HomeTraditional Chinese Medicine HerbsTernate Pinellia

Ternate Pinellia

Name

Ternate Pinellia

Latin Pharmaceutical Name

Pinelliae Rhizoma

Chinese Name

半夏

Category

Roots and rhizomes

Ternate PinelliaMore Info

Production Regions

Primarily produced in Chinese provinces of Gansu, Hubei, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Zhejiang.

Macroscopic Features

Sub-spherical, sometimes slightly deviated. Externally white or light yellow, with concave stem scars on the apex, surrounded by dense pox-like root scars. Lower portion is blunt and round and relatively smooth. Firm texture; the fractured surface is clean white and very powdery. faint odor; taste acrid and spicy, numbs the tongue and irritates the throat.

Quality Requirements

Superior medicinal material is large, clean, white, firm, and powdery.

Properties

Acrid; warm; toxic.

Functions

Dries dampness, transforms phlegm, downbears counterflow, relieves vomiting, disperses focal distention, dissipates binds. Apply to damp-phlegm and cold-phlegm, cough with much phlegm, phlegm-fluid retention, palpitations, wind-phlegm and dizziness, phlegm syncope and headache, vomiting and stomach reflux, gastric stuffiness, plum-pit-qi; externally used for painful and swollen phlegm nodes.

Processed Form

Fa ban xia: sub-spherical or broken irregular granules, externally pale yellowish-white, yellow or brownish-yellow, loose brittle or hard brittle texture; fractured surface is yellow or pale yellow; granule is relatively harder. faint odor, taste bland and slightly sweet, slightly numbs the tongue. Acrid, warm; spleen, stomach, lung tropism. Dries dampness, transforms phlegm. Cough with much phlegm, phlegm-fluid retention, wind-phlegm and dizziness, phlegm syncope and headache. Jiang ban xia: schistose, irregular granule or sub-spherical. Externally brown to dark brown. Brittle texture; fractured surface is pale yellowish-brown, with horny luster. faint aromatic odor; taste bland, slightly numb the tong, sticky when chewed. Acrid; war; spleen, stomach, lung tropism. Warms the middle, disperses phlegm, downbears adverse-raising, and stops vomiting; phlegm-fluid retention and vomiting, abdominal stuffiness. Qing ban xia: oval, sub-sphereical or irregular flates. Fractured surface is pale gray to grayish-white, with grayish-white points or short-line vascular bundle scars. Some remnants phloem with pale purple red spots lower. Brittle texture, easily break; fractured surface is slightly horny. faint odor; taste slightly astringent and slightly numb the tongue. Acrid; warm; spleen, stomach, lung tropism. Dries dampness, transforms phlegm, cough with moisture phlegm, abdominal stuffiness, coagulation of phlegm not cough up.

Origin

The dried tuberous rhizome of Pinellia ternate (Thunb.) Breit. (Araceae).

Ternate PinelliaHerbs in the formula

Agastache Qi-Correcting Powder

Action：Releases the exterior and removes dampness, rectifies qi and harmonizes the center.

Indication：Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San is indicated for the contraction of exogenous wind-cold and internal damage by internal dampness. The symptoms include aversion to co1d with fever, headache, chest and diaphragm distension and depression, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, bowel sounds and diarrhea. The tongue has a white, greasy tongue coating. It can also be used to treat conditions that are contracted from the clouds and mists in the mountains, malaria, etc.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Poria Pill

Action：Dries dampness and moves qi, softens hard masses and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Fu Ling Wan is applicable to patterns of phlegm hidden in the middle jiao or lingering along the channels and collaterals. Clinical symptoms may involve aching pain or spasm of the arms, being unable to lift the arms, moving pain in the arms, numbness of the hands, and edema of the four limbs. The tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is deep and thin or wiry and slippery.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Immature Bitter Orange and Glomus-Dispersing Pill

Action：Disperses and relieves fullness, fortifies the spleen and harmonizes the stomach.

Indication：Spleen deficiency and qi stagnation with cold and heat combined, characterized by fullness below the heart, no desire to eat or drink, tiredness, lack of strength, difficult defecation, greasy, slight yellow tongue coating, and a wiry pulse.

