February 4, 2025 • 58 mins
This episode will be looking at another important and interesting traditional Chinese herb: dà huáng, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, or rhubarb root or rhizome. This herb is a relatively commonly used herb in the Chinese medical subcategory of purgatives under the category of downward draining herbs and can be used in a wide variety of conditions. And as usual, we will be exploring something a little different…today, because there is so much commentary on this herb, we are doing something even more different: not discussing something a little different. Each episode of the podcast will go into great depth about a single herb or formula. Besides covering the basics of herbology including category, and functions, we will explore the history, quality, science, pharmacology, evidence, and any potential interactions of each herb or formula. Please join us as we look at dà huáng, Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, or rhubarb root or rhizome. It is going to be another interesting and important journey into the depths of the forest of herbdom…please keep listening!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
That Angelica. Welcome to episode seventy seven of Sperbs Herbs.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Today we're going to.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Be talking about da Huang da da huang ray radix
at riizoma or rhubarb root or riizome i. As always
are your presenter, doctor Greg am your presenter, doctor Greg Sperber, So.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Today we will be exploring an important and interesting Chinese herb,
and this herb is a relatively commonly used herb in
the Chinese medical subcategory of purgatives under the category of
downward draining herbs, and can be used in a wide
variety of conditions. And as usual, we will be explaining
something a little different though today because there's so much
(00:55):
commentary on this herb. It's an important Chinese herb and
it it can't be a danger. We're doing something even
more different, not discussing something a little different, So we
don't have anything specific, but we are going to be
talking a lot about this particular herb. And what I
like about this irb is I have a great little
(01:16):
book called Chinese Herbal Legends, and it's just such a
neat little book and it has herbal legends for I think,
is it fifty or one hundred ors.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Let me see, I think it's fifty. No, it's fifty
fifty stories for understanding Chinese herbs, and so it's.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You know, I've used it several times in the past.
This is one of the herbs, the one of the
fifty earths.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So we get to explore that.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
That could be our little something different today.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So we're going to be talking about that, So.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Please stay tuned for this intriguing episode. Before we get
into that, I just wanted to remind you I have
been teaching for quite a while now on a wide
variety of topics. If you like this podcast and want
to explore more of my courses, they are available at
www dot Integrativemedicinecouncil dot org that's Integrated Messine Council Council
(02:08):
dot org and include a ton of different topics, including
my Drug Herb series looking at drugs and how they
interact with herbs and vice versa, several ethics and safety courses,
Chinese medical research course, several treatment of condition courses such
as arthritis, neck and backpain, COVID and depression, anxiety, and
a lot more, and one of my favorite courses, the
(02:30):
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It's all about Chinese herbal products. You can buy from
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it's colds. It's great, and they're all at a reasonable cost.
(02:52):
And you can get an additional twenty percent off with
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off and so twenty percent off as many courses as
you want using that code, So by a bunch, and
those are all available again at www dot Integrative Medicinecouncil
(03:13):
dot org. Okay, so that let's get in. Before we
get into the air proper, let's discuss it's herbal legend.
I love these verbal legends. So this is from the
book as I mentioned, Chinese Verbal Legends, Fifty Stories for
Understanding Chinese Herbs by Ju and Ju da Huang on here. Okay,
(03:37):
da Huang, a traditional Chinese medicinal orb, was called huang
gen before, not da Huang. Why was it later called
da Huang? This is its story. Long ago there was
a doctor whose surname was Huang for generations. His family
was good at gathering Huang, Lian, Huang, chi, wang Jing,
(04:01):
wang Qing, and wang gun. These are all important Chinese rbs.
Also for generations, his family had cured patients with these
five huang or yellow medicinal herbs. Wang means yellow. Because
of this, people all called him mister hu Wuhang or
five yellows. Every March, when mister Wuhang climbed up the
(04:27):
mountain to gather medicinal herbs, he would stay in Mad
Jun's home in a village at the foot of the
mountain and only leave there after autumn. Ma Jun was
a farmer. The other members of his family were his
wife and his son. Mister Wu Huang and Ma Jun's
family all became good friends. One year, when mister Wu
(04:48):
Huang returned and entered the village, he found that Majun's
house was gone. Mad June's family suffered a calamity. His
house burned down last winter and his wife died in
the fire. Now he and his son live in a
mountain cave.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
The villagers told him.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Mister Wu Wang was sorry to hear this. He went
to see Ma Jun and his son in the mountain cave.
Seeing mister Wuhang, ma Jun wept in his arms. As
you have nothing now, you'd better follow me together and
sell medicinal herbs with your son, said mister wu Wang.
Ma Jun was very glad to go with mister wu Wang,
(05:28):
and they wandered here and there. After less than six months,
Ma Jun had learned learned how to dig up the wuhang,
but mister wu Huang never taught him how to cure disease.
Elder brother, why don't you teach me how to cure disease,
asked ma Jun. I think you are too impatient to
(05:51):
be a doctor, said mister wu Huang, laughing, So it
should be I think you're too impatient to be a doctor.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That's better.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Ma Jun was a little dissatisfied by this, so he
paid attention to how mister Wuhuang cured people's disease, and
he secretly used the medicines. As time went by, Majun
learnt a little without mister Wuhang's noticing, and he began
to practice medicine.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
One day, when.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Mister wu Huang was out, a pregnant woman came to
see the doctor. She was very weak and as thin
as a laugh. What's wrong with you, asked Ma Jun. Diarrhea,
replied the woman. Wang Lean should be used to stop diarrhea,
but Ma Jun gave her huang gun instead. After taking
(06:43):
two doses of it, the patient's illness became even more
serious and she died after two days. When her family
learned that the prescription was made by Ma Jun, they
took him to the counting court. After a careful study
of the case, the county official judge that Majun had
killed the patient because he was a quack.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Just then, mister.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Wu Wuhang came and he knelt down in the court.
You should pass sentence on me instead, said mister Wu Wang.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Who are you? Why are you a criminal? Asked the official.
Master It has nothing to do with him.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I did it behind his back, cried Mad Jun. The
official had heard of mister Wu Huang before, and when
he learnt of their relationship, he very admired what they
were doing for the sake of their friendship. So the
official tried his best to absolve Madjoun from guilt, and
at last he find them a sum of money to
(07:43):
give to the dead person's family and set them free.
You can't be too impatient to learn how to cure disease,
as you have seen the wrong medicine can kill people,
said mister wu Huang. Later, when Majun had dung up
medicinal herbs, honestly have become a more steady person, mister
Wuhuang began to teach him medical knowledge so that he
(08:05):
would always remember this lesson. Mister wu Wang changed the
name of huang Gun to da Huang so that later
generations could also avoid misusing this medicinal ord. Wong means
great yellow or big yellow. Wang Gun just means yellow root.
So there you go. That's the story of the legend
(08:27):
of the Hong. So today's are the huang rhubarb root
or rhizome, and it comes from the family on Polygon,
Polygon nasier or buckwheat family. Standard species. According to Benski,
there are three standard species. Rooum palmatum also known Xiangye
(08:51):
da hoang, room tango, tikam Tengudium.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Maxim x bolf.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, those maximax ball refers to the botanists, and this
in Chinese is tungu ta da huang and room officionale
bail and this is Yao yang da huang and as
I mentioned, I just mentioned the English translation.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Of this is big yellow.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Other names include Russian rhubarb, uh East Indian rhubarb, Indian
rhubarb chuang Jun, which we're gonna explain in a minute
Quo shen jiang jun Jin wuen da Huang qing ning
pien chung jun, and in Japanese dio and in Korean
(09:48):
die wang die a wang. Again, I don't speak Japanese
or Korean. I speak a little bit of Chinese, not good,
but I speak a little.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Bit of it.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Let's talk about the polygon polygonasier family here. So the
polygonase are not weed, smartweed, or buckwheat family consists of
about forty eight genera and twelve hundred species. Poly means many,
gooni means knee or joint, and polygony or polygon nasier
(10:22):
may refer to the swollen nodes on the stems of
some species. Many species are ornamental, and others have edible components,
including Cocoloba uvifera, which produce sea grapes, the seeds of
two species of Phagopurum known as buckwheat. If you haven't
(10:42):
had buckweight, it's delicious rumex rumex acetosa, whose leaves are
known as soil, so that's used in salads and of
course herb today where the petioles are eaten. Some petioles
are interesting. Those are we know what they are, We've
seen them all the time.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I don't know you, I don't know if I knew
what they were called.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Petioles are is the stock that attaches the leaf blade
to the stems. So you know, you have the stem
coming out and then there's a little stock and then
there's the leaf.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
That stock is the petiole.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Most polygonasier are perennial herbaceous plants with swollen nodes, but trees, shrubs,
and vines are also present. The leaves of polygon and
nasier are simple and arranged alternately on the stems. There
are more distinctive stuff. But it got very technical, very fast.
(11:38):
So I thought there was a little bit more than we.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Needed to get into.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
So going back to today's herb of da Huang.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Ben Ski.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So remember I have three major textbooks for individual herbs.
I look at Benski and his team. Which is the
material Medica Chinese. I can't remember what it is, but
it's it's one of our basic textbooks. All use it
and say the dosage is three to fifteen grams. They
say the doses three to fifteen grams. Another textbook I
use is Chen and Chen book and Brandon Wiseman's Concise
(12:14):
Chinese Material Medica. Eric brand is a friend of mine,
so Eric Brown and Nigel Wiseman very very well known
in our profession. They say the doses both of those sources,
so Chen Chen and Brandon Wiseman both say five to
ten grams is the normal dosage, with Chen and Chen
(12:35):
saying up to fifteen to twenty grams can be used
in severe cases, so you can use higher doses if necessary.
And the categories are interesting. Benski and Changen put the
herb in the purgative subcategory of the downward draining herbs category,
so that's in itself amazing. This is the first time
in seventy seven episodes that they've agreed on anything. So
(12:59):
the the actual names are exactly the same. It's the
subcategory of purgative, so these purgate you in the category
or the chapter in the book, the category of downward
draining herbs. Now Brandon Weisman uses a totally different approach to.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
A lot of its naming of this.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's translations of the same thing. They're all using fairly similar,
if not the exact same sources and translating them a
little bit different, but wise men. Nigel Wiseman also co
wrote with Fong A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine, so
he's very technical in his language and very specific in
his language, and so the Brand and Wiseman textbook takes
(13:42):
that into account. So it sounds a little bit inch odd,
but it's technically very accurate. So they say it is
in the offensive precipitate medicinals subcategory of the draining precipitent
medicinals category.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
So they kind of change things.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
And I like their use the word medicinals rather than herbs,
because a lot of our herbs are not herbs, they're minerals,
and there's animal stuff they're not herbs, they're medicinals. I
think that's a more accurate approach to this. All three
of our sources say it is bitter and cold and
(14:19):
enters the heart, large intestine, liver, and stomach channels, while
both Chen and Chen and Brand and Wisemen say it
also enters the Spleen channel as well, so all of
them agree at least four channels, and chen Chen and
Brann Wiseman adds Cleen it's the fifth channel. History is
(14:41):
pretty straightforward here. Both Benski and his team and chen
Chen say the original source for the herb is the
Shendong Ben Saujing, the Divine Husbandsman's Classic of the Materia Medica,
written in the second century CE. We discuss this book
a lot because a lot of ourbs come from it.
