic component that can inhibit the body’s absorption of carbohydrates, and promote insulin secretion, keeping blood sugar levels normal.
Applications of Huang Lian
In TCM, it is believed that damp-heat evil qi entering the body is one of the causes of dysentery, thus dysentery often occurs in the summer and autumn. When damp-heat evil qi invades the body and lingers in the Large Intestine, it leads to the onset of dysentery. Huang Lian is cold in nature and has the effect of eliminating damp-heat from the Spleen, Stomach, and Large Intestine, and is often used as a medicine for treating dysentery. For instance, the Huang Lian Su (Huang Lian extract) that we commonly take for diarrhea is extracted from Huang Lian. Additionally, when we experience emotional disturbances, irritability, depression, anxiety, and other negative symptoms, Huang Lian can be combined with Ban Xia (Pinellia), Gua Lou (Trichosanthes), and other herbs for particularly good treatment effects.
Huang Lian is also a commonly used medicine for treating skin sores and abscesses caused by heat toxins, which can be taken internally, such as in the “Huang Lian Jiu Ku Tang” (Huang Lian Relief Soup), combined with Jin Yin Hua (Honeysuckle), Huang Qin, Lian Qiao (Forsythia), and other heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs. It can also be used externally, such as in “Huang Lian Gao” (Huang Lian Ointment), made with Huang Bai (Phellodendron) and applied topically to the affected area. Symptoms like sores at the corners of the mouth, dry mouth, bitter taste, red face and eyes, and a red tip of the tongue are all signs of excessive Heart fire, often accompanied by forgetfulness and thirst that is not relieved by drinking water. In such cases, Huang Lian can be used for adjustment, but many people find it difficult to tolerate its bitterness when used alone, so it can be cooked into porridge or soup for daily consumption.
Huang Lian Porridge
Ingredients: Huang Lian 10g, white sugar 15g, japonica rice 50g.
Wash Huang Lian thoroughly and place it in a pot, adding an appropriate amount of water to decoct the medicinal juice. Wash the japonica rice and add it to the medicinal juice to cook into porridge.
Effects: Clears heat and detoxifies, cools the blood, suitable for toxic dysentery and other conditions.
Huang Lian Tea
Ingredients: Huang Lian 0.5g, green tea 5g, white sugar 15g.
Place Huang Lian and green tea in a health pot, pour in 200ml of boiling water, and steep for 5-10 minutes, drinking until the flavor is mild.
Effects: Clears heat and detoxifies, dries dampness, has antibacterial properties, suitable for heat illness, irritability, fever, sore throat, red eyes, oral ulcers, and other conditions.
Huang Lian Ejiao Soup
Ingredients: Huang Lian 12g, Huang Qin 6g, Bai Shao 6g, Ejiao 9g, egg yolk 10g.
Wash Huang Lian, Huang Qin, and Bai Shao thoroughly, place them in a clay pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and decoct for 30 minutes to extract the medicinal juice. Then mix in Ejiao and egg yolk, stirring well.
Effects: Nourishes Yin, clears heat, calms the spirit, suitable for symptoms of Yin deficiency with heat, irritability, and insomnia.
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