View Details Digestive formulas

Turtle Shell Decocted Pill

Action：Moves qi, invigorates blood, dispels dampness, dissolves phlegm, softens hardness, and disperses concretions.

Indication：Bie Jia Jian Wan is indicated for chronic malaria with masses below the costal region and abdominal masses. Long-lasting malaria causes masses to gather underneath the costal region. It is called chronic malaria with masses. Symptoms include: Masses underneath the costal region that stay firm when pushed, abdominal pain, weak muscles, decreased appetite, occasional cold or fever, and inhibited menses.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Perilla Fruit Qi-Descending Decoction

Action：Directs qi downward, dispels phlegm, relieves cough and panting.

Indication：Su Zi Jiang Qi Tang is indicated for coughing or wheezing in patterns of upper excess and lower deficiency. The symptoms are phlegm-drool accumulation, chest and diaphragm fullness and oppression, coughing, panting, shortness of breath, and exhaling more than inhaling. It is accompanied by lumbago, weakness in the legs, fatigue, lassitude, or swollen limbs. The tongue coating is glossy, white or greasy, white, and the pulse is wiry and slippery.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Sweet Wormwood and Scutellaria Gallbladder-Clearing Decoction

Action：Clears gallbladder, drains dampness, harmonizes the stomach, and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Pattern of shaoyang damp-heat marked by alternating chills and fever similar to malaria, more fever than chills, a bitter taste in the mouth, diaphragm oppression, sour and bitter regurgitation, spitting yellow sticky drool, belching, hiccups, distending pain in the chest and rib-side, yellow scanty urine, a red tongue body, a white greasy or white yellow tongue coating, and a rapid, slippery right pulse and a rapid, wiry pulse.

View Details Harmonizing formulas

Gallbladder-Warming Decoction

Action：Rectifies qi and dissolves phlegm, harmonizes the stomach and promotes gallbladder secretion.

Indication：Wen Dan Tang is designed for patterns of gallbladder constraint with phlegm stirring up. This patterns manifest timidity and patients may be easily frightened. Other symptoms include vexation, insomnia or dreaminess, nausea, vomiting and hiccup, vertigo, epilepsy. The tongue coating is white and greasy, and the pulse is wiry and slippery.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Channel-Warming Decoction

Action：Warms the channels and dissipates cold, dispels stasis and nourishes blood.

Indication：Wen Jing Tang is indicated for deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai, obstructive blood stasis marked by menstrual spotting or purple menses with blood clots. There may be irregular menstruation such as advanced, delayed, or prolonged periods, or having a period twice a month. There may also be inhibited menses, fever at night, vexatious heat in the palms, dry lips and mouth, distention and fullness of the lower abdomen, a dark red tongue, and a thready, choppy pulse. Infertility due to deficient cold of the uterus may also manifest.

View Details Blood-regulating formulas

Ophiopogon Decoction

Action：Clears and nourishes the lung and stomach, directs counterflow downward and lowers qi.

Indication：Mai Men Dong Tang is indicated for lung wei (lung atrophy) due to deficiency-heat. The symptoms are coughing, labored breathing, throat discomfort, sputum that is difficult to expectorate, coughing up or spitting saliva, dry mouth and throat, feverish feeling in the palms and soles. The tongue is red with scanty tongue coating, and the pulse is deficient and rapid.

View Details Dryness-moistening formulas

Coptis and Officinal Magnolia Bark Beverage

Action：Clears heat and dispels dampness, rectifies qi, and harmonizes the center.

Indication：Lian Po Yin is indicated for damp-heat cholera. The symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea, chest and epigastric pi and oppression, vexation and agitation, and scanty dark urine. The tongue coating is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Qi-Clearing and Phlegm-Transforming Pill

Action：Clears heat and dissolves phlegm, regulates qi, and relieves cough.

