Scutellaria Root (Huangqin)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Radix Scutellariae |
| Botanical Name: | Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi |
| Common Name: | Scutellaria Root Scute Skullcap |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The roots are dug in spring or autumn. The fibrous roots are removed and dried in the sun. |
| Properties and Taste: | Bitter and cold |
| Meridian: | Lung, gall bladder, stomach and large intestine |
| Functions: | To clear heat and dry dampness To reduce fire and release toxins To stop bleeding and calm fetus |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Damp-heat syndromes: a) Damp-heat febrile disease. *Use with Talc (Huashi) and Rice paper pith (Tongcao) a) damp-heat febrile disease. b) Jaundice. *Use with Capejasmine (Zhizi), Oriental wormwood (Yinchenhao) and Bamboo leaf (Zhuye). c) Dysentery or diarrhea . *Use with Coptis root (Huangqin) . d) Boils, carbuncles and furuncles . *Use with Honeysuckle flower (Jinyinhua) and Trichosanthes root (Tianhuafen). 2. Cough due to heat in the lungs. *Use with Mulberry bark (Sangbaipi) and Anemarrhena rhizome (Zhimu). 3. Hemorrhage due to heat in the blood manifested as vomiting with blood, epistaxis, hematuria, and uterine bleeding. *Carbonize and use with fresh rehmannia root (Shengdihuang), Imperata rhizome (Baimaogen) and Biota tops (Cebaiye). 4. Threatened abortion (restless fetus). *Use with Chinese angelica root (Danggui) and White Atractylodes (Baizhu). |
| Dosage: | 3-10 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated in cases with deficiency cold of the spleen and stomach. The raw herb is used to calm the fetus by clearing heat, the herb stir-baked in wine is used to stop bleeding, and the carbonized herb clears heat in the upper jiao. |