Wiseman’s Chinese Medical Database

chuān bèi mǔ / 川贝母 / 川貝母 / Sìchuān fritillaria [bulb];

Latin pharmacognostic name: Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus

Alternate English names: fritillaria [bulb]

Alternate Chinese names: 川贝 chuān bèi

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

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

Properties: Bitter, sweet; slightly cold.

Channel entry: lung and heart channels.

Indications:

• Clears heat and transforms phlegm; moistens the lung and relieves cough: Yīn vacuity with enduring cough; lung heat with dry cough; phlegm-heat cough.
• Disperses phlegm and binds: Scrofula; goiter; pulmonary welling-abscesses and mammary welling-abscess.

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 3–9g in decoctions; or use in powders and pills. Topical: Grind.

Warning:

Chuān bèi mǔ traditionally clashes with wū tóu (Aconitum), i.e., chuān wū (Aconiti Radix), cǎo wū (Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radix).

Quality:

Best are plump bulbs that are white on the outside and cross section and mealy in texture.

Product Area:

Sìchuān, Tibet, Yúnnán, Gānsū, Qīnghǎi.

See also:

bèi mǔ (贝母 Fritillariae Bulbus, fritillaria [bulb])