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Cura x Cura

Di Gu Pi地骨皮

Lycii Cortex · Lycium Root Bark · Wolfberry Root Bark

Herbs that Clear Heat 清热药《神农本草经》

Overview

The root bark of the goji shrub, the cooling counterpart to its sweet red fruit. Sweet and cold without being harsh, it reaches the deficiency heat that seems to rise from within the bones in the late afternoon, and it also drains fire lodged in the Lung. Where Mu Dan Pi is preferred for steaming bone fever without sweating, Di Gu Pi is the choice when that heat comes with sweating.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet · Cold

Channels

Lung · Liver · Kidney

Typical Dosage

9–15 g in decoction
地骨皮Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Cools the blood, reduces steaming bone feverYin-deficiency heat with afternoon tidal fever, a sensation of heat rising from the bones, night sweats and the five-center heat.
  • Clears the Lung and drains fireLung heat with a dry, barking cough and wheezing, sometimes with a little blood in the sputum.
  • Cools blood and stops bleedingNosebleed and coughing of blood when heat is pushing blood out of the vessels.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Di Gu Pi

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Afternoon tidal fever and night sweats of yin deficiency
    - Steaming bone sensation and five-center heat
    - Lung-heat cough and wheezing
    - Nosebleed and blood-streaked sputum from heat

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Night sweatsLow-grade feverBronchitisEpistaxisHyperglycemia

Contraindications

Cautions

Cold and inward-moving: not for fever from an unresolved external wind-cold pattern, and not for Spleen deficiency with poor appetite and loose stools.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Use with caution in pregnancy — it is cold; the treating practitioner decides.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.