The Uses, Efficacy, Contraindications, and Applicable Populations of Huang Lian (Coptis chinensis)

Source

This product is the dried rhizome of the Ranunculaceae plant Huang Lian, Sanjiao Ye Huang Lian, or Yun Lian. The three types are commonly referred to as “Wei Lian”, “Ya Lian”, and “Yun Lian”.

Related Names

Huang Lian, Yuan Lian, Wei Lian, Ya Lian, Yun Lian, Ji Zhua Lian, Chuan Lian, Wang Lian, Zhi Lian, Xuan Lian, Gu Lian, Chuan Huang Lian, Emei Lian, Gu Yong Lian

Production Areas

Wei Lian is mainly produced in Shizhu County, Chongqing, and also in Hongya, Emei, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other regions. It is primarily cultivated and is the main source of commercial Huang Lian.

Ya Lian is mainly produced in Hongya and Emei, Sichuan, and is mostly cultivated with very few wild specimens.

Yun Lian is mainly produced in Deqin, Yunnan, Bijiang, and the southeastern part of Tibet, originally wild but now cultivated.

Harvesting and Processing

Harvest in autumn, remove the fibrous roots and soil, dry, and knock off any remaining fibrous roots.

Identification of Characteristics

Wei Lian

Often clustered, usually curved, resembling a chicken’s claw, with single stems 3-6 cm long and a diameter of 0.3-0.8 cm.

The surface is grayish-yellow or yellow-brown, rough, with irregular nodular protrusions, fibrous roots, and remnants of fibrous roots. Some internodes have a smooth surface like a stem, commonly referred to as “crossing the bridge”.

The upper part often retains brown scale leaves, and the tip usually has remnants of the stem or petiole.

It 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 aroma and an extremely bitter taste.

Ya Lian

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

Curved and hook-shaped, mostly single-stemmed, and relatively small.

Processed Product Huang Lian Slices

Irregular thin slices, with a grayish-yellow or yellow-brown outer skin, rough, with small fibrous roots. The cut surface or broken surface is bright yellow or red-yellow, with radial textures, faint aroma, and extremely bitter taste.

Wine Huang Lian

Resembles Huang Lian slices, with a deeper color and a slight wine aroma.

Ginger Huang Lian

Resembles Huang Lian slices, with a brownish-yellow surface and a spicy ginger flavor.

Yu Huang Lian

Resembles Huang Lian slices, with a brownish-yellow surface and a spicy aroma of Wu Zhu Yu.

Nature and Flavor

Bitter, cold. Enters the Heart, Liver, Stomach, and Large Intestine meridians.

Characteristics

This product is extremely bitter and cold, clearing and drying, with strong medicinal properties, primarily entering the Heart and Stomach meridians, and also entering the Liver and Large Intestine meridians.

It acts mainly on the Heart and Middle Jiao, effectively clearing Heart and Stomach fire, and eliminating damp-heat in the Middle Jiao, making it a key medicine for treating damp-heat and fire stagnation.

Efficacy

Clears heat, dries dampness, drains fire, and detoxifies.

Main Indications

(1) Damp-heat causing fullness, vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice.

(2) Febrile diseases with high fever, irritability, confusion, internal heat causing restlessness and insomnia, Stomach fire toothache, and sores on the mouth and tongue.

(3) Liver fire invading the Stomach causing vomiting and acid reflux.

(4) Blood heat causing bleeding, carbuncles, red and painful eyes, ear canal abscesses, and febrile rashes.

Dosage and Administration

Internal use: decoction, 2-10 g; or in pills or powders.

External use: appropriate amount, ground into powder for application. Raw use is better for draining fire, detoxifying, and drying dampness, clearing Heart and Large Intestine fire. Wine-fried enhances the upward movement of the medicine and can moderate its bitter and cold nature.

Fried with ginger juice or Wu Zhu Yu, it moderates the bitter and cold nature that harms the Stomach and enhances the effect of stopping vomiting and counteracting nausea. Wu Zhu Yu processed also treats Liver Qi stagnation transforming into fire.

Precautions

This product is extremely bitter and cold; excessive or prolonged use can easily harm the Spleen and Stomach, so the internal dosage should not be too large, nor should it be used frequently or for long periods. It is contraindicated in cases of Stomach cold with vomiting or Spleen deficiency with diarrhea.