It is the oldest existing book on individual herbs around.
(15:02):
So I'm not saying there weren't other books that talked
about individual herbs, but they are no longer around, and
certainly herbs here and there were mentioned elsewhere, but this
is the first book on individual herbs that we still
have today, so very important. If an herb is in
this book, it means it's probably been used from the
(15:23):
beginning of Chinese medicine of Chinese rbology, so it's a
very old, distinguished book. So let's talk about this overall
category of downward draining herbs. So, of course, and Benski
always has such great introductions to the category and subcategories.
(15:44):
So according to Benski. Downward draining herbs are those that
either stimulate or lubricate the gastro intestinal tract to facilitate
the expulsion of stool. Because the actions of downward draining
herbs are dissimilar, they are divided into three major classes,
each of which is discussed in a separate section. First
(16:04):
are the purgatives. For the most part, these are bitter
and cold in nature, which we saw with herb today,
with rather strong heat clearing properties. They are often used
for constipation due to accumulation of heat. There are moist laxatives,
often nuts or seeds. These substances lubricate the intestines. They
(16:27):
are mild in nature, are most appropriately prescribed for the debilitated,
elderly and those who are weakened from either a febrile
disease or from childbirth. And then, finally, the third subcategory
here is harsh expellents for cathartics. These are very strong
drugs that induce pronounced diarrhea. Some of them are also
(16:47):
diuretics and are useful in the treatment of pleurisy. In
assietse so sidse is drum like abdomen from usually from
liver problems. There's a whole reason why it appenapons, but
that society's because of their strong effects. They are only
used in very severe cases, those harsh expellents. So let's
(17:11):
talk about these purgatives specifically, because that's where a herb
today belongs. Benski and his team continues with the discussion
of the purgative subcategory. Purgatives are used in patterns of
interior excess, which can be divided into two broad categories,
interior heat and interior cold constipation due to accumulation of heat,
(17:33):
when a febril disease reaches the interior level of the body,
it enters the stomach and intestines and depletes the fluids,
causing constipation. If accompanied by a high fever, you have
the classic presentation of the young brightness organ stage fever
noted in discussion of cold damage. The discussion of cold
damage is we just mentioned the shadown Ben Saalu Jing
(17:58):
as being the first book of individual herbs discussion of
cold damage, along with its companion text, the Thousand Gold Ducats.
I can't remember exactly the name of it off the
top of my head. Those are a couple hundred years
or later, and those are the first books that we
have existing on formulas on herbal formulas the combination of
(18:21):
individual herbs. So in such cases one should use downward
draining herbs to clear the heat and drain the fire.
And finally, the second use of purgatives that are constipation
due to accumulation of cold. Cumulation of cold may also
lead to constipation by interfering with the normal expulsion of
stool from the body. In most cases there are also
(18:43):
systemic cold symptoms. In addition to purgatives, one should therefore
use herbs that warm interior cold. So we know this
herb is bitter and cold. Generally you wouldn't want to
add that into something that's cold, but if you're in
with other herbs that are very warming, they can work
(19:03):
well to deal with its constipation due to accumulation of cold.
So what does good quality da huog look like? So
according to Benski, they say good quality consists of compact,
heavy roots with wiley content, a yellowish brown surface, fresh
aromatic fragrance, and a bitter but not a stringent taste.
(19:24):
When chewed, it should stick to the teeth. I always
love that as a as a description. Now we have
another textbook that we use called Chinese Medicinal identification and
an illustrated approach written by Jiao and Chen and edited
actually by Eric Brand, who who is the brand and
(19:45):
wiseman of our other textbook on our individual herbs.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So that text.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Says da Huang has roughly cylindrical, conical, ovoid or irregular
pieces externally yellowish brown to reddish brown. When decorticated, the
texture is firm with a delicately aromatic odor, and the
taste is bitter and slightly astringent, sticky and gritty when chewed.
(20:13):
Medicinal material with a firm texture, a delicate aromatic odor,
and a bitter and slightly astringent taste. So basically everything
we just said is superior in commercial grade. They also
discuss two technical terms when.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Viewing this herb.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
The first is the brocade pattern or gin went, which
are brocade like reticulation seen on the exeter or horizontally
cut surface formed by interconnected off white parinama reddish brown
rays in star spots. The second are star spots are
a shing dian, which are small dark red rays of
(20:51):
dots which can be seen on the horizontally fractured surface.
They may be scattered or arranged in rings and appear
like dots of stars. This phenomenon comes from abnormal vascular
bundles in the pith, and the radiostriations are rays of
abnormal vascular bundles. So those are specific things you look
(21:13):
for for in da Huang. These are things that are
specific to da Huang. So what are its Chinese medical actions?
And it's interesting it has you know, it's in the purgatives.
We think purgatives. Okay, it does have all those actions.
It has some really other interesting actions besides just that.
So Corininabenski and his team, da Huang drains heat and
(21:34):
purges accumulations for high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, constipation, abdominal
distension and pain, delirium, yellow tongue coating, and a full pulse.
This presentations are referred to either as intestinal heat excess
or the young brightness organ stage of the six stages
(21:56):
of disease. It also brains fire for fire from access
leading to intense fever, sore throat, hot swollen and painful eyes,
or fire toxin sores due to heat excess obstructing the
blood level. Particularly useful when these problems are accompanied by constipation,
(22:20):
It clears heat, transforms dampness, and promotes urination for damp
heat leading to such problems as edema, jaundice, painful urinary dribbling,
as well as acute hot dysenteric disorders. It drains heat
from the blood for blood in the stool, either from bleeding, hemorrhoids,
(22:40):
or heat accumulating in the intestines. Also for chaotic movement
of hot blood that overflows manifested in vomiting blood or
nose bleed accompanied by constipation. Additionally, it invigorates the blood
and dispels blood stasis for aminarrhea or lack of menstruation,
fixed abdominal masses, or fixed pain due to blood stasis,
(23:04):
also for blood stations due to traumatic injury or intestinal abscess.
This is an important herb for treeting both recent and
long term blood stasis, as it can both eliminate static
blood that is outside the vessels via the bowels and
clear the heat that often develops from stasis. And finally,
it clears heat and reduces fire toxicity used either topically
(23:28):
or internally for burns or skin lesions due to heat.
So that's all the functions according to Benski and their team.
Let's see what Changeens says. So they say it it
tax accumulations by purging downwards to treat various kinds of constipation.
It purges fire. Da Wong has an excellent ability to
(23:48):
purge excess fire, whether constipation is present or not. It
also clears heat and eliminates toxins. Additionally, it activates blood
circulation and removes blood stasis. Da Wong has two unique
functions in activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis. First,
it eliminates blood stasis and bruises through its purgative function.
(24:12):
Then it clears heat related to the stasis. Finally, it
clears damp heat and promotes diarrhsis or promotes urination. Dall
Wang treats water accumulation and patients who have no deficiencies.
(24:33):
So Brandon Wiseman say, it drains and precipitates to attack accumulations,
drains fire and sanches bleeding, clears heat and resolves toxin,
and quickens the blood into spells stasis. So very similar,
slightly different verbiage, but very similar to what we've already
been hearing the Chinese men disial identification and illustrated approach,
(24:54):
says Da Huang drains, heat, frees the stool, cools, the blood,
resolves toxis, city, dispels blood stasis, and unblocks menstruations. That's
the first time we specifically here that it can.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Be useful for minstry. Well, we didn't mention amnory earlier.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
So yeah, the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica says this inferior
class herb.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
So let's well, we'll talk about inferior class in just
a minute.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
So this inferior class orb mainly precipitates blood stasis, blood block,
and cold and heat. So it says, remember this is
the oldest so it's not to say how it's used today,
but originally it was good for both cold and heat.
It breaks concretions and conglomerations, accumulations and gatherings and lodged
(25:42):
room and abiding food. It flushes the stomach intestines to
weed out the stale and bring forth the new, disinhibits
and freeze the flow of water and grain, regulates the
center to transform food, and quiets and harmonizes the five viscera.
And here's those inferior class worps. So the Divine farmers
(26:04):
Materire Medica classifies herbs as superior class middle class from
inferior class. So inferior class herbs are usually toxic and
cannot be taken for long periods of time.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And it did say I.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Didn't quote it here, but it does say the Divine
Farmer's Materia Medica does say that this is a toxic herb,
which we're gonna find generally is not said in the
other text, but is kind of referred to a little bit,
so kind of there, but it kind of isn't. It
is prepared in a lot of different ways, So let's
(26:37):
talk about that in general. To enhance this herb's purgative function,
it should be added at the end of the decocting process.
That's his team says, should be added near the end
of the boiler or boiled for three minutes separately, and
then added to the rest of the strained decoction. Shen
Chen actually take that a little bit further, say it
should be cooked for well, actually they say it should
be cooked for five to ten minutes, so it can
(26:57):
be cooked a little bit longer.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Bran Wiseman just says to add it at the end
or simply infused in boiling water, So don't actually cook it,
just just infuse it.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
So you pour boiling water over it.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So Benski and his team has an extensive discussion of
several preparations. When not prepared in any particular way, this
herb is called unprepared rue barber.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Hung dah huang.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Because of its ability to drive out the old and
promote the new with a rapid, irresistible force. It has
long been called the general or jieng jun, or in
its raw form shung jung. So remember I told you
we were going to talk about slaying what those herbs
actually meant, those names actually meant. So the General, I
like that. If it is produced in Sichuan Province, it
(27:51):
is called Sichuan rhubarber, twan da huang, or chuan Jun.
So let's get into types of different preparations. It can
be steamed, so steamed rhubarb or shoe d'a huang. The
root is mixed with yellow rice wine and steamed, then
dried in the sun. This is also known as process
rhubarb or jur d'ah huang, jur Jun or shoe jun.
(28:15):
Prepared in this way, the downward draining and cooling properties
are moderated, rendering it more appropriate for weaker patients who
have an excess pathogen that requires purging. Some hold the
view that steamed rhubarb clears damp heat, as in the
following passage from Jiang Bing Chung's Convenient Reader of Material
Medica or the bensal Biondhu written in eighteen eighty seven.
(28:39):
Once it has been prepared and wine, whether steamed or
dry fried, it then specifically enters the small intestine and
the bladder to treat damp heat, urinary blockage, and similar symptoms.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
So that steam drubarb, we.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Have wine washed rhubarb or Joshi da huang. The roots
are sprayed with wine, then baked dry. This is also
known as wine rhubarb or Joe dot Huang or wine
Great General Joe doa jun. Although both this method of
preparation and the one above involved wine, the process of
baking does not reduce the herb's purgative effect as much
(29:15):
as the steaming process. In terms of the strength of
its downward draining action, wine washed rhubarb is thought to
be halfway between the unprepared herb and the steamed herb.
