What are the benefits and effects of Phellodendron bark, and can it be steeped in water and drunk directly?

In traditional Chinese medicine, the range of substances used as medicine is very wide, including herbaceous plants, the root bark, flowers and fruits of trees, the bones and flesh of animals, and even feces can be used as medicine to treat illnesses. So below let us talk about the bark of the Amur cork tree——What are the benefits and effects of Phellodendron bark? Can it be steeped in water and drunk directly?

1. About the form of Phellodendron bark

1. The traditional Chinese medicine Phellodendron bark (Sichuan Phellodendron bark) is the dried bark taken from the Amur cork tree, a plant in the Rutaceae family, made into a medicinal herb through procedures such as removing the coarse outer bark and drying it in the sun. Phellodendron bark is usually in flat slab-like pieces, with the outer surface yellow-brown or yellow-brown in color, and the inner side dark yellow or light brown, with relatively fine longitudinal ridge lines. Phellodendron bark tastes bitter and has a faint odor, and if chewed it is sticky.

2. The Phellodendron tree is also called Chinese arborvitae, Jijiaolian, Amur barberry, Sichuan corktree, Taiwan Mahonia, and so on. It is a tree that can grow to more than 20 meters tall, with relatively thin bark that is light gray-brown, and scale-shaped leaves. The flowers of the Phellodendron tree usually open between March and April each year, and the flower color is yellow, while its fruit ripens in golden October.

2. The benefits and effects of Phellodendron bark

1. Phellodendron bark has an effect on small-area and relatively mild hot water and fire burns: in daily life, people always accidentally get blisters from scalding hot water or other burns, and at this time, if a powder of Phellodendron bark and licorice and other medicines is applied to the affected area, it can help healing. (If the burn or scald is relatively serious or covers a large area, it is still necessary to send the person to a doctor promptly for treatment.)

2. Phellodendron bark has the effects of clearing heat, drying dampness, draining fire, and resolving toxin: because Phellodendron bark is a bitter and drying medicinal herb, it is very effective at directly removing dampness from the body, and it also has a certain effect in removing fire toxin accumulated in the internal organs.

3. Phellodendron bark has an effect on treating damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery: Phellodendron bark has a certain therapeutic effect on heat-type diarrhea, incessant diarrhea, abdominal pain, and burning sensation at the anus.

4. Phellodendron bark has a certain effect on treating jaundice: jaundice occurs mostly in young children, often with yellow staining of the skin, sclera, and other tissues, and their urine, sweat, and tears are all yellow, accompanied by manifestations of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Using Phellodendron bark is of certain help for this condition.

5. Phellodendron bark has an effect on treating abnormal vaginal discharge in women and heat strangury in men: what traditional Chinese medicine calls heat strangury includes diseases such as acute prostatitis, cystitis, and urethritis, and using Phellodendron bark has an auxiliary therapeutic effect.

6. Phellodendron bark has an effect on treating athlete's foot and foot odor: Phellodendron bark ground into powder can be applied to ulcerated areas of the feet and the macerated, damp areas between the toes.

7. Phellodendron bark has a certain blood pressure-lowering effect: the alkaloids contained in Phellodendron bark, such as phellodendrine and jatrorrhizine, can effectively lower blood pressure.

8. Phellodendron bark also has a certain effect on treating yin deficiency with hyperactive fire, night sweats, seminal emission, and eczema and damp sores.

9. In addition to having these effects as a traditional Chinese medicine, Phellodendron bark can also be used in the form of wood for building materials, furniture, farm tools, and stationery, and so on.

3. Whether Phellodendron bark can be steeped in water and drunk directly

The traditional Chinese medicine Phellodendron bark can indeed be used directly to steep in water and drink.

1. Phellodendron bark is a medicinal material with the effect of clearing heat and resolving toxin, so steeping it in water to clear heat is also acceptable, but note that it cannot be drunk over the long term.

2. Phellodendron bark is a cold-natured traditional Chinese medicine, so people with a cold-deficient constitution should not use it.

3. In addition, people with weak spleen and weak stomach should also avoid consuming Phellodendron bark.

Attachment: current reference price table for the Phellodendron bark market