Compatibility

Huang Lian with Mu Xiang

Huang Lian is bitter and cold, functions to clear heat, dry dampness, drain fire, and detoxify; Mu Xiang is warm and pungent, functions to regulate Stomach Qi stagnation and relieve pain. The combination of these two herbs clears heat, dries dampness, detoxifies, regulates Qi, and relieves pain, treating damp-heat diarrhea, abdominal pain, and tenesmus.

Huang Lian with Wu Zhu Yu

Huang Lian is bitter and cold, functions to clear heat, dry dampness, and drain fire; Wu Zhu Yu is warm and pungent, functions to dry dampness, soothe the Liver, and descend Qi. The combination of these two herbs clears heat, drains fire, dries dampness, soothes the Liver, harmonizes the Stomach, and controls acid, treating Liver fire invading the Stomach and damp-heat obstructing the middle.

Huang Lian with Ban Xia and Gua Lou

Huang Lian is bitter and cold, functions to clear heat, dry dampness, and drain fire; Ban Xia is warm and pungent, functions to dry dampness, transform phlegm, and disperse clumps; Gua Lou is sweet and cold, functions to clear heat, transform phlegm, and relieve chest tightness. The combination of these three herbs drains fire, transforms phlegm, and disperses clumps, effectively treating the condition of phlegm-fire obstructing the chest.

Pharmacology

This product has antipyretic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-parasitic, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, immune-enhancing, anti-tumor, anti-arrhythmic, myocardial ischemia, antihypertensive, gastrointestinal smooth muscle inhibition, anti-ulcer, choleretic, hypoglycemic, platelet aggregation inhibition, and central nervous system inhibition effects.

Story

Once upon a time, on Huangshui Mountain, where the Tujia people lived, there was a doctor named Tao. He had a garden dedicated to growing medicinal herbs, which he used to treat people.

Due to his excellent medical skills, people from far and wide came to seek his help. Since Doctor Tao was often out, he hired a helper named Huang to manage the garden.

Doctor Tao’s daughter, Mei Wa, was beautiful, smart, and lively, and her parents cherished her like a precious gem. Mei Wa also loved to plant flowers and herbs, and every morning, her first task was to check on the flowers and herbs in the garden.

One morning in the first month, when the frost had not yet melted and the cold air was biting, Mei Wa went to the garden and saw that the flowers had not bloomed and the grass had not sprouted. She opened the back door and walked along the path up the mountain.

Suddenly, she saw a small green flower blooming by the roadside. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it, so she used her fingers to loosen the surrounding soil, dug it up by the roots, and planted it in the garden.

The helper, seeing this wild grass blooming in the cold January, also liked it very much and watered it every day, fertilizing it monthly. The grass grew more and more lush, and eventually produced seeds.

The helper scattered the seeds of this flower in the garden, and the next year, even more green flowers bloomed.

However, Mei Wa fell ill with a strange disease, feeling hot all over, vomiting, and having diarrhea. In just three days, she became emaciated.

Doctor Tao was away treating patients, so Mei Wa’s mother had to invite another local doctor, a friend of Doctor Tao, to treat her daughter. This doctor was very attentive in his diagnosis and treatment.

However, after taking three doses of medicine, there was still no effect; her stomach was getting worse, and she even started to bleed. Her mother stayed by her bedside all day, worried sick, unable to eat or sleep, and cried at the thought of her daughter’s illness.

The helper, seeing this, was very anxious. What to do? Suddenly, he remembered that green flower.

A month ago, he had a sore throat and accidentally chewed a leaf, which was extremely bitter, but after an hour, his sore throat had actually improved.

Then he chewed two more leaves, and that day, he was no longer in pain. Could this flower be used as medicine for Mei Wa’s illness? It was worth a try.

With this thought, he pulled up a whole plant with roots and leaves, boiled it into a bowl of water, and gave it to Mei Wa while her mother was cooking.

To his surprise, after drinking it in the morning, her condition improved by the afternoon; after two more doses, she was completely healed. When Doctor Tao returned and learned of the incident, he was very touched.

He repeatedly thanked the helper, saying, “Mei Wa suffered from damp-heat in the intestines and stomach, and only a medicine that clears heat and dries dampness could cure her. This green-flowered herb seems to have the effect of clearing heat and drying dampness!”

Because this helper’s surname was Huang and his name was Lian, in gratitude, this medicinal material was named Huang Lian.