The particular advantage of this form of preparation is that
it can rain in upper body fire, directing it downward.
Thus it is often used for large intestine heat toxin,
(29:37):
which follows the channel upward and causes redness of the eyes, toothache,
mouth ulcers, and restless heat in the chest. Vinegar, rhubarb
or sou sou do hog. The roots are sprayed with vinegar,
then baked dry or dry fried and sliced. This form
of preparation enables the herb's action to enter the liver
(29:59):
and break up blood stasis and to drain heat excess
from the blood level.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
So you know when we see these.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Preparations, there's a lot underneath the preparation. So like we
say vinegar, vinegar is very sour, the taste of the
liver or of the wood element is sour.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
So that's why this helps the liver okay.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Next herb is charred rhubarb or DoD huang tong. Slices
of the raw root are dry fried over high heat
until the exterior is charred black. Then it is sprayed
with cold water to halt the cooking process. They are
then baked dry. This process greatly reduces its ability to
drain downward and break up blood stasis at the same time, however,
(30:45):
and empowers it to stop bleeding.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Thus, in this.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Form it is appropriate for accumulated heat in the intestines
leading to blood in the stool.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I love this next name.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Slices of Pure Tranquility or chingning pen love that slices
of pure tranquility. The herb is boiled in yellow rice
wine until soft, pounded into a paste, dried in the sun,
then ground into flour. The flower is then mixed with
yellow rice wine and honey, steamed thoroughly, kneaded evenly, formed
(31:24):
into a long roll, and placed in an earthenware jug
to rest for ten days until evenly moist inside and out.
It is then sliced. This form of the herb is
sold as a prepared medicine on the herb market. Is
often used by those patients who cannot tolerate a strong
purgative for such symptoms as fullness of the chest and abdomen,
(31:44):
food stagnation, constipation.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And dark urine.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
That is, all our preparations at this point talk about
Western uses of this. The PDR for herbal medicines PDRs
as for physicians desk reference, so it tends to be
a little bit medicalized, so they stay they discussed this
herb as approved for commission e by for constipation. So
(32:10):
if you're not from the commission, this was something in
the nineties, I believe that was commissioned by the European
Union to look at herbs and basically uh it looked
at all the science at that time and either approved
or disapproved herbs for marketing in the European Union. So
being approved by commissioning means that it was role researched
(32:31):
at that time. It's probably getting a little bit old
in its research at this point and was found to
have some benefits, so proved by commissioning for constipation. Unproven
uses include its use as an appetite stimulant and for
treatment of digestive disorders. Gastrointestinal qatar. Qatar is basically a
(32:51):
build up of mucus anywhere in the body, so we
often you know, think of it in the airway, so
respiratory qutar. Though it can be any cavity of the body,
it's the gastro intestinal track and can also be unproven
use for painful teething and children can be used externally
for burns and other skin conditions. So those are the
(33:14):
Western uses. So let's get into its commentary again. Benski
has a great commentary on the serbs. Let's get into it.
They say, a bitter cold and with a strong downward
directing action, da huang strongly mobilizes and reaches directly into
(33:36):
the lower burner, entering the young brightness, it washes away
accumulated obstruction due to heat from excess. Entering the terminal yin,
it clears heat from excess in the blood level and
eliminates blood stasis. In this way, it is useful for
a wide variety of conditions, including constipation due to clump
(33:56):
heat and the intestines, diarrhea due to collected blocking in
the intestines, jaundice of astaxis which is nose bleeding, red
eyes and swollen throat due to a scented fire and
heat compelling the blood upward, and heat toxin sores and abscesses.
It is also used for amenarihea due to stasis and stagnation,
(34:18):
postpartum obstruction and injury, and hematoma or bruising from trauma.
Unprepared d'a huang can also be ground into a powder
and used externally to cool heat and remove toxins. The
Materia Medica for Decoctions of Tanyae Bensal, written in thirteen
oh six, notes, d'Al Huang is a Yin within yin
(34:42):
herb which trains fullness, pushes out the old to create
the new, and expels old filth in order to quiet
the five yen organs, exactly like suppressing turmoil and rebellion
to bring about great peace, which is why it is
called the General or jung Jun Chang Chuang Lay elaborates
(35:05):
on the actions of this herb. The twelve characters from
the Divine Husbanmand's classic of Materia Medica that say, pushes
out the old to create the new, regulates the middle
to transform food, and quiets the five yen organs relate
to the application of da Huang and should be taken
most seriously. This is because unblocking is equivalent to tonification, both
(35:28):
in the digestion of the intestines and stomach and in
the total circulation.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Of the blood vessels.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
If there is dormant foulness lodged in stagnation, turbid filth
will not be expelled, and then even the newly generated
blood will readily accumulate into stasis.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Only washing away this.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Old putre faction will create freshness so that the middle
chi will be harmoniously regulated, food will not be hindered
in its transformation, and the five yen organs will rest
in peaceful harmony. Sean goes on to lament that some
material medica texts characterize its strong effects as toxic, thereby
(36:11):
scarring the average practitioner from using it in the clinic. Sorry,
not scarring scaring the average practitioner from using it in
the clinic when even doctors in Western countries extole it
as a marvelous tonic for the stomach exclamation point. Nonetheless,
daal Huang is a strong purgative and must be used
with care during, for example, menstruation or for deficient patients.
(36:36):
Form the patient that it tends to turn the urine
and sweat yellow. It also passes through to the breast milk,
which may turn yellow and can cause diarrhea in an infant.
Note also that the earth has a peculiar double action.
While large dose ten grams or more will promote Belle
movement as expected, a small dose may have the opposite effect.
(37:00):
If a strong effect is needed. The herb should be
added separately later in the process of cooking and decoction,
because overcooking will reduce its effect. What is less known
is that THISRB can be used with excellent effect to
expel Fhlem heat through the intestines. Commentary on the divine
Husbandsman's classical material a medica the Shandan ben sau jingshiu
(37:22):
when in sixteen twenty five, explains that it is very
cold and very bitter, with a direct nature best at
opening the lower body, and is therefore an important herb
in the treatment of heat clumped in the middle and
lower burners as a result of cold damage or in
pathogen diseases, hot disorders, and damp heat leading to constipation.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
And urinary difficulty.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
It is also good for dampness and heat congealing into
phlegm in the middle and lower burners. It expels pathogens
to halt their violence and has a special ability to
uproot chaos and restore normality. So that is our commentary
on it, and you can see this is a strong
(38:07):
herb that does a lot of really important things, but
subcaution needs to be employed. So let's compare this with
a couple other herbs. Sebenski compares this orb with two others.
The first one is krotonis frucitus or bodeau. Badeau is
actually in that subcategory that we talked about mentioned earlier,
(38:29):
which is harsh expellents, So this is even harsher herb.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Both herbs are purgatives, but krotonis fruitous. Bodeaux is hot
and used when cold accumulations accumulates internally within the yen organs.
Dot Huang is cold and used for heat build up in.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
The young organs.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Both herbs, if prepared and used in small doses, will
drive out the old to bring in the new, reduce accumulation,
and harmonize the middle. Krotonis frucitus. Bodeaux, however, is very
toxic Externally, It is irritated both the skin and mucous membranes. Internally,
it causes diarrhea and loss of fluids. By contrast, dah
(39:14):
Huang has a very low toxicity. It breaks up lad stasis,
clears damp heat, and resolves toxicity.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
In counrying.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
The sources of the classic material medica, the wehen ra
Jung Yuan, written in the late Qing dynasty, which lasted
from sixteen forty four to nineteen eleven, so relatively modern
text explains the differences between the two herbs. Kratonis fruitous
badeaux and ray red except Rizoma d huang are both
downward driving herbs, but d Hoong is cold in nature
(39:44):
and appropriate for surplus heat and the yang organs, while
krotonis fruitous bodeau is hot in nature and appropriate for
surplus cold.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
In the yin organs.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Graund Materia Medica of the ben Saugong Mu, written in
fifteen ninety, states that the traditional view that Cartonis fruitus
badeau and da huang mutually counteract they say used with
da wang, it's baldeaux draining action conversely moderates. This is
because their natures are mutually counteracting, they probably shouldn't be
(40:15):
used together. So that's comparison with those two herbs.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Our next herb.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
We are comparing is natriai sulfus or mong Hiao antaria sulfus.
Mung Shao is salty and cold, while dong wang is
bitter and cold, yet both drain accumulated heat in the
treatment of clumped heat in the large intestine which causes constipation.
The two herbs are commonly used together for this purpose. However,
(40:43):
da wang not only drains chi level heat from excess
in young brightness disorders, but also enters the blood level
to cool the blood, resolve toxicity, and break up static accumulations.
It is therefore used for nose bleeds and spinning up
of blood due to blood heat, red swollen and flies,
and gynecological abdominal masses. The primary function of nti sulfus
(41:06):
mongshall is to clear the large intestine and softened areas
of hardness in the treatment of constipation. That's our two comparisons.
Let's talk about some combinations where we would use these
IRBs together. There's several of them, but we're going to
discuss the three of them here. So again that mong shall,
(41:28):
the Natui sulfus that we just talked about comparing it with,
is often combined with the huang, so this is very
commonly used. Combination Huang attacks nature i sulfus, Monkshall softens
and moistens. The combination thus works well to eliminate the
obstruction within the intestines, draining the excess heat out with
(41:49):
the stool. Once the old feeded material is expelled, the
stomach and intestines are purified. When pathogenic heat is removed,
the stomach in intestines can function smoothly.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
This is the.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Reason that this combination is found in most of the
formulas that purge heat accumulation. In biomedical terms, da huang
stimulates peristalsis, while nature i sulfus mongshao as a salt
increases the osmotic pressure within the bowel, increasing fluids in
the intestines and thus leading to passage.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Of watery stool.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
Nature i sulfus mongshao and tah huang can also be
combined in the treatment of abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores,
as they clear fire and reduce swelling. Another combinations with cinemami,
ramulous or guaduer. This is cinnamon twig, not cinnamon bark.
It's not the spice, but cinnamon twig. This combination has
(42:47):
a broad clinical application. Is an excellent example of the
subtleties involved in the strategy combining hot and cold herbs.
Due to the strong exterior releasing and channel warming actions
of Cinnamona, remulus guayjur and the purging and blood stasis
reducing actions of da huang. This combination has a very
intricate clinical action, utilizing the extra releasing effect of cinemonon
(43:11):
ramulus guayjur with the draining of internal excess accumulation by
da huang to treat a combined to exter and interior
condition which presents with chills, headache, fever, and sweating together
with abdominal fullness and pain. This is called sweating and
purging used together utilizing da huang to drink downward in
(43:34):
the warmth of cinemona remulus guadjur to protect the sleen
from the coldness of da huang. This is often the
remedy for a situation which purging has been used too
soon in an externally contracted exterior disorder, causing the exterior
pathogen to sink into the interior and obstruct the sleen, stomach,
and intestines with such symptoms of as abdominal fullness and
(43:57):
pain with constipation. Utilizing the ability of dau huang to
enter the blood and remove stagnation as well as ability
to cool the blood as the primary approach in cinemama
remulus graajure to warm the blood and thereby encourage the
restoration of normal blood flow after the stagnation has been removed.