Indication：Qing Qi Hua Tan Wan is indicated for patients with cough caused by phlegm-heat. The symptoms include coughing and panting, expectoration of sticky, yellow sputum, obstruction of the chest and diaphragm, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, and restlessness and agitation in severe cases. The tongue is red with a greasy and yellow coating and the pulse is slippery and rapid.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Inula and Hematite Decoction

Action：Directs counterflow downward, dissolves phlegm, boosts qi, and harmonizes the stomach.

Indication：Xuan Fu Dai Zhe Tang is indicated for weak stomach qi with internal obstruction of phlegm-turbidity. The symptoms are pi below the heart, belching, or vomiting with saliva. The tongue is pale with a white, glossy coating. The pulse is wiry and weak.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Ginseng and Perilla Beverage

Action：Boosts qi, releases the exterior, rectifies qi, and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：This formula is indicated for a pattern of qi deficiency with contraction of external wind-cold, complicated by interior phlegm-dampness. Signs and symptoms include aversion to cold, fever, absence of sweat, headache, stuffy nose, cough, white phlegm, distended and suppressed chest and abdomen, fatigue, lassitude, short of breath, dislike of speaking, a white tongue coating, and a weak pulse.

View Details Exterior-releasing formulas

Harmony-Preserving Pill

Action：Promotes digestion and harmonizes the stomach.

Indication：This formula is indicated for food accumulation in the stomach cavity. The symptoms are fullness, distending pain in the abdomen and stomach cavity, belching, acid swallowing, aversion to food, vomiting, and diarrhea. The tongue coating is thick and greasy, and the pulse is slippery.

View Details Digestive formulas

Convulsion-Settling Pill

Action：Removes phlegm and extinguishes wind.

Indication：Ding Xian Wan is applicable to epilepsy caused by wind-phlegm-heat accumulation. The clinical manifestation include a sudden onset of epilepsy, dizziness, falling to the ground, losing consciousness, anoopsia, vomiting white foam, wheezing sound in the throat, yelling, convulsion of the limbs, a whitish-yellow and greasy tongue coating, and a wiry, slippery, and slightly rapid pulse. It can also be used to treat manic-depressive psychosis.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Arrest Wheezing Decoction

Action：Diffuses the lung and directs qi downward, clears heat, and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Ding Chuan Tang is indicated for wheezing and panting due to phlegm-heat accumulation in the lung. The symptoms are wheezing and panting, cough, phlegm with heavy breathing, thick yellow phlegm, and slight aversion to wind. The tongue coating is yellow and greasy, and the pulse is slippery and rapid.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Apricot Kernel and Perilla Powder

Action：Relieves cool-dryness by light diffusion, regulates lung function, and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Xing Su San is indicated for patterns of externally-contracted cool-dryness. The symptoms are aversion to cold, mild headache, coughing with scanty sputum, stuffy nose, and a dry throat. The tongue coating is white, and the pulse is wiry.

View Details Dryness-moistening formulas

Lophatherum and Gypsum Decoction

Action：Clears heat and generates fluids, boosts qi and harmonizes the stomach.

Indication：Cold damage, warm disease, summerheat disease with residual heat, and damage of both qi and fluid. The signs include body fever, profuse sweating, chest distress and restlessness, nausea, dry mouth and polydipsia, low spirits and weak breathing, dry throat and lips, poor appetite, cough and choking, insomnia, a red tongue with little coating, and a weak and rapid pulse.

View Details Heat-clearing formulas

Yang-Returning Emergency Decoction

Action：Restores yang to rescue from desertion, boosts qi and engenders pulse.

Indication：This formula treats pathogenic cold directly attacking the three yin channels, causing yang weakness. This pattern is characterized by reversal cold of the limbs, debilitated spirit, desire to sleep, aversion to cold, lying curled up, vomiting and diarrhea, stomach pain, no thirst, shivering, greenish-purple nails and lips, frothy saliva, a pale white tongue body with a white tongue coating, and a deep, feeble or barely perceivable pulse.

View Details Warming interior formulas

Pinellia Heart-Draining Decoction

Action：Disperses pi and dissipates masses through the combination of cold and warm medicinals.

Indication：Pi is caused by the binding of cold and heat, marked by stuffiness below the heart, fullness without pain, vomiting, borborygmus, diarrhea, and a slightly yellow, greasy coating.

