Is Pinellia ternata poisonous? The correct processing methods for the Chinese herb Pinellia ternata

Is the Chinese herb Pinellia ternata poisonous?How should it be processed? I believe many people are very concerned about this question. So let's have the editor of Tuliu.com take everyone to find out~

1. Is Pinellia ternata poisonous?

The Chinese herb Pinellia ternata is “poisonous in its raw form and non-toxic once processed”. Whenever it is taken internally, it must be used in formulas as a processed product. Therefore, in the medical literature and classics of past dynasties, the processing techniques for Pinellia ternata and the effects of its different processed products have all been recorded as an important part of standardizing the quality of Chinese herbal medicines.

The use of processed Pinellia ternata as medicine first appears as “prepared Pinellia ternata” in the Huangdi Neijing, but there is no detailed processing method for “prepared Pinellia ternata”. The earliest clear record of a processing method for Pinellia ternata appears in Zhang Zhongjing's Jingui Yuhan Jing from the Han Dynasty. The method of washing with boiling water has been used continuously from the Han Dynasty to the present. (Note: In ancient times, raw Pinellia ternata had to be washed seven times with boiling water to ensure safe consumption. The Pinellia ternata used in modern clinical practice has all been processed, so there is no need to do this yourself.)

2. Processing methods for Pinellia ternata

Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty explained the processing methods and purposes for Pinellia ternata in greater detail and clarity in the Bencao Jing Jizhu: “The toxicity of Pinellia ternata can be resolved with ginger juice and the decoction of dried ginger.” In the story, Sun Simiao's “ginger decoction resolving the toxicity of Pinellia ternata” is the practical application of “restraining and neutralizing through mutual restraint and mutual suppression in ginger-processed Pinellia ternata”. Therefore, “ginger-processed Pinellia ternata” was a major breakthrough beyond “washing with boiling water”, as it advanced the processing of Pinellia ternata from simple soaking and washing with boiling water to remove toxicity to adding other processing excipients based on the theory of mutual restraint and mutual suppression in traditional Chinese medicine to control its toxicity.

After the Tang Dynasty, the excipients used to process Pinellia ternata also expanded from single ginger to other excipients, such as alum, Chinese honeylocust, licorice, first vinegar (vinegar from the initial preparation before water is added), white mustard seed, and so on, to meet the different needs of clinical treatment. It can be seen that the processing techniques for Pinellia ternata, on the basis of “adding excipients and removing its toxicity”, developed to use different excipients to process Pinellia ternata in order to give it new medicinal properties and effects.

In addition, the effects and indications of processed Pinellia ternata products made with different excipients all differ. For example, the excipients used for Fa Banxia are licorice and quicklime, and its effect is to dry dampness and transform phlegm, and it is mostly used for abundant phlegm with cough and asthma, etc.; the excipients used for Jiang Banxia are fresh ginger and alum, and its effect is to warm the middle and transform phlegm, and it is mostly used for phlegm-fluid vomiting, etc. Therefore, in specific clinical use, they must be treated differently.