This is reflected in the formula peach pit decoction to
(44:19):
order the chi or dalha chung chi tang chung chietang.
So it's that combination, let's talk about it with Romania
ritis or shungd huang dau wog. It is bitter and cold.
It unblocks heat clumped in the intestines, and it directs
and drives it downward. It also directs fire downward and
(44:42):
cools the blood. Romania ritics shend wang is sweet and cold,
cools the blood, moistens and clears heat. Together, their heat
clearing and blood cooling actions are greatly enhanced, and the
ability to stop bleeding.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Is also increased.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
The pair is thus used for bloo lazing fire in
the heart and stomach, where Chian fire rise and carry
the blood upward, causing nose bleed and spinning.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Up of blood.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Moreover, if fire from deficiency is also disturbing the interior,
this combination may still be useful. Provided the Romania radic
shengd wong is prescribed in a larger dosage than da huang.
Important formula is worth a thousand gold pieces or the
chian jin Yaofung by Sun Simeo in the seventh century.
Sun Simal is one of the great physicians. Chinese physicians
(45:32):
the seventh century CE has a formula for nose bleed
and spinning up of blood due to deficiency from overwork,
which calls for a cubic sun spoon approximately one gram
of da huong powder and fifteen grams of romania radic
sheng diy wong juice, taken on an empty stomach three
times a day. Another area in which this combination would
(45:54):
be helpful is parched dry stools with damaged yin.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Ramani radix.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Chung di wang enriches the yen while da huang unblocks
the clump t heat in the intestines. When the yin
and fluids increase, the stool passes more easily. This is
known as increasing the water to float the boat like that.
So those are three combinations we're discussing today. Let's talk
(46:22):
briefly about the contents of da huang. So, according to
Benski and hisiting, the contents of this herb include many
anthroquinones and anthroquinone glycosides still being glycosides naphthal nap, naph
tall glycosides, funeral butanone glycosides, tannins, rootin, as well as
(46:43):
volatile oils, organic acids and sugars chen Chen highlight senside,
abc D E n f imidin, aloemidin, chrysophenol, rhiann physiphyicion,
ryan aid, monobta d glucoside, physion, monoglukaside, aloemidine eight, monoglukaside, imidine, monoglukaside, chrysophenol,
(47:10):
and monogl chrysophenol monoglucoside. So what's interesting is some of
these will come up, like imidin comes up as a
potential interaction with psychochronpi for fifty when we talk about
druggarb interactions, but it's not strong, so not we don't
have to worry about. So actually it's not mentioned druger interactions,
(47:30):
but that was a specific content that was mentioned when
I looked them up. Talk about the science. So according
to Chin and Chin, the pharmacological effects of dal wong
include cinicide A, lo emidine and rhein, cause purgation, paddle
protective effects, colon gogic effects in dogs and cats. Sol
(47:53):
colon gogic means being a colagogue or cologoggog or inducing
the low bile, so it can induce the float bile
in dogs and cats, hemastatic in mice. Bought broad spectrum
antibiotic cardiovascular benefits in animal studies. Nephroprotective so helps the kidneys,
(48:17):
anti poretic reduces fever, analgesic helps pain, and anti inflammatory.
Clinical studies show can help with renal impairment with other
herbs with an end of twenty, so not statistically valid
gastro intestinal bleeding end of eight hundred and nineties. That's
a good size studying a cube. Pacyatitis an equals one hundred.
(48:41):
Enteritis an equals fourteen statistic valid constipation and cerebral vascular
accident patients with other herbs. So soon as you start
adding other herbs, I get a little concerned about having
multiple the other herbs doing some of the heavy lifting.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Here.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Dyslipidemia equals forty seven. Acute entic hepatitis, so that is
hepatitis or inflammation of the liver causing jaundicecteric means jaundice
and that has an equals eighty, so eighty subjects in it.
Two studies on tonsilitis one with twenty two subjects and
one with forty children. All of these should it help
(49:19):
these conditions? All right, let's talk about drug herb interactions.
Chen and Chen say prolonged use of dal Huang may
cause loss of potassium an increased cardiac glycoside toxicity. According
to expert opinion, dahal Huang may induce cytochrome two E
(49:40):
one and inhibit three A four. Again, these appeared to
be in vitro studies, so again low level of evidence
for these. We don't know if it does this in humans.
Dah Huang may inhibit P glycoprotein in an in vitro study.
Again in vitro, lowest level of evidence T level, because
(50:01):
we don't Again, we don't know if it's going to
do anything in humans. And the American Herbal Products Association
Botanical Safety HABOOK I love this book. They say puts
this herb in interaction Class A herbs for which no clinically.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
Relevant interactions are expected.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
And I think these interactions I mentioned here are all
pretty low level and are very much at that stage
of does it really So I'd be slightly cautious with this,
but I'm not concerned about drug of interactions. But talking
about concerns, there are lots of concerns about this herb,
(50:40):
so Benski and his team note several concerns with the huang.
Under the heading of cautions and contraindications, they say, because
this herb readily injures the stomach, chi should not be
used in those with a weak stomach. Similarly, it should
be avoided by those with chi and blood deficiency who
do not have significant accumulations or blood stasis. Used with
(51:01):
great caution and only when absolutely necessary during menstruation, pregnancy
and lactation. Under the heading of traditional contraindications, they say,
the classic states that excess should be drained. The nature
of this herb is greatly bitter, greatly cold, and exceedingly facilitating.
(51:23):
Its fierce and violent chi drives deep in to pound
the enemy, letting nothing stop its progress. Thus the blood
level heat is not clumped, and the six pulses are
not deep and full. Definitely, do not lightly use it
to wash away constipation, and this is from harm and benefit.
(51:45):
In the material Medica that Bensu highly by Hung Huan,
written in eighteen ninety three, and you can see you
know our opening story was a pregnant lady died from
using this. Prescribe this inappropriately. So this is an herb
of some risk, not so much risk that we shouldn't
(52:07):
use it, but just we need to use it properly.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
So under the heading of.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Toxicity, Benski and his team say, overdoses can cause a
toxic reaction, especially if the fresh herb is used. Symptoms
include diarrhea, nausea of vomiting, dizziness, abdominal colic, and jaundice.
Long term use of the CRB may cause severe damage
to the large intestine, cirrhosis of the liver, and substantial
loss of electrolytes hypocalmia. So hypoclemia means too little potassium
(52:36):
in the blood. Potassium is very tightly regulated. Too much
or too little can kill you, so that is not
something that we want to have happen. Allergic reactions have
also been reported, usually after large doses thirty grams, and
include flushing, puritis, or itching. Popular rashes and that should
(52:56):
say that's as popular ructions, but it should say popular rashes.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
So raised rashes, asthma.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
And tichypnia, which means trouble breathing or rapid breathing.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
Excuse me. Rapid breathing.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
Chin and chen has several cautions and contraindications for the serb.
Extremely bitter and cold dall huang may damage this sleen
and stomach and should be used with caution. Possible side
effects include nausea, vomiting, and poor appetite. Use of dal
huang is contramunicated in patients who do not have constipation
or blood stagnation. Used da huang with caution. In patients
(53:32):
who are menstruating or impostpartum women without stasis. d'Al huoang
is contriunicated in patients with chi and blood deficiencies, and
in pregnancy. Nursing mothers should take da huang with great
caution as it may enter breast milk, causing diarrhea in
the infant. Those two had warnings, so does Brand and
(53:53):
wise Men similarly similarly has warnings. Dal Wong is very
bitter and very cold. It easily damage stomach cheese, so
it should be used with caution and weakness of the
sleen and stomach. Because d'a huang is down bearing and
sinking and also quickens the blood, it is contraindicated in pregnancy.
During menstruation and during breastfeeding, and cause the infant to
(54:15):
have diarrhea. Individual responses to the precipitating effect of da
huang vary, so it should be noted that the dosage
required for freeing the stool varies from patient to patient.
The American Orbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Hambook puts this
urb in three safety classes to be two C and
(54:37):
two D. The general safety class to states herbs for
which the following use restriction restrictions apply unless otherwise directed
by an expert qualified in the use of the described substance.
Safety class to be states not to be used during pregnancy,
to see states not to be used while nursing, to
(54:58):
d states other specific use restrictions as noted. And they
say it is contrinicated in children under twelve menstruation or
for longer than eight days of use.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
All right, that is our day to day.
Speaker 1 (55:17):
So today we did a deep dive into a very
important and interesting Chinese orb, da huang ray reddix at
rizoma or rhubarb root or rhizome. This herb is relatively
commonly used herb for treating constipation and cumulations, as well
as many blood disorders, but it can be harsh and
cause some serious issues if used incorrectly. We spend a
(55:39):
good amount of time discussing its intricacies, including preparations, cautions,
and comparisons to other herbs. And with that we conclude
in another exploration of a very useful Chinese herb. So
here's my take home with this. This is an awesome herb.
It is a powerful herb. It is a strong herb.
It is really when you are using it correctly, it
(56:00):
is a really great herb. We get into troubles when
you're using it incorrectly. And there's a lot throughout history
of Chinese zerbology. There's excess purgation. There's this whole purgative
school of thought with Chinese medicine, and this kind of
leads that school. There's others, but this is a big
one in that school of thought, and so it has
(56:23):
been used inappropriately historically by people who don't understand what
it does, just like our story or legend that we
talked about earlier. But it's a great herb. Should should
be used when necessary, should be but always with a
bit of caution, making sure you're using it appropriately. In
our next episode, we will be looking at another Chinese
(56:46):
erbal formula Goanshao, Ganjiang, fooling, baijutang or licorice, ginger poia
and white attracted lotus decoction. This is a formula that
warms the spleen and overcomes dampness. As always, we will
do our deep dive into the herb formula and look
(57:06):
at its traditional uses and its preparation interactions and cautions,
and as usual we'll be adding something a little different.
It's going to be another interesting expedition into the exciting
universe of herbs. Please join us in two weeks. Thank
you very much for joining us. If you like this podcast,
(57:28):
please do us a huge favor subscribe in your favorite
podcast app. That is great feedback to us and we
really appreciate. Thank you for even considering it. And you
get this course as continuing and education. Get more info
on all of my courses at Integrative Medicinecouncil dot org.
So that and remember you get twenty person off by
(57:49):
using the code sh twenty off at Integrativemedicine Council dot org.
And you can always get in touch with me at
doctor Greg at sperbserbs dot com or at our web
site w W w dot sperbserbs dot com.
Speaker 2 (58:03):
That's s p e r B s h e r
b s.
