Properties: Sweet, slightly cold
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Lung and Heart
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Nourishes Yin, moistens the Lungs, clears Heat and stops coughing
Dry coughs or sore throat due to Lung Yin Deficiency, dry Lungs or Lung Heat
Especially useful for Lung Yin Deficiency
- Clears the Heart and calms the Spirit
Intractable low-grade fever, insomnia, restlessness and irritability in the aftermath of febrile disease
Heart Fire
Palpitations due to insufficiency of Qi and Yin
One of the chief spirit calming herbs for Gu Sydnrome with Qi and Yin deficiency (Fruehauf, 1998)
Chronic inflammatory disease (Fruehauf, 2015)
- Nourishes Stomach Yin and harmonizes the Middle Jiao
Pain associated with Stomach Yin Deficiency
Suggested Daily Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: All lilies are acutely nephrotoxic to cats and some other animals due to the high level of insoluble calcium oxalate so should be not be used in vetinary formulas without absolute certainty that the animal in question is not vulnerable. Long term consumption of oxalates in humans can also lead to kidney stone formation.
Notable Constituents: See
Zhou, An & Huang (2021) for a complete review of phytochemistry.
- Calcium Oxalate
Insoluble calcium salt of oxalic acid, which in excess in the urine may lead to formation of kidney stones. It is acutely toxic to many animals but cats are particularly vulnerable to its effects.
Notes:
Bai He is a nyctinastic herb, meaning that it moves in response to the alternation of day and night. Lilies open their flowers during the day and close them at night. This gives these herbs a particular affinity for treating problems of circadian rhythms such as insomnia.
Appears in 15 formulae listed on this site: (click to display)
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, has been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
