Bai Bu

Naming

Bai Bu (Radix Stemonae)——Ming Yi Bie Lu (Miscellaneous Records of Famous physicians)

The Processing of Bai Bu

Origin

The dry root tuber of perennial herbaceous plant Stemona sessili folia (Miq.) Miq., Stemona japonica (BI.) Miq. or Stemona tuberosa Lour. of family Stemonaceae.

Location

East China, middle south and south China.

Harvest

Collected in spring or autumn, removed fibrous root, cleaned, blanched in boiling water slightly or steamed deeply.

The actual smell and taste

Light smell; Stemona sessili folia (Miq.) Miq. have bitter and sweet taste, while Stemona japonica (BI.) Miq, and Stemona tuberosa Lour. have bitter taste.

Best quality

Robust, moist, firm and white.

Processing

Dried in the sun; sliced, unprocessed or stir-baked with honey.

The Effect of Bai Bu

Property

Bitter, sweet, slightly warm; lung meridian entered.

Actions

Moisten lung and stop cough, kill parasites.

Indications

A. Moistening lung to stop cough for both acute and chronic cough

It is good at directing qi downward to stop cough and also moistening lung after stir-baked with honey. It is indicated for all kinds of cough caused by external contraction or internal injury, or with cold or heat, or deficiency and excess syndromes, especially the chronic deficiency syndrome. For wind-cold cough, it is often combined with lung-ventilating herbs and phlegm-resolving to stop cough herbs. For instance, it is combined with Jing Jie, Jie Geng and Zi Wan, in Zhi Sou San, from Yi Xue Xin Wu. For cough due to wind-heat invasion the lung, it is combined with releasing superficies herbs and lung-clearing and cough-stopping herbs. For cough with phlegm due to lung cold, it is combined with lung-warming and phlegm-resolving herbs to reinforce the action of ventilating lung, directing qi downward to stop cough, such as Bai Bu Wan. For cough and bloody phlegm due to lung yin deficiency pulmonary phthisis, it is usually combined with yin-nourishing, moistening lung to stop cough herbs, such as E Jiao, Chuan Bei Mu and Mai Dong, etc. For whooping cough with features of paroxysm and spasmodic cough and long course, it is combined with Mai Dong and Gua Lou and so on to reinforce the action of moistening lung to stop cough.

B. Pinworm, trichomonas vaginalis

It is good at killing parasites. It is indicated for pinworm mostly externally used. For instance, it can be decocted into thick juice to make retention enema before sleep. For trichomonas vaginitis, it is used singly or combined with herbs to kill parasites and relieve itching by sitz bath or washing externally, such as She Chuang Zi and Ku Shen and so on.

Dosage and Administrations

Decoct 3~10 g. Take proper dose for external application, decoct for washing, or make medicated wine, or grind into powder.

It is good at treating chronic deficiency cough when it is stir-baked with honey, which can increase the action of moistening lung to stop cough.