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The efficacy and functions of Huang Lian
【Name】Huang Lian
【Pinyin】Huánɡ Lián
【English Name】RHIZOMA COPTIDIS
【Alias】Yun Lian, Ya Lian, Chuan Lian, Wei Lian, Ji Zhua Lian
【Source】This product is the dried rhizome of the Ranunculaceae plant Huang Lian (Coptis chinensis Franch.), Sanjiao Ye Huang Lian (Coptis deltoidea C.Y.Cheng et Hsiao), or Yun Lian (Coptis teeta Wall.). The three types are commonly referred to as “Wei Lian”, “Ya Lian”, and “Yun Lian”. Harvested in autumn, the fibrous roots and soil are removed, dried, and any remaining fibrous roots are knocked off.
【Characteristics】Wei Lian often clusters together, usually curved, resembling chicken feet, with single rhizomes 3-6 cm long and 0.3-0.8 cm in diameter. The surface is grayish-yellow or yellow-brown, rough, with irregular nodular protrusions, fibrous roots, and remnants of fibrous roots. Some segments have a smooth surface like stems, commonly referred to as “crossing the bridge”. The upper part often retains brown scales, and the tip usually has remnants of stems or petioles. The texture is hard, with an uneven cross-section; the bark is orange-red or dark brown, and the wood is bright yellow or orange-yellow, arranged radially, with some hollow pith. It has a faint odor and an extremely bitter taste. Ya Lian is mostly single-stemmed, slightly cylindrical, slightly curved, 4-8 cm long, and 0.5-1 cm in diameter. The “crossing the bridge” part is longer. The tip has a small amount of residual stem. Yun Lian is curved and hook-shaped, mostly single-stemmed, and smaller in size.
【Identification】(1) Cross-section: The wood cork layer of Wei Lian consists of several rows of cells, with an epidermis that often falls off. The cortex is relatively wide, and stone cells are scattered individually or in groups. The central sheath fibers are bundled or accompanied by a few stone cells, all appearing yellow. The vascular bundles are outerly fibrous and arranged in a ring. The wood part is yellow and fully lignified, with well-developed wood fibers. The pith consists of thin-walled cells, with no stone cells. Ya Lian has stone cells in the pith. Yun Lian has no stone cells in the cortex, central sheath, or pith. (2) Take 0.25 g of the powdered product, add 25 ml of methanol, sonicate for 30 minutes, filter, and take the filtrate as the test solution. Take 0.25 g of Huang Lian reference material and prepare the reference solution in the same manner. Then take berberine hydrochloride reference substance, prepare a solution containing 0.5 mg per 1 ml in methanol as the reference solution. Perform thin-layer chromatography (TLC) tests (General Rule 0502), applying 1 μl of each of the three solutions on the same high-performance silica gel G TLC plate, using hexane-ethyl acetate-isopropanol-methanol-water-triethylamine (3:3.5:1:1.5:0.5:1) as the developing agent, and place in a pre-saturated developing chamber with concentrated ammonia for 20 minutes. After developing, remove, dry, and inspect under UV light (365 nm). In the test solution, there should be at least four fluorescent spots of the same color at the corresponding positions as in the reference material; the reference solution should show the same color spots at the corresponding positions.
【Content Determination】Wei Lian is determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (General Rule 0512). The chromatographic conditions and system suitability tests use octadecylsilyl-bonded silica gel as the stationary phase; acetonitrile-0.05 mol/L potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution (50:50) as the mobile phase (adding 0.4 g of sodium dodecyl sulfate to every 100 ml, and adjusting the pH to 4.0 with phosphoric acid); detection wavelength is 345 nm. The theoretical plate number calculated based on the berberine peak should not be less than 5000. For the preparation of the reference solution, take an appropriate amount of berberine hydrochloride reference substance, accurately weigh, and dissolve in methanol to obtain a solution containing 90.5 μg per 1 ml. For the preparation of the test solution, take about 0.2 g of the powdered product (sieved through No. 2 sieve), accurately weigh, place in a volumetric flask, and accurately add 50 ml of a methanol-hydrochloric acid (100:1) mixture, seal tightly, weigh, sonicate (power 250W, frequency 40kHz) for 30 minutes, cool, reweigh, and use methanol to make up for the weight loss, shake well, filter, and take 2 ml of the filtrate into a 10 ml volumetric flask, adding methanol to the mark, shake well, filter, and obtain the final solution. The determination method involves accurately taking 10 μl of both the reference solution and the test solution, injecting them into the liquid chromatograph, and determining the peak area of the berberine hydrochloride reference substance as a comparison, calculating the content of berberine, palmatine, coptisine, and berberine based on the relative retention time of the peaks of the components to be measured. The peak positions of palmatine, coptisine, berberine, and berberine should be within ±5% of the specified relative retention time. The relative retention times are shown in the table below: The product, calculated on a dry basis, should contain not less than 5.5% berberine (C20H17NO4), not less than 0.80% palmatine (C20H17NO4), not less than 1.6% coptisine (C19H13NO4), and not less than 1.5% berberine (C21H21NO4). For Ya Lian, calculated on a dry basis, it should contain not less than 4.5% berberine (C20H17NO4). For Yun Lian, calculated on a dry basis, it should contain not less than 7.0% berberine (C20H17NO4). For the decoction pieces (Wei Lian), it should contain not less than 5.0% berberine (C20H17NO4), and the total content of palmatine (C20H17NO4), coptisine (C19H13NO4), and berberine (C21H21NO4) should not be less than 3.3%.
【Preparation】Huang Lian slices are cleaned of impurities, soaked, cut into thin slices, dried, or crushed when used.
【Nature and Flavor】Bitter, cold. Enters the Heart, Spleen, Stomach, Liver, Gallbladder, and Large Intestine meridians.
【Functions】Clears heat and dries dampness, drains fire and detoxifies. Used for damp-heat fullness, vomiting with sour regurgitation, dysentery, jaundice, high fever with delirium, excessive heart fire, irritability and insomnia, palpitations, blood heat causing vomiting and nosebleeds, red eyes, toothache, diabetes, and carbuncles; externally used for eczema, damp sores, and purulent ear discharge. Jiu Huang Lian is good for clearing heat from the upper jiao. Used for red eyes and oral ulcers. Jiang Huang Lian clears the stomach and stops vomiting. Used for cold-heat counterflow, damp-heat obstruction, fullness, and vomiting. Yu Huang Lian soothes the liver and stomach and stops vomiting. Used for disharmony between the liver and stomach, vomiting with sour regurgitation.
【Dosage】2-5 g. For external use, apply an appropriate amount.
【Storage】Store in a ventilated and dry place.
【Remarks】(1) Combined with Huang Qin, Da Huang, etc., it can treat damp-heat accumulation. For damp-heat lingering in the stomach and intestines, it is often combined with Ban Xia, Zhu Ru to stop vomiting, and with Mu Xiang, Huang Qin, Ge Gen, etc. to treat dysentery. For febrile diseases with high fever and excessive heart fire, it has good efficacy, often combined with Shan Zhi, Lian Qiao, etc.; for blood heat causing recklessness, it can be combined with Huang Qin, Da Huang, etc.; for heat toxin sores and ulcers, it can be combined with Chi Shao, Dan Pi, etc. For stomach fire blazing in the middle, it can be combined with Tian Hua Fen, Zhi Mu, Sheng Di, etc. For external use, Huang Lian juice can be applied to the eyes to treat excessive fire causing red eyes; it can be applied to the mouth to treat oral and tongue ulcers.
【Excerpt Source】”Chinese Pharmacopoeia”
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