Name: Phellodendron
Latin Name: Phellodendri Cortex
Pin Yin: Huang Bai (Chuan)
Location: Sichuan and Guizhou, China

Overview: Bitter in flavor, cold in nature, it acts on the kidney, bladder, large intestine channels. The bitter and cold property purges the heat. It is capable of clearing away the damp-heat in the lower-jiao and purging away the ministrial fire. It is indicated for the syndromes of jaundice, dysentery and diarrhea due to damp-heat, and the diseases caused by deficiency of kidney-yin and hyperactivity of the ministrial fire.

Primary Uses:

• Increases the production of digestive fluids and enzymes, particularly bile to treat jaundice, eczema, and boils
• Is antiseptic to treat urinary tract infection
• Is laxative
• Relieves pain and inflammation in mucosal tissue to treat diarrhea
• Constricts peripheral blood vessels to treat night sweats
• Phellodendron is also used for fever

Parts Used: Bark

Safety: This herb is contraindicated in cases with weakness and cold in the spleen and stomach.

Supporting Research:

• Many classical Chinese herbal formulas are also commonly used to treat headache. Cnidium & tea formula (chuan xiong cha tiao san) treats headaches due to wind cold. Evodia combination (wu zhu yu tang) relieves vertex headache due to cold and is also used to treat migraine. Coptis, phellodendron & mint formula (huang lian shang qing wan) addresses headache caused by heat.¹
• In modern materia medica guides, phellodendron is classified with the herbs that clear heat and dry dampness; it is bitter and cold; red atractylodes is classified with the aromatic herbs that resolve moisture accumulation; it is spicy and warm, with some bitterness. Together, they dry dampness and treat a syndrome of damp heat, dispersing swelling and alleviating pain due to accumulation (2). In the traditional preparation, the herbs are fried, which is intended to yield a more drying effect. One of the principal indications for this formula is a disorder with yellow color: skin eruptions with pus, discharge that is discolored, dark yellow urine, yellow tongue coating, jaundice, and so on, though this coloration is not an essential requirement for use of the formula.²

¹John K. Chen, PhD, PharmD, OMD, Lac, Acupuncture Today, PO Box 6070, Huntington Beach, CA 92615-6070 , [Herbal Alternatives to Drugs in Pain Management, Part II].

²Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon , [ERMIAO SAN: TWO MARVELS POWDER], online article.