Speaker 1 (58:08):
Dot com and as usual we have our bibliography. Thank
you very much, Spurs.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
The preceding was presented by doctor Greg Sperber. We would
like to thank Janelle Scholler's support and everybody else who
contributed to this program. Rogercampbele
That Angelica. Welcome to episode seventy seven of Sperbs Herbs.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Today we're going to.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Be talking about da Huang da da huang ray radix
at riizoma or rhubarb root or riizome i. As always
are your presenter, doctor Greg am your presenter, doctor Greg Sperber, So.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Today we will be exploring an important and interesting Chinese herb,
and this herb is a relatively commonly used herb in
the Chinese medical subcategory of purgatives under the category of
downward draining herbs, and can be used in a wide
variety of conditions. And as usual, we will be explaining
something a little different though today because there's so much
(00:55):
commentary on this herb. It's an important Chinese herb and
it it can't be a danger. We're doing something even
more different, not discussing something a little different, So we
don't have anything specific, but we are going to be
talking a lot about this particular herb. And what I
like about this irb is I have a great little
(01:16):
book called Chinese Herbal Legends, and it's just such a
neat little book and it has herbal legends for I think,
is it fifty or one hundred ors.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Let me see, I think it's fifty. No, it's fifty
fifty stories for understanding Chinese herbs, and so it's.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
You know, I've used it several times in the past.
This is one of the herbs, the one of the
fifty earths.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So we get to explore that.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
That could be our little something different today.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So we're going to be talking about that, So.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Please stay tuned for this intriguing episode. Before we get
into that, I just wanted to remind you I have
been teaching for quite a while now on a wide
variety of topics. If you like this podcast and want
to explore more of my courses, they are available at
www dot Integrativemedicinecouncil dot org that's Integrated Messine Council Council
(02:08):
dot org and include a ton of different topics, including
my Drug Herb series looking at drugs and how they
interact with herbs and vice versa, several ethics and safety courses,
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a lot more, and one of my favorite courses, the
(02:30):
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It's all about Chinese herbal products. You can buy from
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your house just for all those normal first eighty things
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And you can get an additional twenty percent off with
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those are all available again at www dot Integrative Medicinecouncil
(03:13):
dot org. Okay, so that let's get in. Before we
get into the air proper, let's discuss it's herbal legend.
I love these verbal legends. So this is from the
book as I mentioned, Chinese Verbal Legends, Fifty Stories for
Understanding Chinese Herbs by Ju and Ju da Huang on here. Okay,
(03:37):
da Huang, a traditional Chinese medicinal orb, was called huang
gen before, not da Huang. Why was it later called
da Huang? This is its story. Long ago there was
a doctor whose surname was Huang for generations. His family
was good at gathering Huang, Lian, Huang, chi, wang Jing,
(04:01):
wang Qing, and wang gun. These are all important Chinese rbs.
Also for generations, his family had cured patients with these
five huang or yellow medicinal herbs. Wang means yellow. Because
of this, people all called him mister hu Wuhang or
five yellows. Every March, when mister Wuhang climbed up the
(04:27):
mountain to gather medicinal herbs, he would stay in Mad
Jun's home in a village at the foot of the
mountain and only leave there after autumn. Ma Jun was
a farmer. The other members of his family were his
wife and his son. Mister Wu Huang and Ma Jun's
family all became good friends. One year, when mister Wu
(04:48):
Huang returned and entered the village, he found that Majun's
house was gone. Mad June's family suffered a calamity. His
house burned down last winter and his wife died in
the fire. Now he and his son live in a
mountain cave.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
The villagers told him.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Mister Wu Wang was sorry to hear this. He went
to see Ma Jun and his son in the mountain cave.
Seeing mister Wuhang, ma Jun wept in his arms. As
you have nothing now, you'd better follow me together and
sell medicinal herbs with your son, said mister wu Wang.
Ma Jun was very glad to go with mister wu Wang,
(05:28):
and they wandered here and there. After less than six months,
Ma Jun had learned learned how to dig up the wuhang,
but mister wu Huang never taught him how to cure disease.
Elder brother, why don't you teach me how to cure disease,
asked ma Jun. I think you are too impatient to
(05:51):
be a doctor, said mister wu Huang, laughing, So it
should be I think you're too impatient to be a doctor.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That's better.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Ma Jun was a little dissatisfied by this, so he
paid attention to how mister Wuhuang cured people's disease, and
he secretly used the medicines. As time went by, Majun
learnt a little without mister Wuhang's noticing, and he began
to practice medicine.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
One day, when.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Mister wu Huang was out, a pregnant woman came to
see the doctor. She was very weak and as thin
as a laugh. What's wrong with you, asked Ma Jun. Diarrhea,
replied the woman. Wang Lean should be used to stop diarrhea,
but Ma Jun gave her huang gun instead. After taking
(06:43):
two doses of it, the patient's illness became even more
serious and she died after two days. When her family
learned that the prescription was made by Ma Jun, they
took him to the counting court. After a careful study
of the case, the county official judge that Majun had
killed the patient because he was a quack.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Just then, mister.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Wu Wuhang came and he knelt down in the court.
You should pass sentence on me instead, said mister Wu Wang.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Who are you? Why are you a criminal? Asked the official.
Master It has nothing to do with him.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
I did it behind his back, cried Mad Jun. The
official had heard of mister Wu Huang before, and when
he learnt of their relationship, he very admired what they
were doing for the sake of their friendship. So the
official tried his best to absolve Madjoun from guilt, and
at last he find them a sum of money to
(07:43):
give to the dead person's family and set them free.
You can't be too impatient to learn how to cure disease,
as you have seen the wrong medicine can kill people,
said mister wu Huang. Later, when Majun had dung up
medicinal herbs, honestly have become a more steady person, mister
Wuhuang began to teach him medical knowledge so that he
(08:05):
would always remember this lesson. Mister wu Wang changed the
name of huang Gun to da Huang so that later
generations could also avoid misusing this medicinal ord. Wong means
great yellow or big yellow. Wang Gun just means yellow root.
So there you go. That's the story of the legend
(08:27):
of the Hong. So today's are the huang rhubarb root
or rhizome, and it comes from the family on Polygon,
Polygon nasier or buckwheat family. Standard species. According to Benski,
there are three standard species. Rooum palmatum also known Xiangye
(08:51):
da hoang, room tango, tikam Tengudium.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Maxim x bolf.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Yeah, those maximax ball refers to the botanists, and this
in Chinese is tungu ta da huang and room officionale
bail and this is Yao yang da huang and as
I mentioned, I just mentioned the English translation.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Of this is big yellow.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Other names include Russian rhubarb, uh East Indian rhubarb, Indian
rhubarb chuang Jun, which we're gonna explain in a minute
Quo shen jiang jun Jin wuen da Huang qing ning
pien chung jun, and in Japanese dio and in Korean
(09:48):
die wang die a wang. Again, I don't speak Japanese
or Korean. I speak a little bit of Chinese, not good,
but I speak a little.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Bit of it.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Let's talk about the polygon polygonasier family here. So the
polygonase are not weed, smartweed, or buckwheat family consists of
about forty eight genera and twelve hundred species. Poly means many,
gooni means knee or joint, and polygony or polygon nasier
(10:22):
may refer to the swollen nodes on the stems of
some species. Many species are ornamental, and others have edible components,
including Cocoloba uvifera, which produce sea grapes, the seeds of
two species of Phagopurum known as buckwheat. If you haven't
(10:42):
had buckweight, it's delicious rumex rumex acetosa, whose leaves are
known as soil, so that's used in salads and of
course herb today where the petioles are eaten. Some petioles
are interesting. Those are we know what they are, We've
seen them all the time.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
I don't know you, I don't know if I knew
what they were called.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Petioles are is the stock that attaches the leaf blade
to the stems. So you know, you have the stem
coming out and then there's a little stock and then
there's the leaf.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
That stock is the petiole.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Most polygonasier are perennial herbaceous plants with swollen nodes, but trees, shrubs,
and vines are also present. The leaves of polygon and
nasier are simple and arranged alternately on the stems. There
are more distinctive stuff. But it got very technical, very fast.
(11:38):
So I thought there was a little bit more than we.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Needed to get into.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
So going back to today's herb of da Huang.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Ben Ski.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
So remember I have three major textbooks for individual herbs.
I look at Benski and his team. Which is the
material Medica Chinese. I can't remember what it is, but
it's it's one of our basic textbooks. All use it
and say the dosage is three to fifteen grams. They
say the doses three to fifteen grams. Another textbook I
use is Chen and Chen book and Brandon Wiseman's Concise
(12:14):
Chinese Material Medica. Eric brand is a friend of mine,
so Eric Brown and Nigel Wiseman very very well known
in our profession. They say the doses both of those sources,
so Chen Chen and Brandon Wiseman both say five to
ten grams is the normal dosage, with Chen and Chen
(12:35):
saying up to fifteen to twenty grams can be used
in severe cases, so you can use higher doses if necessary.
And the categories are interesting. Benski and Changen put the
herb in the purgative subcategory of the downward draining herbs category,
so that's in itself amazing. This is the first time
in seventy seven episodes that they've agreed on anything. So
(12:59):
the the actual names are exactly the same. It's the
subcategory of purgative, so these purgate you in the category
or the chapter in the book, the category of downward
draining herbs. Now Brandon Weisman uses a totally different approach to.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
A lot of its naming of this.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's translations of the same thing. They're all using fairly similar,
if not the exact same sources and translating them a
little bit different, but wise men. Nigel Wiseman also co
wrote with Fong A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine, so
he's very technical in his language and very specific in
his language, and so the Brand and Wiseman textbook takes
(13:42):
that into account. So it sounds a little bit inch odd,
but it's technically very accurate. So they say it is
in the offensive precipitate medicinals subcategory of the draining precipitent
medicinals category.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
So they kind of change things.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
And I like their use the word medicinals rather than herbs,
because a lot of our herbs are not herbs, they're minerals,
and there's animal stuff they're not herbs, they're medicinals. I
think that's a more accurate approach to this. All three
of our sources say it is bitter and cold and
(14:19):
enters the heart, large intestine, liver, and stomach channels, while
both Chen and Chen and Brand and Wisemen say it
also enters the Spleen channel as well, so all of
them agree at least four channels, and chen Chen and
Brann Wiseman adds Cleen it's the fifth channel. History is
(14:41):
pretty straightforward here. Both Benski and his team and chen
Chen say the original source for the herb is the
Shendong Ben Saujing, the Divine Husbandsman's Classic of the Materia Medica,
written in the second century CE. We discuss this book
a lot because a lot of ourbs come from it.
It is the oldest existing book on individual herbs around.
(15:02):
So I'm not saying there weren't other books that talked
about individual herbs, but they are no longer around, and
certainly herbs here and there were mentioned elsewhere, but this
is the first book on individual herbs that we still
have today, so very important. If an herb is in
this book, it means it's probably been used from the
(15:23):
beginning of Chinese medicine of Chinese rbology, so it's a
very old, distinguished book. So let's talk about this overall
category of downward draining herbs. So, of course, and Benski
always has such great introductions to the category and subcategories.
