Huang Bai: The TCM Herb for Clearing Heat and Relieving Dampness
- Health Lab
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 19
Huang Bai, also known as Phellodendron bark or Amur Cork Tree bark, is a widely used herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) known for its potent ability to clear heat, dry dampness, and detoxify.
It is especially effective for conditions caused by damp-heat, such as diarrhea, infections, and skin sores. Its use dates back to the Shennong Bencao Jing (Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica), where it was listed as a top-grade herb for treating intestinal issues, heat, sores, and skin conditions.
Ancient texts like the Mingyi Bielu noted its benefits for vaginal discharge, genital sores, and joint pain, while the Yaoxing Lun highlighted its role in treating epilepsy, menstrual irregularities, and weakness.
In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica emphasized Huang Bai’s ability to address damp-heat diarrhea, vaginal discharge, and sores, reinforcing its importance in TCM for lower body conditions.
Properties of Huang Bai
Nature and Channels
Taste: Bitter
Nature: Cold
Channels: Kidney, Bladder, Large Intestine
Main Benefits
Clears heat and dries dampness
Purges fire and detoxifies
Reduces deficiency heat
Dosage
Internal use: 3–9 grams, boiled in decoctions.
External use: Ground into powder and applied as needed.
Growing Regions
Found in Northeast, North, and Northwest China, including Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and Gansu.
Identification
Shape: Flat boards or trough-like strips, varying in size, 3–6 mm thick.
Color: Yellowish-brown or brownish exterior with longitudinal wrinkles; yellow or yellowish-brown interior with fine striations.
Texture: Hard, fibrous cross-section with layered texture.
Scent and Taste: Mild scent, extremely bitter taste.
Clinical Uses of Huang Bai
Huang Bai is used in TCM to treat various conditions:
Damp-Heat Diarrhea: Relieves frequent, urgent, sticky stools with abdominal pain.
Damp-Heat Urinary Issues: Eases frequent, painful, or dribbling urination.
Vaginal Discharge: Reduces excessive, yellow, or odorous discharge.
Toxic Sores: Treats red, swollen, and pus-filled skin conditions.
Eczema: Alleviates itching and oozing skin lesions.
Deficiency Heat: Manages afternoon fevers, night sweats, and irritability from yin deficiency.
Spermatorrhea: Addresses involuntary seminal emissions during sleep or waking hours.
Specific Benefits
Clearing Heat and Drying Dampness: Huang Bai’s cold, bitter nature clears damp-heat, treating diarrhea, urinary issues, and discharge.
Purging Fire and Detoxifying: It reduces fire and toxins, aiding sores and mouth ulcers.
Reducing Deficiency Heat: It cools internal heat from yin deficiency, easing symptoms like night sweats.
Huang Bai in TCM Formulas
Huang Bai is often combined with other herbs in TCM formulas to enhance its effects. Here are some examples:
Er Miao Wan (Two Marvel Pill): Combines Huang Bai with Cang Zhu to clear damp-heat, used for weak limbs or joint pain due to damp-heat.
Long Dan Xie Gan Tang (Gentiana Drain Liver Decoction): Includes Huang Bai with Gentiana, Bupleurum, Rehmannia, Plantain Seed, Alisma, Akebia, and Licorice to clear liver and gallbladder damp-heat, treating rib pain, jaundice, or genital eczema.
Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan (Anemarrhena, Phellodendron, and Rehmannia Pill): Pairs Huang Bai with Zhi Mu, Rehmannia, Cornus, Yam, Poria, Moutan, and Alisma to nourish yin and reduce fire, addressing night sweats and dry throat from kidney yin deficiency.
Comparison with Similar Herbs
Huang Bai shares effects with other TCM herbs but has distinct strengths:
Gentiana (Long Dan Cao): Clears liver and gallbladder damp-heat but is less effective at drying dampness, better for rib pain and jaundice.
Coptis (Huang Lian): Clears heat, dries dampness, and detoxifies but focuses on heart fire symptoms like insomnia, with stronger fire-purging effects.
Fraxinus (Qin Pi): Clears heat, dries dampness, and stops diarrhea but is weaker at detoxification, mainly used for dysentery and discharge.
Huang Bai excels in its balanced ability to clear heat, dry dampness, and reduce deficiency heat.
Modern Applications and Research
Modern research highlights Huang Bai’s benefits:
Antibacterial Effects: Its extracts inhibit bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.
Anti-Inflammatory: It reduces inflammation by suppressing mediators.
Blood Pressure Reduction: It helps lower blood pressure.
Blood Sugar Control: It supports blood sugar regulation.
Anti-Tumor Effects: Lab studies show it may inhibit tumor growth.
Clinically, Huang Bai is used for bacterial dysentery, urinary tract infections, eczema, and diabetes, with promising results.
How to Use Huang Bai Safely
Precautions
Spleen and Stomach Deficiency with Cold: Use cautiously, as its cold, bitter nature may harm digestion.
Long-Term Use: Avoid prolonged use to prevent stomach qi damage; pair with spleen-tonifying herbs if needed.
Dosage Control: Stick to 3–9 grams to avoid side effects.
Usage Tips
Raw Huang Bai is stronger for clearing heat; stir-fried Huang Bai is milder. Consult a TCM practitioner for proper dosage and preparation.
Conclusion
Huang Bai is a versatile TCM herb known for clearing heat, drying dampness, detoxifying, and reducing deficiency heat. It effectively treats diarrhea, urinary issues, sores, eczema, and yin deficiency symptoms, with modern research supporting its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and blood sugar-regulating effects. To ensure safe and effective use, consult a TCM practitioner for guidance on dosage and application.
Chinese Name | 黃柏 |
Chinese Pinyin | Huangbai |
English Name | Amur Corktree Bark |
Latin Pharmaceutical Name | Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex |
Category | Tree barks and root barks |
Origin | The dried tree barks of Phellodendron chinense Schneid.(Rutaceae), also called ‘Chuan huang bai’. |
Production Regions | Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou. |
Macroscopic Features | Board-shaped or shallow grooved pieces, uneven in length, 3~6mm thick. Outer surface is yellowish-brown, flat or with longitudinal grooves, sometimes one can see scars of lenticels and remnants of grayish-brown rough skin. Inner surface is dark yellow or pale brown, with thin dense longitudinal ridges. Light in weight, hard texture; fractured surface is fibrous, in cracked layers, dark yellow. faint odor, very bitter taste, sticky when chewed. |
Quality Requirements | Superior medicinal material has thick cortex and yellow fractured surface. |
Properties | Bitter; cold. |
Functions | Clears heat, dried dampness, drains fire, eliminates steaming, resolves toxin, treats sore. Apply to dysentery due to damp-heat pathogen, jaundice, leukorrhea, pyretic stranguria, beriberi, osteopyrexia, night sweat, emissions, burns and scalds and swelling, eczema and pruritus. |
Processed Form | Salt huang bai: Cleans huang bai strips, follows the way of salt water process to fry to dry. Moistens yin, downbears fire. Apply to yin deficiency and fire excess, night sweat and bone steaming. Huang bai charcoal: follows the way of frying charcoal process to fry the huang bai strips till externally burnt-black. Advanced in stopping bleeding. |
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