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Cura x Cura

Hu Huang Lian胡黄连

Picrorrhizae Rhizoma · Picrorhiza Rhizome

Herbs that Clear Heat 清热药《新修本草》

Overview

A bitter, cold rhizome from the Himalayan foothills, named for its resemblance to Huang Lian and used for a narrower job: heat that smoulders rather than blazes. It clears the low persistent fever of yin deficiency, the fever of childhood accumulation, and damp-heat lodged in the intestines.

Nature & Flavor

Bitter · Cold

Channels

Liver · Stomach · Large Intestine

Typical Dosage

1.5–9 g in decoction
胡黄连Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Clears deficiency heatAfternoon or night fever with night sweats and a hot, restless feeling in the palms and soles.
  • Clears the heat of childhood accumulationChildhood malnutrition patterns: low fever, irritability, abdominal distension, poor appetite and slow growth.
  • Drains damp-heatDamp-heat diarrhea and dysentery; heat in painful swollen haemorrhoids.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Hu Huang Lian

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Tidal or night fever with night sweats from yin-deficiency heat
    - Childhood accumulation fever with poor appetite and distension
    - Damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery
    - Painful swollen haemorrhoids from damp-heat

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Low-grade feverNight sweatsInfectious diarrheaHemorrhoids

Contraindications

Cautions

Intensely bitter and cold, and hard on a weak digestion: not for Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold with poor appetite, loose stool or cold abdominal pain. Keep courses short and stop once the heat has cleared. A persistent unexplained fever needs a medical diagnosis, not a longer course of a cooling herb.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Used only under practitioner supervision in pregnancy — it is markedly cold and draining

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Xin Xiu Ben Cao《新修本草》(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.