(15:44):
So according to Benski. Downward draining herbs are those that
either stimulate or lubricate the gastro intestinal tract to facilitate
the expulsion of stool. Because the actions of downward draining
herbs are dissimilar, they are divided into three major classes,
each of which is discussed in a separate section. First
(16:04):
are the purgatives. For the most part, these are bitter
and cold in nature, which we saw with herb today,
with rather strong heat clearing properties. They are often used
for constipation due to accumulation of heat. There are moist laxatives,
often nuts or seeds. These substances lubricate the intestines. They
(16:27):
are mild in nature, are most appropriately prescribed for the debilitated,
elderly and those who are weakened from either a febrile
disease or from childbirth. And then, finally, the third subcategory
here is harsh expellents for cathartics. These are very strong
drugs that induce pronounced diarrhea. Some of them are also
(16:47):
diuretics and are useful in the treatment of pleurisy. In
assietse so sidse is drum like abdomen from usually from
liver problems. There's a whole reason why it appenapons, but
that society's because of their strong effects. They are only
used in very severe cases, those harsh expellents. So let's
(17:11):
talk about these purgatives specifically, because that's where a herb
today belongs. Benski and his team continues with the discussion
of the purgative subcategory. Purgatives are used in patterns of
interior excess, which can be divided into two broad categories,
interior heat and interior cold constipation due to accumulation of heat,
(17:33):
when a febril disease reaches the interior level of the body,
it enters the stomach and intestines and depletes the fluids,
causing constipation. If accompanied by a high fever, you have
the classic presentation of the young brightness organ stage fever
noted in discussion of cold damage. The discussion of cold
damage is we just mentioned the shadown Ben Saalu Jing
(17:58):
as being the first book of individual herbs discussion of
cold damage, along with its companion text, the Thousand Gold Ducats.
I can't remember exactly the name of it off the
top of my head. Those are a couple hundred years
or later, and those are the first books that we
have existing on formulas on herbal formulas the combination of
(18:21):
individual herbs. So in such cases one should use downward
draining herbs to clear the heat and drain the fire.
And finally, the second use of purgatives that are constipation
due to accumulation of cold. Cumulation of cold may also
lead to constipation by interfering with the normal expulsion of
stool from the body. In most cases there are also
(18:43):
systemic cold symptoms. In addition to purgatives, one should therefore
use herbs that warm interior cold. So we know this
herb is bitter and cold. Generally you wouldn't want to
add that into something that's cold, but if you're in
with other herbs that are very warming, they can work
(19:03):
well to deal with its constipation due to accumulation of cold.
So what does good quality da huog look like? So
according to Benski, they say good quality consists of compact,
heavy roots with wiley content, a yellowish brown surface, fresh
aromatic fragrance, and a bitter but not a stringent taste.
(19:24):
When chewed, it should stick to the teeth. I always
love that as a as a description. Now we have
another textbook that we use called Chinese Medicinal identification and
an illustrated approach written by Jiao and Chen and edited
actually by Eric Brand, who who is the brand and
(19:45):
wiseman of our other textbook on our individual herbs.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
So that text.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Says da Huang has roughly cylindrical, conical, ovoid or irregular
pieces externally yellowish brown to reddish brown. When decorticated, the
texture is firm with a delicately aromatic odor, and the
taste is bitter and slightly astringent, sticky and gritty when chewed.
(20:13):
Medicinal material with a firm texture, a delicate aromatic odor,
and a bitter and slightly astringent taste. So basically everything
we just said is superior in commercial grade. They also
discuss two technical terms when.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Viewing this herb.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
The first is the brocade pattern or gin went, which
are brocade like reticulation seen on the exeter or horizontally
cut surface formed by interconnected off white parinama reddish brown
rays in star spots. The second are star spots are
a shing dian, which are small dark red rays of
(20:51):
dots which can be seen on the horizontally fractured surface.
They may be scattered or arranged in rings and appear
like dots of stars. This phenomenon comes from abnormal vascular
bundles in the pith, and the radiostriations are rays of
abnormal vascular bundles. So those are specific things you look
(21:13):
for for in da Huang. These are things that are
specific to da Huang. So what are its Chinese medical actions?
And it's interesting it has you know, it's in the purgatives.
We think purgatives. Okay, it does have all those actions.
It has some really other interesting actions besides just that.
So Corininabenski and his team, da Huang drains heat and
(21:34):
purges accumulations for high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, constipation, abdominal
distension and pain, delirium, yellow tongue coating, and a full pulse.
This presentations are referred to either as intestinal heat excess
or the young brightness organ stage of the six stages
(21:56):
of disease. It also brains fire for fire from access
leading to intense fever, sore throat, hot swollen and painful eyes,
or fire toxin sores due to heat excess obstructing the
blood level. Particularly useful when these problems are accompanied by constipation,
(22:20):
It clears heat, transforms dampness, and promotes urination for damp
heat leading to such problems as edema, jaundice, painful urinary dribbling,
as well as acute hot dysenteric disorders. It drains heat
from the blood for blood in the stool, either from bleeding, hemorrhoids,
(22:40):
or heat accumulating in the intestines. Also for chaotic movement
of hot blood that overflows manifested in vomiting blood or
nose bleed accompanied by constipation. Additionally, it invigorates the blood
and dispels blood stasis for aminarrhea or lack of menstruation,
fixed abdominal masses, or fixed pain due to blood stasis,
(23:04):
also for blood stations due to traumatic injury or intestinal abscess.
This is an important herb for treeting both recent and
long term blood stasis, as it can both eliminate static
blood that is outside the vessels via the bowels and
clear the heat that often develops from stasis. And finally,
it clears heat and reduces fire toxicity used either topically
(23:28):
or internally for burns or skin lesions due to heat.
So that's all the functions according to Benski and their team.
Let's see what Changeens says. So they say it it
tax accumulations by purging downwards to treat various kinds of constipation.
It purges fire. Da Wong has an excellent ability to
(23:48):
purge excess fire, whether constipation is present or not. It
also clears heat and eliminates toxins. Additionally, it activates blood
circulation and removes blood stasis. Da Wong has two unique
functions in activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis. First,
it eliminates blood stasis and bruises through its purgative function.
(24:12):
Then it clears heat related to the stasis. Finally, it
clears damp heat and promotes diarrhsis or promotes urination. Dall
Wang treats water accumulation and patients who have no deficiencies.
(24:33):
So Brandon Wiseman say, it drains and precipitates to attack accumulations,
drains fire and sanches bleeding, clears heat and resolves toxin,
and quickens the blood into spells stasis. So very similar,
slightly different verbiage, but very similar to what we've already
been hearing the Chinese men disial identification and illustrated approach,
(24:54):
says Da Huang drains, heat, frees the stool, cools, the blood,
resolves toxis, city, dispels blood stasis, and unblocks menstruations. That's
the first time we specifically here that it can.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Be useful for minstry. Well, we didn't mention amnory earlier.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
So yeah, the Divine Farmer's Materia Medica says this inferior
class herb.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
So let's well, we'll talk about inferior class in just
a minute.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
So this inferior class orb mainly precipitates blood stasis, blood block,
and cold and heat. So it says, remember this is
the oldest so it's not to say how it's used today,
but originally it was good for both cold and heat.
It breaks concretions and conglomerations, accumulations and gatherings and lodged
(25:42):
room and abiding food. It flushes the stomach intestines to
weed out the stale and bring forth the new, disinhibits
and freeze the flow of water and grain, regulates the
center to transform food, and quiets and harmonizes the five viscera.
And here's those inferior class worps. So the Divine farmers
(26:04):
Materire Medica classifies herbs as superior class middle class from
inferior class. So inferior class herbs are usually toxic and
cannot be taken for long periods of time.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And it did say I.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Didn't quote it here, but it does say the Divine
Farmer's Materia Medica does say that this is a toxic herb,
which we're gonna find generally is not said in the
other text, but is kind of referred to a little bit,
so kind of there, but it kind of isn't. It
is prepared in a lot of different ways, So let's
(26:37):
talk about that in general. To enhance this herb's purgative function,
it should be added at the end of the decocting process.
That's his team says, should be added near the end
of the boiler or boiled for three minutes separately, and
then added to the rest of the strained decoction. Shen
Chen actually take that a little bit further, say it
should be cooked for well, actually they say it should
be cooked for five to ten minutes, so it can
(26:57):
be cooked a little bit longer.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Bran Wiseman just says to add it at the end
or simply infused in boiling water, So don't actually cook it,
just just infuse it.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
So you pour boiling water over it.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
So Benski and his team has an extensive discussion of
several preparations. When not prepared in any particular way, this
herb is called unprepared rue barber.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Hung dah huang.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Because of its ability to drive out the old and
promote the new with a rapid, irresistible force. It has
long been called the general or jieng jun, or in
its raw form shung jung. So remember I told you
we were going to talk about slaying what those herbs
actually meant, those names actually meant. So the General, I
like that. If it is produced in Sichuan Province, it
(27:51):
is called Sichuan rhubarber, twan da huang, or chuan Jun.
So let's get into types of different preparations. It can
be steamed, so steamed rhubarb or shoe d'a huang. The
root is mixed with yellow rice wine and steamed, then
dried in the sun. This is also known as process
rhubarb or jur d'ah huang, jur Jun or shoe jun.
(28:15):
Prepared in this way, the downward draining and cooling properties
are moderated, rendering it more appropriate for weaker patients who
have an excess pathogen that requires purging. Some hold the
view that steamed rhubarb clears damp heat, as in the
following passage from Jiang Bing Chung's Convenient Reader of Material
Medica or the bensal Biondhu written in eighteen eighty seven.
(28:39):
Once it has been prepared and wine, whether steamed or
dry fried, it then specifically enters the small intestine and
the bladder to treat damp heat, urinary blockage, and similar symptoms.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
So that steam drubarb, we.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Have wine washed rhubarb or Joshi da huang. The roots
are sprayed with wine, then baked dry. This is also
known as wine rhubarb or Joe dot Huang or wine
Great General Joe doa jun. Although both this method of
preparation and the one above involved wine, the process of
baking does not reduce the herb's purgative effect as much
(29:15):
as the steaming process. In terms of the strength of
its downward draining action, wine washed rhubarb is thought to
be halfway between the unprepared herb and the steamed herb.
The particular advantage of this form of preparation is that
it can rain in upper body fire, directing it downward.
