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Latin pharmacognostic name: Galla Chinensis

Alternate English names: Chinese gall

Alternate Chinese names: 百虫仓 bǎi chóng cāng; 木附子 mù fù zǐ; 倍子 bèi zǐ

Kingdom: PlantXXX

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Rhus chinensis Mill.; Rhus potanini Maxim.; Rhus punjabensis Stew. var. sinica (Diels) Rehd. et Wils.; Melaphis chinensis (Bell) Baker. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin (other sources): Rhus chinensis Mill.* [= R. javanica L.]; Rhus potanini Maxim.*; Rhus punjabensis Stew. var. sinica (Dieds) Rehd. et Wils.*; Melaphis chinensis (Bell) *; Melaphis paitan Tsai et Tang

Use: Medicinal

Category: Exterior-resolving agents

Properties: Sour, astringent; cold.

Channel entry: Lung, kidney, and large intestine channels.

Indications:

• Constrains the lung and downbears fire: Enduring cough due to lung vacuity; lung heat cough with phlegm.
• Astringes the intestines and checks diarrhea: Enduring diarrhea or dysentery.
• Constrains sweating: Spontaneous sweating; night sweating.
• Stanches bleeding: Flooding and spotting; bloody stool and bleeding from hemorrhoids.
• Additional uses: Wǔ bèi zǐ may be used topically to resolve toxins, disperse swelling, stanch bleeding, absorb dampness, and close sores. It is used for toxin swelling of sores and boils, ulcerated sores, and prolapse of the rectum or prolapse of the uterus. In these applications, it can be used alone, applied topically as a finely ground powder or decocted as a steam-wash. It can also be used in combination with calcined Bái fán (白矾 Alumen , alum).

Dosage & Method: Oral: 3–9 g in decoctions; 1–1.5g per dose in powders or pills. It may also be applied externally, as either a finely ground powder or as steam-wash produced from the decoction.

Warnings: Contraindicated in diarrhea or dysentery when these are due to damp-heat.

Product Description: The gallnut created on the Rhus chinesis, Chinese sumac, by the parasite Melaphis chinensis is 8 cm long and 5 cm in diameter. Being rhomboid or ovate in shape with irregular protuberances, it is called the many-horned sumac gall (jiǎo bèi). The exterior is a yellowish or grayish brown with gray hairs. The skin is 1–2 cm thick, is hard and easily broken into pieces. The fracture appears horny and the inside is hollow, containing the dead body of the insect and a wax-like substance. The gall of Melaphis paitan is spindle-shaped or long ovate, without protuberances (single-horned sumac gall, dù bèi). It has little hair. The shell is 2–3 mm thick. The cross section when broken open appears very horny and has a brighter luster than the gall of Mephaphis chinensis. NOT IN DF2

Quality: Unbroken thick-skinned gallnuts are the best.

Product Area: Sìchuān, Guìzhōu, Guǎngdōng.

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