Back to previous page Search again ↑

Latin pharmacognostic name: Pinelliae Rhizoma

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin (other sources): Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit.

Use: Medicinal

Category: Phlegm-transforming cough-relieving panting-calming agents / Phlegm-transforming agents

Properties: Acrid; warm; toxic.

Channel entry: Spleen, stomach, and lung channels.

• Dries dampness and transforms phlegm: Cough and/or panting due to damp phlegm and cold phlegm.
• Downbears counterflow and checks vomiting: Vomiting.
• Disperses swelling and relieves pain: Goiter, phlegm nodes, welling- and flat-abscesses (yōng jū), venomous snakebites.

Dosage & Method: Oral: 3–10g in decoctions. Bàn xià is always processed for internal use, but it is sometimes used raw for external application (the raw form is highly toxic if taken internally). Different methods of preparation are used for different purposes. 法半夏 is used to dispel phlegm. 清半夏 is used to dispel phlegm but has minimal drying effect. Processing with ginger helps check vomiting. Processing with 竹沥 reduces warmth and dryness for stomach heat vomiting and lung heat cough.

Warnings: Bàn xià is traditionally said to clash with chuān wū (Aconiti Radix) and cǎo wū (Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix). Because it is warm and dry, it should be used with care in yīn vacuity dry cough, bleeding patterns, heat phlegm, and dryness-phlegm. Severe poisoning can occur if the raw form is ingested, and overdosage of the prepared form should also be avoided. A variety of adulterants exist, so one should only purchase bàn xià from companies that assure correct identification.

Product Description: Shēng bàn xià (生半夏 Pinelliae Rhizoma Crudum, raw pinellia [rhizome]), crude pinellia, is usually sold with its cortex already removed. It is hard, spheroid in shape, and about 5–14 mm in diameter. the exterior surface bears fine wrinkles and is pale gray in color, and yellowish where the cork has not been completely removed. At the fatter end is a depression where the shoot was removed, and surrounding it are many small pits where the roots were once attached. It is sold in ready-prepared slices, either prepared according to a complex procedure (pro formula) or boiled in ginger juice. Fǎ bàn xià (法半夏 Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum, pro formula pinellia [rhizome]), pro formula pinellia, takes the form of slices that are white and farinaceous, while Jiāng bàn xià (姜半夏 Pinelliae Rhizoma cum Zingibere Praeparatum, ginger[-processed] pinellia [rhizome]), ginger pinellia, takes the form of slices that are semitranslucent and horny.

Quality: Dry firm round farinaceous tubers with the skins completely removed are the best.

Product Area: Sìchuān, Húběi, ānhuī, Jiāngsū, Hénán, Zhèjiāng.

Etymology: Bàn xià 半夏, literally half summer, reflects the fact that this tuber is reaped in early summer.

Back to previous page Search again