Thus it is often used for large intestine heat toxin,
(29:37):
which follows the channel upward and causes redness of the eyes, toothache,
mouth ulcers, and restless heat in the chest. Vinegar, rhubarb
or sou sou do hog. The roots are sprayed with vinegar,
then baked dry or dry fried and sliced. This form
of preparation enables the herb's action to enter the liver
(29:59):
and break up blood stasis and to drain heat excess
from the blood level.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
So you know when we see these.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Preparations, there's a lot underneath the preparation. So like we
say vinegar, vinegar is very sour, the taste of the
liver or of the wood element is sour.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
So that's why this helps the liver okay.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Next herb is charred rhubarb or DoD huang tong. Slices
of the raw root are dry fried over high heat
until the exterior is charred black. Then it is sprayed
with cold water to halt the cooking process. They are
then baked dry. This process greatly reduces its ability to
drain downward and break up blood stasis at the same time, however,
(30:45):
and empowers it to stop bleeding.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Thus, in this.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Form it is appropriate for accumulated heat in the intestines
leading to blood in the stool.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I love this next name.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Slices of Pure Tranquility or chingning pen love that slices
of pure tranquility. The herb is boiled in yellow rice
wine until soft, pounded into a paste, dried in the sun,
then ground into flour. The flower is then mixed with
yellow rice wine and honey, steamed thoroughly, kneaded evenly, formed
(31:24):
into a long roll, and placed in an earthenware jug
to rest for ten days until evenly moist inside and out.
It is then sliced. This form of the herb is
sold as a prepared medicine on the herb market. Is
often used by those patients who cannot tolerate a strong
purgative for such symptoms as fullness of the chest and abdomen,
(31:44):
food stagnation, constipation.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And dark urine.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
That is, all our preparations at this point talk about
Western uses of this. The PDR for herbal medicines PDRs
as for physicians desk reference, so it tends to be
a little bit medicalized, so they stay they discussed this
herb as approved for commission e by for constipation. So
(32:10):
if you're not from the commission, this was something in
the nineties, I believe that was commissioned by the European
Union to look at herbs and basically uh it looked
at all the science at that time and either approved
or disapproved herbs for marketing in the European Union. So
being approved by commissioning means that it was role researched
(32:31):
at that time. It's probably getting a little bit old
in its research at this point and was found to
have some benefits, so proved by commissioning for constipation. Unproven
uses include its use as an appetite stimulant and for
treatment of digestive disorders. Gastrointestinal qatar. Qatar is basically a
(32:51):
build up of mucus anywhere in the body, so we
often you know, think of it in the airway, so
respiratory qutar. Though it can be any cavity of the body,
it's the gastro intestinal track and can also be unproven
use for painful teething and children can be used externally
for burns and other skin conditions. So those are the
(33:14):
Western uses. So let's get into its commentary again. Benski
has a great commentary on the serbs. Let's get into it.
They say, a bitter cold and with a strong downward
directing action, da huang strongly mobilizes and reaches directly into
(33:36):
the lower burner, entering the young brightness, it washes away
accumulated obstruction due to heat from excess. Entering the terminal yin,
it clears heat from excess in the blood level and
eliminates blood stasis. In this way, it is useful for
a wide variety of conditions, including constipation due to clump
(33:56):
heat and the intestines, diarrhea due to collected blocking in
the intestines, jaundice of astaxis which is nose bleeding, red
eyes and swollen throat due to a scented fire and
heat compelling the blood upward, and heat toxin sores and abscesses.
It is also used for amenarihea due to stasis and stagnation,
(34:18):
postpartum obstruction and injury, and hematoma or bruising from trauma.
Unprepared d'a huang can also be ground into a powder
and used externally to cool heat and remove toxins. The
Materia Medica for Decoctions of Tanyae Bensal, written in thirteen
oh six, notes, d'Al Huang is a Yin within yin
(34:42):
herb which trains fullness, pushes out the old to create
the new, and expels old filth in order to quiet
the five yen organs, exactly like suppressing turmoil and rebellion
to bring about great peace, which is why it is
called the General or jung Jun Chang Chuang Lay elaborates
(35:05):
on the actions of this herb. The twelve characters from
the Divine Husbanmand's classic of Materia Medica that say, pushes
out the old to create the new, regulates the middle
to transform food, and quiets the five yen organs relate
to the application of da Huang and should be taken
most seriously. This is because unblocking is equivalent to tonification, both
(35:28):
in the digestion of the intestines and stomach and in
the total circulation.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
Of the blood vessels.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
If there is dormant foulness lodged in stagnation, turbid filth
will not be expelled, and then even the newly generated
blood will readily accumulate into stasis.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Only washing away this.
Speaker 1 (35:47):
Old putre faction will create freshness so that the middle
chi will be harmoniously regulated, food will not be hindered
in its transformation, and the five yen organs will rest
in peaceful harmony. Sean goes on to lament that some
material medica texts characterize its strong effects as toxic, thereby
(36:11):
scarring the average practitioner from using it in the clinic. Sorry,
not scarring scaring the average practitioner from using it in
the clinic when even doctors in Western countries extole it
as a marvelous tonic for the stomach exclamation point. Nonetheless,
daal Huang is a strong purgative and must be used
with care during, for example, menstruation or for deficient patients.
(36:36):
Form the patient that it tends to turn the urine
and sweat yellow. It also passes through to the breast milk,
which may turn yellow and can cause diarrhea in an infant.
Note also that the earth has a peculiar double action.
While large dose ten grams or more will promote Belle
movement as expected, a small dose may have the opposite effect.
(37:00):
If a strong effect is needed. The herb should be
added separately later in the process of cooking and decoction,
because overcooking will reduce its effect. What is less known
is that THISRB can be used with excellent effect to
expel Fhlem heat through the intestines. Commentary on the divine
Husbandsman's classical material a medica the Shandan ben sau jingshiu
(37:22):
when in sixteen twenty five, explains that it is very
cold and very bitter, with a direct nature best at
opening the lower body, and is therefore an important herb
in the treatment of heat clumped in the middle and
lower burners as a result of cold damage or in
pathogen diseases, hot disorders, and damp heat leading to constipation.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
And urinary difficulty.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
It is also good for dampness and heat congealing into
phlegm in the middle and lower burners. It expels pathogens
to halt their violence and has a special ability to
uproot chaos and restore normality. So that is our commentary
on it, and you can see this is a strong
(38:07):
herb that does a lot of really important things, but
subcaution needs to be employed. So let's compare this with
a couple other herbs. Sebenski compares this orb with two others.
The first one is krotonis frucitus or bodeau. Badeau is
actually in that subcategory that we talked about mentioned earlier,
(38:29):
which is harsh expellents, So this is even harsher herb.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Both herbs are purgatives, but krotonis fruitous. Bodeaux is hot
and used when cold accumulations accumulates internally within the yen organs.
Dot Huang is cold and used for heat build up in.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
The young organs.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Both herbs, if prepared and used in small doses, will
drive out the old to bring in the new, reduce accumulation,
and harmonize the middle. Krotonis frucitus. Bodeaux, however, is very
toxic Externally, It is irritated both the skin and mucous membranes. Internally,
it causes diarrhea and loss of fluids. By contrast, dah
(39:14):
Huang has a very low toxicity. It breaks up lad stasis,
clears damp heat, and resolves toxicity.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
In counrying.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
The sources of the classic material medica, the wehen ra
Jung Yuan, written in the late Qing dynasty, which lasted
from sixteen forty four to nineteen eleven, so relatively modern
text explains the differences between the two herbs. Kratonis fruitous
badeaux and ray red except Rizoma d huang are both
downward driving herbs, but d Hoong is cold in nature
(39:44):
and appropriate for surplus heat and the yang organs, while
krotonis fruitous bodeau is hot in nature and appropriate for
surplus cold.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
In the yin organs.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Graund Materia Medica of the ben Saugong Mu, written in
fifteen ninety, states that the traditional view that Cartonis fruitus
badeau and da huang mutually counteract they say used with
da wang, it's baldeaux draining action conversely moderates. This is
because their natures are mutually counteracting, they probably shouldn't be
(40:15):
used together. So that's comparison with those two herbs.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Our next herb.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
We are comparing is natriai sulfus or mong Hiao antaria sulfus.
Mung Shao is salty and cold, while dong wang is
bitter and cold, yet both drain accumulated heat in the
treatment of clumped heat in the large intestine which causes constipation.
The two herbs are commonly used together for this purpose. However,
(40:43):
da wang not only drains chi level heat from excess
in young brightness disorders, but also enters the blood level
to cool the blood, resolve toxicity, and break up static accumulations.
It is therefore used for nose bleeds and spinning up
of blood due to blood heat, red swollen and flies,
and gynecological abdominal masses. The primary function of nti sulfus
(41:06):
mongshall is to clear the large intestine and softened areas
of hardness in the treatment of constipation. That's our two comparisons.
Let's talk about some combinations where we would use these
IRBs together. There's several of them, but we're going to
discuss the three of them here. So again that mong shall,
(41:28):
the Natui sulfus that we just talked about comparing it with,
is often combined with the huang, so this is very
commonly used. Combination Huang attacks nature i sulfus, Monkshall softens
and moistens. The combination thus works well to eliminate the
obstruction within the intestines, draining the excess heat out with
(41:49):
the stool. Once the old feeded material is expelled, the
stomach and intestines are purified. When pathogenic heat is removed,
the stomach in intestines can function smoothly.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
This is the.
Speaker 1 (42:01):
Reason that this combination is found in most of the
formulas that purge heat accumulation. In biomedical terms, da huang
stimulates peristalsis, while nature i sulfus mongshao as a salt
increases the osmotic pressure within the bowel, increasing fluids in
the intestines and thus leading to passage.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Of watery stool.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
Nature i sulfus mongshao and tah huang can also be
combined in the treatment of abscesses, swellings, and toxic sores,
as they clear fire and reduce swelling. Another combinations with cinemami,
ramulous or guaduer. This is cinnamon twig, not cinnamon bark.
It's not the spice, but cinnamon twig. This combination has
(42:47):
a broad clinical application. Is an excellent example of the
subtleties involved in the strategy combining hot and cold herbs.
Due to the strong exterior releasing and channel warming actions
of Cinnamona, remulus guayjur and the purging and blood stasis
reducing actions of da huang. This combination has a very
intricate clinical action, utilizing the extra releasing effect of cinemonon
(43:11):
ramulus guayjur with the draining of internal excess accumulation by
da huang to treat a combined to exter and interior
condition which presents with chills, headache, fever, and sweating together
with abdominal fullness and pain. This is called sweating and
purging used together utilizing da huang to drink downward in
(43:34):
the warmth of cinemona remulus guadjur to protect the sleen
from the coldness of da huang. This is often the
remedy for a situation which purging has been used too
soon in an externally contracted exterior disorder, causing the exterior
pathogen to sink into the interior and obstruct the sleen, stomach,
and intestines with such symptoms of as abdominal fullness and
(43:57):
pain with constipation. Utilizing the ability of dau huang to
enter the blood and remove stagnation as well as ability
to cool the blood as the primary approach in cinemama
remulus graajure to warm the blood and thereby encourage the
restoration of normal blood flow after the stagnation has been removed.
This is reflected in the formula peach pit decoction to
(44:19):
order the chi or dalha chung chi tang chung chietang.
