What medicinal herb is Bupleurum? Introducing the Chinese medicinal herb Bupleurum
Bupleurum, also known as Di Xun, Shan Cai, Chai Cao and so on, is a medicinal herb listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. The medicinal part is the dried root of the umbellifer (Apiaceae) plant Bupleurum chinense or Bupleurum scorzonerifolium. It is distributed in Northeast China, North China, Northwest China, East China, Hubei, Sichuan and other places, growing in sandy grasslands, sand dune meadows and open forests on sunny slopes. Now let us take a look at what medicinal herb Bupleurum is.
What medicinal herb is Bupleurum?
Bupleurum is a commonly used exterior-releasing herb. The Chinese medicinal herb Bupleurum is the dried root of the plant Bupleurum chinense or Bupleurum scorzonerifolium. According to different characteristics, it is customarily called North Bupleurum and South Bupleurum respectively. As a medicine, it has the effects of harmonizing the exterior and interior, soothing the liver and raising yang. It is used for colds and fever, alternating chills and fever, malaria, liver qi stagnation, distending pain in the chest and hypochondrium, rectal prolapse, uterine prolapse, irregular menstruation and other conditions. However, its nature is ascending and dispersing, so it is contraindicated or should be used with caution by those with internal stirring of liver wind, hyperactivity of liver yang, or upward rebellion of qi movement.
What effects does Bupleurum have?
1. Harmonizing Shaoyang: Bupleurum enters the Shaoyang channel. When Shaoyang is affected by pathogenic factors, if the pathogen joins with yin there is cold, and if it joins with yang there is heat. Bupleurum is a specific herb for Shaoyang; its qi is light and clear, and its bitter flavor is the thinnest, allowing it to vent and release pathogenic factors outside the half-exterior and half-interior, causing them to resolve from the exterior. Therefore, it has the effect of harmonizing Shaoyang.
2. Soothing the liver and harmonizing the stomach: Bupleurum is bitter, pungent and cool, and enters the liver, gallbladder and triple burner channels. It has the effect of soothing the liver and harmonizing the stomach, and is often used for accumulated qi in the heart and abdomen, accumulation of food and drink, expelling the old and bringing in the new, hypochondriac pain and abdominal distension.
3. Raising yang and lifting prolapse: Bupleurum has the effect of raising yang and lifting prolapse. For treating sinking of middle qi, chronic diarrhea with rectal prolapse, uterine prolapse and other patterns, it is often used together with qi-tonifying and yang-raising substances such as Huangqi (Astragalus) and Renshen (Ginseng), as in Buzhong Yiqi Tang.
4. Soothing the liver and relieving depression: Bupleurum can regulate liver qi and soothe the liver to relieve depression. It can be used to treat depression patterns, irregular menstruation, heat entering the blood chamber and other patterns. If there is hypochondriac pain due to liver qi stagnation, it can be used together with Xiangfu (Cyperus) and Zhike (Bitter Orange); for hypochondriac pain and irregular menstruation caused by liver depression and blood deficiency, it is often used together with Danggui (Angelica) and Baishao (White Peony).
5. Clearing and draining ministerial fire: Bupleurum is bitter and cool, so it can clear heat and drain fire. Entering the liver, gallbladder and triple burner channels, it can clear and drain ministerial fire, and is often used for headache, dizziness, blurred vision with eye obstruction, tinnitus and deafness and other patterns.
6. Dispelling wind and removing obstruction: Bupleurum is a wind herb. Wind is the leader of a hundred diseases; when wind leaves, dampness leaves. Therefore, it has the effect of dispelling wind and removing obstruction. If there are symptoms such as heaviness of the limbs, numbness of the skin, or joint pain with a fixed painful location that flares on cloudy and rainy days, Bupleurum can be selected to dispel wind and overcome dampness and thus remove obstruction.
7. Dispersing and reducing fever: Bupleurum is especially good at dispersing and resolving pathogenic factors in the half-exterior and half-interior, and is a key herb for treating Shaoyang patterns. For treating cold damage with the pathogen in Shaoyang, alternating chills and fever, fullness and distress in the chest and hypochondrium, bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat and dizziness, it is often combined with Huangqin (Scutellaria) and Banxia (Pinellia). For treating colds and fever, it can be used together with Gancao (Licorice).
How to consume Bupleurum
1. Bupleurum and Magnolia Bark Decoction
[Materials] Bupleurum and Magnolia bark (roasted) 3 g each, Poria, tangerine peel, and Perilla 2.4 g each, ginger 3.6 g, areca nut 1.5 g (powder)
[Usage] Cut the above seven ingredients, add 700 mL water, boil down to 300 mL, squeeze out and remove the residue, and take warm in three doses, about one hour apart; after taking, there may be mild laxation.
[Effects] Regulates qi and resolves dampness; treats qi stagnation with dampness obstruction, and distension and fullness in the heart and abdomen.
2. Bupleurum and Soft-Shelled Turtle Shell Decoction
[Materials] Bupleurum (remove the sprouts) and soft-shelled turtle shell (remove the skirt edge, roast with vinegar until hot) 30 g each, Digupi (Lycium bark) 45 g, Zhimu (Anemarrhena rhizome, roasted) 30 g
[Usage] Coarsely crush and sieve the above four ingredients. For each dose take 9 g, add 150 mL water, half a dark plum, and a little Qinghao (Sweet Wormwood), decoct together down to 90 mL, remove the residue, and take warm at bedtime.
[Effects] Treats consumptive disease with profuse night sweats, sallow complexion, weakness of the limbs, no desire for food or drink, and unremitting cough.
3. Bupleurum Center-Supplementing Decoction
[Materials] Bupleurum and Qingpi (Green Tangerine Peel) 10 g each, Huangqi (Astragalus) 24 g, Dangshen (Codonopsis) 15 g, Baizhu (Atractylodes), Baishao (White Peony), Poria, Zhishi (Bitter Orange), and stir-fried Gegen (Kudzu root) 12 g each, Huai Shan Yao (Chinese yam) 30 g, and honey-fried Gancao (Licorice) 6 g.
[Usage] Add an appropriate amount of water to the above medicines and decoct; decoct twice in succession, take 300 mL of medicinal liquid, one dose per day, and take warm in the morning and evening.
[Effects] Soothes the liver and moves qi, supplements the center and boosts qi; suitable for gastroptosis.