Editor’s Note
Some say that the bittersweet experience of a crush during adolescence is like Huang Lian (Coptis chinensis), a pain that only one can truly understand! Just how bitter is Huang Lian? The saying “a mute eats Huang Lian, unable to express the bitterness” seems to confirm this! When people describe something as extremely bitter, they often say, “more bitter than Huang Lian.” Yet, this bitter herb is also a powerful ally against gynecological diseases. Want to know more? Read on!
Huang Lian
Detoxifying, Clearing Damp-Heat, Stopping Bleeding and Diarrhea
Huang Lian is bitter and cold. It enters the Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder, and Large Intestine meridians. Its functions include clearing heat, drying dampness, purging fire, and detoxifying.
Applications 1. Clearing Heat and Stopping Bleeding
This herb enters the Heart, its cold nature clears heat, effectively treating gynecological bleeding disorders caused by excessive Heart fire and blood heat, such as metrorrhagia, menorrhagia, prolonged menstrual periods, and bleeding during menstruation. It is often combined with Huang Qin (Scutellaria baicalensis), Mu Dan Pi (Paeonia suffruticosa), Sheng Di Huang (Rehmannia glutinosa), and Da Huang (Rheum palmatum). Formulas include the empirical Qing Re Gu Chong Decoction, Liang Xue Di Huang Decoction (from “Treatise on Blood Syndromes”), and empirical Qing Re Huo Xue Decoction.
2. Clearing Heat and Drying Dampness
Its extreme bitterness and coldness allow it to clear heat and dry dampness, particularly effective for clearing damp-heat from the middle jiao. It can be used for conditions like abdominal pain, vomiting, and metrorrhagia with a red tongue and yellow greasy coating, often combined with Huang Qin, Ban Xia (Pinellia ternata), Zhi Shi (Aurantii Fructus), Bai Shao (Paeonia lactiflora), and Pu Huang (Typhae Pollen), such as in the empirical Ban Xia Qing Lian Zhi Shi Decoction and Qing Li Gu Chong Decoction. It is also used to treat damp-heat diarrhea during pregnancy, with formulas like Si Ling Qing Qiao Decoction combined with Xiang Lian Wan. Huang Lian has strong antibacterial properties against dysentery bacteria, making it a key herb for treating diarrhea.
Case Example
(Mr. Liu Yunpeng’s Medical Case)
Pang, 36 years old, has been experiencing vaginal bleeding for 35 days and was hospitalized. During the examination, the vaginal bleeding varied in amount, accompanied by dizziness, chest tightness, nausea, thirst, and no abdominal pain. The tongue was dark red with a thick yellow greasy coating, and the pulse was wiry, slippery, and rapid. Gynecological examination and B-ultrasound showed no abnormalities in the uterus and bilateral appendages. BBT was monophasic. Diagnosis: Metrorrhagia (anovulatory dysfunctional uterine bleeding). The pattern was damp-heat obstructing the Chong and Ren meridians. The treatment should clear heat, transform dampness, harmonize the stomach, and stabilize the Chong meridian. The formula used was Ban Xia Qing Lian Zhi Shi Decoction with modifications: Huang Lian 10g, Huang Qin 10g, Ban Xia 10g, Zhi Shi 10g, Bai Shao 15g, Yu Jin 10g, Hou Po 10g, Pu Gong Ying 30g, Pu Huang Tan 10g, Jiang Tan 3g, Chen Pi 9g. Five doses, one dose per day, decocted in water. After taking three doses, the bleeding stopped, chest tightness and abdominal distension resolved, and nausea was eliminated. After finishing the medication, gynecological examination and B-ultrasound recheck showed no abnormalities, and she was discharged, with subsequent menstrual cycles returning to normal.
3. Purging Fire and Detoxifying
This herb is particularly effective in purging Heart fire, clearing Stomach heat, and detoxifying. It is used for conditions where warm diseases invade the Heart and Ying level, and for excessive heat in the San Jiao causing delirium, high fever, and irritability, often combined with Xi Jiao (Rhinoceros horn), Sheng Di Huang, Mai Dong (Ophiopogon japonicus), Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), and Da Huang, as in the Qing Ying Decoction (from “Differentiation of Warm Diseases”). For excessive Heart fire and insufficient Kidney water, causing irritability and insomnia before and after menstruation or menopause, it is combined with Huang Qin and Ejiao (Colla Corii Asini), as in the Huang Lian Ejiao Decoction (from “Treatise on Cold Damage”).
This herb is also widely used for damp-heat obstructing the Liver and Gallbladder, Spleen and Stomach, causing epigastric pain, chest fullness, vomiting, hypochondriac pain, diarrhea, dysentery, as well as for red eyes, toothache, sores, and eczema.
According to the “Complete Works of Jing Yue”: “It is extremely bitter and cold. The flavor is thick, and the qi is thin, it sinks and descends, slightly rising in the middle, and slightly yang in the yin. It specializes in treating all types of fire…平肝凉血，肃胃清肠、凉胆…善泻心脾实火.”
Huang Lian is often used in combination with Huang Qin, complementing each other, and is widely used for diseases caused by internal fire and damp-heat. It is also frequently used in gynecology. Master Liu Yunpeng is skilled in using Huang Qin and Huang Lian for blood heat and damp-heat blood syndromes, with empirical formulas such as Ban Xia Qing Lian Zhi Shi Decoction, Qing Re Gu Chong Decoction, Qing Li Gu Chong Decoction, Qing Re Huo Xue Decoction, and Liang Xue Di Huang Decoction; for pregnancy-related nausea, depression, and menstrual mania, as well as for heat toxin causing amenorrhea and insomnia during menstruation, and pregnancy-related diarrhea, Huang Lian and Huang Qin are the main herbs. However, due to its extreme bitterness and coldness, Huang Lian should not be used in large amounts or for prolonged periods, as it can easily damage the Spleen and Stomach.
Huang Lian can be stir-fried with Wu Zhu Yu (Evodia rutaecarpa) to reduce its coldness and clear Liver and Gallbladder heat. Stir-frying with wine helps the herb ascend. For stopping vomiting, Huang Lian is often stir-fried with ginger juice to enhance its bitter and cold descending properties. For clearing heat and stopping bleeding, raw Huang Lian is used to achieve its heat-clearing and blood-stopping effects. However, in cases of blood heat, it should not only clear fire heat but also stop bleeding, as this would be akin to “stopping boiling water by removing the pot from the fire.”
Dosage and Administration
3-6g. It is contraindicated for those with Spleen and Stomach deficiency and cold.
Pharmacological References
The main components of Huang Lian, berberine and coptisine, have broad-spectrum antibacterial effects. They exhibit strong antibacterial activity against various bacteria; they also have anti-acute inflammation, anti-arrhythmic, choleretic, inhibit gastric acid secretion, and anti-diarrheal and anti-dysentery effects.
New Media Editor: Wang Dan
Copyright Statement:This article is excerpted from “Ten Lectures on the Use of Chinese Medicine in Gynecological Diseases” (published by China Traditional Chinese Medicine Press, edited by Feng Zongwen), with all rights reserved by the original author. Recommended for publication by Yue Du Zhong Yi (WeChat ID: ydzhongyi), cover image sourced from the internet. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited!
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