So it's that combination, let's talk about it with Romania
ritis or shungd huang dau wog. It is bitter and cold.
It unblocks heat clumped in the intestines, and it directs
and drives it downward. It also directs fire downward and
(44:42):
cools the blood. Romania ritics shend wang is sweet and cold,
cools the blood, moistens and clears heat. Together, their heat
clearing and blood cooling actions are greatly enhanced, and the
ability to stop bleeding.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Is also increased.
Speaker 1 (44:58):
The pair is thus used for bloo lazing fire in
the heart and stomach, where Chian fire rise and carry
the blood upward, causing nose bleed and spinning.
Speaker 2 (45:07):
Up of blood.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Moreover, if fire from deficiency is also disturbing the interior,
this combination may still be useful. Provided the Romania radic
shengd wong is prescribed in a larger dosage than da huang.
Important formula is worth a thousand gold pieces or the
chian jin Yaofung by Sun Simeo in the seventh century.
Sun Simal is one of the great physicians. Chinese physicians
(45:32):
the seventh century CE has a formula for nose bleed
and spinning up of blood due to deficiency from overwork,
which calls for a cubic sun spoon approximately one gram
of da huong powder and fifteen grams of romania radic
sheng diy wong juice, taken on an empty stomach three
times a day. Another area in which this combination would
(45:54):
be helpful is parched dry stools with damaged yin.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Ramani radix.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Chung di wang enriches the yen while da huang unblocks
the clump t heat in the intestines. When the yin
and fluids increase, the stool passes more easily. This is
known as increasing the water to float the boat like that.
So those are three combinations we're discussing today. Let's talk
(46:22):
briefly about the contents of da huang. So, according to
Benski and hisiting, the contents of this herb include many
anthroquinones and anthroquinone glycosides still being glycosides naphthal nap, naph
tall glycosides, funeral butanone glycosides, tannins, rootin, as well as
(46:43):
volatile oils, organic acids and sugars chen Chen highlight senside,
abc D E n f imidin, aloemidin, chrysophenol, rhiann physiphyicion,
ryan aid, monobta d glucoside, physion, monoglukaside, aloemidine eight, monoglukaside, imidine, monoglukaside, chrysophenol,
(47:10):
and monogl chrysophenol monoglucoside. So what's interesting is some of
these will come up, like imidin comes up as a
potential interaction with psychochronpi for fifty when we talk about
druggarb interactions, but it's not strong, so not we don't
have to worry about. So actually it's not mentioned druger interactions,
(47:30):
but that was a specific content that was mentioned when
I looked them up. Talk about the science. So according
to Chin and Chin, the pharmacological effects of dal wong
include cinicide A, lo emidine and rhein, cause purgation, paddle
protective effects, colon gogic effects in dogs and cats. Sol
(47:53):
colon gogic means being a colagogue or cologoggog or inducing
the low bile, so it can induce the float bile
in dogs and cats, hemastatic in mice. Bought broad spectrum
antibiotic cardiovascular benefits in animal studies. Nephroprotective so helps the kidneys,
(48:17):
anti poretic reduces fever, analgesic helps pain, and anti inflammatory.
Clinical studies show can help with renal impairment with other
herbs with an end of twenty, so not statistically valid
gastro intestinal bleeding end of eight hundred and nineties. That's
a good size studying a cube. Pacyatitis an equals one hundred.
(48:41):
Enteritis an equals fourteen statistic valid constipation and cerebral vascular
accident patients with other herbs. So soon as you start
adding other herbs, I get a little concerned about having
multiple the other herbs doing some of the heavy lifting.
Speaker 2 (48:57):
Here.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Dyslipidemia equals forty seven. Acute entic hepatitis, so that is
hepatitis or inflammation of the liver causing jaundicecteric means jaundice
and that has an equals eighty, so eighty subjects in it.
Two studies on tonsilitis one with twenty two subjects and
one with forty children. All of these should it help
(49:19):
these conditions? All right, let's talk about drug herb interactions.
Chen and Chen say prolonged use of dal Huang may
cause loss of potassium an increased cardiac glycoside toxicity. According
to expert opinion, dahal Huang may induce cytochrome two E
(49:40):
one and inhibit three A four. Again, these appeared to
be in vitro studies, so again low level of evidence
for these. We don't know if it does this in humans.
Dah Huang may inhibit P glycoprotein in an in vitro study.
Again in vitro, lowest level of evidence T level, because
(50:01):
we don't Again, we don't know if it's going to
do anything in humans. And the American Herbal Products Association
Botanical Safety HABOOK I love this book. They say puts
this herb in interaction Class A herbs for which no clinically.
Speaker 2 (50:18):
Relevant interactions are expected.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
And I think these interactions I mentioned here are all
pretty low level and are very much at that stage
of does it really So I'd be slightly cautious with this,
but I'm not concerned about drug of interactions. But talking
about concerns, there are lots of concerns about this herb,
(50:40):
so Benski and his team note several concerns with the huang.
Under the heading of cautions and contraindications, they say, because
this herb readily injures the stomach, chi should not be
used in those with a weak stomach. Similarly, it should
be avoided by those with chi and blood deficiency who
do not have significant accumulations or blood stasis. Used with
(51:01):
great caution and only when absolutely necessary during menstruation, pregnancy
and lactation. Under the heading of traditional contraindications, they say,
the classic states that excess should be drained. The nature
of this herb is greatly bitter, greatly cold, and exceedingly facilitating.
(51:23):
Its fierce and violent chi drives deep in to pound
the enemy, letting nothing stop its progress. Thus the blood
level heat is not clumped, and the six pulses are
not deep and full. Definitely, do not lightly use it
to wash away constipation, and this is from harm and benefit.
(51:45):
In the material Medica that Bensu highly by Hung Huan,
written in eighteen ninety three, and you can see you
know our opening story was a pregnant lady died from
using this. Prescribe this inappropriately. So this is an herb
of some risk, not so much risk that we shouldn't
(52:07):
use it, but just we need to use it properly.
Speaker 2 (52:10):
So under the heading of.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Toxicity, Benski and his team say, overdoses can cause a
toxic reaction, especially if the fresh herb is used. Symptoms
include diarrhea, nausea of vomiting, dizziness, abdominal colic, and jaundice.
Long term use of the CRB may cause severe damage
to the large intestine, cirrhosis of the liver, and substantial
loss of electrolytes hypocalmia. So hypoclemia means too little potassium
(52:36):
in the blood. Potassium is very tightly regulated. Too much
or too little can kill you, so that is not
something that we want to have happen. Allergic reactions have
also been reported, usually after large doses thirty grams, and
include flushing, puritis, or itching. Popular rashes and that should
(52:56):
say that's as popular ructions, but it should say popular rashes.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
So raised rashes, asthma.
Speaker 1 (53:02):
And tichypnia, which means trouble breathing or rapid breathing.
Speaker 2 (53:06):
Excuse me. Rapid breathing.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
Chin and chen has several cautions and contraindications for the serb.
Extremely bitter and cold dall huang may damage this sleen
and stomach and should be used with caution. Possible side
effects include nausea, vomiting, and poor appetite. Use of dal
huang is contramunicated in patients who do not have constipation
or blood stagnation. Used da huang with caution. In patients
(53:32):
who are menstruating or impostpartum women without stasis. d'Al huoang
is contriunicated in patients with chi and blood deficiencies, and
in pregnancy. Nursing mothers should take da huang with great
caution as it may enter breast milk, causing diarrhea in
the infant. Those two had warnings, so does Brand and
(53:53):
wise Men similarly similarly has warnings. Dal Wong is very
bitter and very cold. It easily damage stomach cheese, so
it should be used with caution and weakness of the
sleen and stomach. Because d'a huang is down bearing and
sinking and also quickens the blood, it is contraindicated in pregnancy.
During menstruation and during breastfeeding, and cause the infant to
(54:15):
have diarrhea. Individual responses to the precipitating effect of da
huang vary, so it should be noted that the dosage
required for freeing the stool varies from patient to patient.
The American Orbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Hambook puts this
urb in three safety classes to be two C and
(54:37):
two D. The general safety class to states herbs for
which the following use restriction restrictions apply unless otherwise directed
by an expert qualified in the use of the described substance.
Safety class to be states not to be used during pregnancy,
to see states not to be used while nursing, to
(54:58):
d states other specific use restrictions as noted. And they
say it is contrinicated in children under twelve menstruation or
for longer than eight days of use.
Speaker 2 (55:13):
All right, that is our day to day.
Speaker 1 (55:17):
So today we did a deep dive into a very
important and interesting Chinese orb, da huang ray reddix at
rizoma or rhubarb root or rhizome. This herb is relatively
commonly used herb for treating constipation and cumulations, as well
as many blood disorders, but it can be harsh and
cause some serious issues if used incorrectly. We spend a
(55:39):
good amount of time discussing its intricacies, including preparations, cautions,
and comparisons to other herbs. And with that we conclude
in another exploration of a very useful Chinese herb. So
here's my take home with this. This is an awesome herb.
It is a powerful herb. It is a strong herb.
It is really when you are using it correctly, it
(56:00):
is a really great herb. We get into troubles when
you're using it incorrectly. And there's a lot throughout history
of Chinese zerbology. There's excess purgation. There's this whole purgative
school of thought with Chinese medicine, and this kind of
leads that school. There's others, but this is a big
one in that school of thought, and so it has
(56:23):
been used inappropriately historically by people who don't understand what
it does, just like our story or legend that we
talked about earlier. But it's a great herb. Should should
be used when necessary, should be but always with a
bit of caution, making sure you're using it appropriately. In
our next episode, we will be looking at another Chinese
(56:46):
erbal formula Goanshao, Ganjiang, fooling, baijutang or licorice, ginger poia
and white attracted lotus decoction. This is a formula that
warms the spleen and overcomes dampness. As always, we will
do our deep dive into the herb formula and look
(57:06):
at its traditional uses and its preparation interactions and cautions,
and as usual we'll be adding something a little different.
It's going to be another interesting expedition into the exciting
universe of herbs. Please join us in two weeks. Thank
you very much for joining us. If you like this podcast,
(57:28):
please do us a huge favor subscribe in your favorite
podcast app. That is great feedback to us and we
really appreciate. Thank you for even considering it. And you
get this course as continuing and education. Get more info
on all of my courses at Integrative Medicinecouncil dot org.
So that and remember you get twenty person off by
(57:49):
using the code sh twenty off at Integrativemedicine Council dot org.
And you can always get in touch with me at
doctor Greg at sperbserbs dot com or at our web
site w W w dot sperbserbs dot com.
Speaker 2 (58:03):
That's s p e r B s h e r
b s.
Speaker 1 (58:08):
Dot com and as usual we have our bibliography. Thank
you very much, Spurs.
Speaker 2 (58:23):
The preceding was presented by doctor Greg Sperber. We would
like to thank Janelle Scholler's support and everybody else who
contributed to this program. Rogercampbele
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