Pinellia Tuber (Banxia)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Rhizome Pinelliae |
| Botanical Name: | Pinellia ternate (Thunb.) Breit. |
| Common Name: | Pinellia tuber |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The tuberous rhizomes are dug in the period between summer and autumn. After the bark and fibrous roots have been removed, the rhizomes are dried in the sun. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent, warm and toxic |
| Meridian: | Spleen, stomach and lung |
| Functions: | To dry dampness and resolve phlegm To conduct rebellious qi downward and stop vomiting To reduce distension and disperse nodules |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Phlegm-damp cough due to deficient spleen manifested as cough with profuse, dilute and white sputum. *Use with Tangerine peel (Chenpi) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Erchen Tang. 2. Nausea and vomiting due to rebellious stomach qi: a) Stomach cold type. *Use with Fresh ginger (Shengjiang) in the formula Xiao Banxia Tang. b) Stomach heat type. *Use with Bamboo shavings (Zhuru) and Loquat leaf (Pipaye). c) Pregnancy type. *Use with Perilla stem (Sugeng) and Amomum fruit (Sharen). d) Stomach weakness type. *Use with Ginseng (Renshen) and Jujube (Dazao). 3. Globus hystericus due to qi stagnation and accumulation of phlegm-damp manifested as a feeling of having a foreign body in the throat, fullness and distension in the chest and epigastric region and nausea. *Use with Magnolia bark (Houpo), Perilla leaf (Zisuye) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Banxia Houpo Tang. 4. Goiter, scrofula and subcutaneous nodule. *Use with Laminaria (Kunbu), Seaweed (Haizao) and Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu). |
| Dosage: | 5-10 g |
| Cautions: | This herb is contraindicated in cases with dry cough due to deficient yin, or cough due to phlegm-heat. Also, it cannot be used together with the herb Sichuan aconite root (Wutou). |