View Details Harmonizing formulas

Pinellia and Officinal Magnolia Bark Decoction

Action：Moves qi and dissipates masses, directs counterflow downward and dissolves phlegm.

Indication：Ban Xia Hou Po Tang is indicated for plum-stone qi (globus hystericus). The symptoms are fullness and tightness in the chest and diaphragm, coughing, and vomiting. The tongue coating is white and moist or white and glossy. The pulse is wiry and slow or wiry and slippery.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Pinellia, Atractylodes Macrocephala and Gastrodia Decoction

Action：Dries dampness and dissolves phlegm, calms the liver and extinguishes wind.

Indication：Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang is designed to treat the pattern of wind-phlegm harassing the upper body. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, pi and oppression in the chest and diaphragm, nausea, and vomiting. The tongue coating is greasy and white. The pulse is wiry and slippery.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Minor Chest-Draining Decoction

Action：Clears heat and dissolves phlegm, loosens the chest, and dissipates masses.

Indication：Xiao Xian Xiong Tang is suitable for pattern of binding phlegm and heat. The symptoms are pi and oppression of the chest and abdomen, painful heart and chest distention, cough with sticky, thick and yellow sputum. The tongue is red with yellow and greasy coating. The pulse is slippery and rapid.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas

Minor Bupleurum Decoction

Action：Harmonizes the shaoyang.

Indication：1. Cold damage entering the shaoyang. The symptoms are alternating chills and fever, fullness and discomfort in the chest and rib-side, no desire to eat or drink, vexation and frequent vomiting, bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat, dizzy vision, a thin white tongue coating, and a wiry pulse.

View Details Harmonizing formulas

Minor Green Dragon Decoction

Action：Releases the exterior, dissipates cold, warms the lung and dissolves rheum (fluid retention).

Indication：This formula is indicated for the pattern of exterior cold with interior fluid retention. The symptoms are aversion to cold, fever, absence of sweating, labored breathing, cough, copious clear and thin phlegm, stuffiness in chest, dry retching, difficulty in lying back in the supine position, general body aches, edema of the face and extremities. The tongue coating is white and glossy, and the pulse is superficial.

View Details Exterior-releasing formulas

Minor Pinellia Decoction

Action：Dissolves phlegm, dissipates rheum, harmonizes the stomach, and directs counterflow downward.

Indication：Xiao Ban Xia Tang is indicated for vomiting due to phlegm-rheum. The symptoms are vomiting phlegm-drool, lack of thirst, retching, hiccup, indigestion, and normal urination. The coating is white and glossy.

View Details Qi-regulating formulas

Major Bupleurum Decoction

Action：Harmonizes shaoyang and drains interior heat bind.

Indication：This formula treats a combined shaoyang-yangming pattern characterized by alternating chills and fever, fullness and discomfort in the chest and rib-side, frequent vomiting, constant vexation, epigastric pi and hardness or epigastric fullness and pain, constipation or diarrhea with fever, a yellow tongue coating, and a powerful wiry, rapid pulse.

View Details Harmonizing formulas

Three Kernels Decoction

Action：Disperses and diffuses qi movement, clears and removes damp-heat.

Indication：San Ren Tang is indicated for the pattern of more dampness than heat in the early stage of damp-warmth and summerheat-warmth with dampness. The symptoms are headache, aversion to cold, heavy body, general pain, fatigue, a light yellow complexion, chest distress without hunger, afternoon fever, and no thirst. The tongue coating is white and the pulse is wiry, thin, and soggy.

View Details Dampclearing formulas

Two Matured Substances Decoction

Action：Dries dampness and dissolves phlegm, rectifies qi, and harmonizes the center.

Indication：Er Chen Tang is indicated for damp-phlegm patterns .The symptoms are cough with profuse white phlegm that is easy to be expectorated, nausea and vomiting, chest stuffiness, fatigue and heavy feelings of the body or limbs, vertigo and palpitation. The tongue coating is glossy white or white and greasy, and the pulse is slippery.

View Details Phlegm-expelling formulas