Ban Xia

Name

Ban Xia (Rhizoma Pinelliae), recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing.

Source and quality

Plant

The dried tuber of the perennial Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit., family Araceae.

Where it is grown

Sichuan, Hubei and Shandong provinces.

Harvest

Collected in summer and autumn.

Smell and taste

Faint smell; acrid and pungent, numbing the tongue and stimulating the throat.

Better grade

White, firm and powdery; the older root is better.

Processing

Processed with ginger juice and alum.

Nature and action

Acrid, warm and toxic; enters the lung, spleen and stomach channels. Dries dampness and resolves phlegm, checks adverse rise of qi and stops vomiting, relieves stuffiness and dissipates nodules, and applied externally resolves swelling and relieves pain.

When it is used

Damp-phlegm and cold-phlegm

Ban Xia dries because of its acrid, warm nature, and it is good at drying dampness and resolving phlegm and turbidity; it also relieves cough. It is the key herb for drying dampness, resolving phlegm, warming and resolving cold-phlegm, and it excels especially at phlegm disorders of the zang and fu organs.

Where damp-phlegm obstructs the lung and blocks lung qi, with cough, reversed qi flow and copious white sputum, it is combined with herbs that move qi, dry dampness and resolve phlegm, so that dampness is dried, phlegm resolved, qi regulated and the middle harmonized: with Chen Pi, Fu Ling and Gan Cao in Er Chen Tang from Taiping Huimin Heji Jufang.

For cough and wheezing with cold retained fluid and clear profuse phlegm it is combined with herbs that warm the lung and resolve retained fluid, as with Gan Jiang and Xi Xin in Xiao Qing Long Tang from Shanghan Lun. For headache, vertigo or even vomiting of phlegm when damp-phlegm invades the upper clear yang, it is combined with damp-drying herbs and analgesics, as with Tian Ma and Bai Zhu in Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang from Yi Xue Xin Wu. For insomnia from excessive internal phlegm and retained fluid with disharmony of stomach qi, it is combined with Shu Mi to resolve phlegm, harmonize the stomach and settle the mind, in Ban Xia Shu Mi Tang from Ling Shu.

Nausea, vomiting, hiccup and belching

It both dries dampness and resolves phlegm, and checks adverse rise of qi to harmonize the stomach, which makes it a key herb for relieving vomiting. It is combined according to the pattern behind the vomiting.

It is especially indicated for vomiting from phlegm, retained fluid and cold in the stomach, because it is warm and dry and good at resolving phlegm. It is combined with Sheng Jiang to strengthen the actions of resolving phlegm, dispelling cold and stopping vomiting in Xiao Ban Xia Tang from Jingui Yaolue.

For vomiting from stomach heat it is combined with herbs that clear the stomach and stop vomiting, such as Huang Lian, Lu Gen and Zhu Ru. For vomiting from stomach deficiency with adverse rise of qi it is combined with spleen and stomach tonics, as with Ren Shen and Bai Mi in Da Ban Xia Tang from Jingui Yaolue. For vomiting from stomach yin deficiency it is combined with yin tonics such as Shi Hu and Mai Dong, as with Mai Dong in Mai Men Dong Tang from Jingui Yaolue.

It is also indicated for vomiting in pregnancy: for morning sickness and vomiting from stomach deficiency with cold retained fluid, it is combined with Gan Jiang and Ren Shen in Gan Jiang Ren Shen Ban Xia Wan from Jingui Yaolue.

Epigastric stuffiness, thoracic accumulation and plum-stone syndrome

It dries dampness and resolves both phlegm and stuffiness. For epigastric stuffiness from phlegm-heat obstruction it is combined with Gan Jiang, Huang Lian and Huang Qin in Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang from Shanghan Lun; in the same source it is also combined with Gua Lou and Huang Lian in Xiao Xian Xiong Tang. For plum-stone syndrome from qi stagnation and congealing phlegm it is combined with Zi Su, Hou Po and Fu Ling to move qi, relieve constraint, resolve phlegm and dissipate nodules in Ban Xia Hou Po Tang from Jingui Yaolue.

Goiter, tumor, phlegm nodules, abscesses and deep-rooted abscesses

Taken internally it resolves phlegm and dissipates nodules; applied externally it resolves swelling and relieves pain. In the early stage of a sore or abscess it is ground to powder or freshly crushed and applied outside.

For goiter, tumor and phlegm nodules it is combined with herbs that resolve phlegm and soften hardness, as with Kun Bu, Hai Zao and Bei Mu in Hai Zao Yu Hu Tang from Wai Ke Zheng Zong. For scrofula it is made into a powder with Sheng Ban Xia and Tian Nan Xing and mixed with ginger juice, as recorded in Yi Zhong Shuo Yue.

Dose

Decoction 3~10g. It is generally used processed. The processed forms are named by type: Jiang Ban Xia and Fa Ban Xia and so on. Jiang Ban Xia is best at checking adverse rise of qi and relieving vomiting; Fa Ban Xia is best at drying dampness and is only mildly warm; Qing Shui Ban Xia (Qing Ban Xia) is best at resolving phlegm. Ban Xia Qu resolves phlegm and relieves cough, and is used to promote digestion and clear food stagnation. Processing Ban Xia with Zhu Li weakens its warm, dry nature and strengthens its phlegm-resolving action, so it clears and resolves heat-phlegm and is indicated for heat-phlegm and wind-phlegm patterns. Unprocessed Ban Xia is used mostly externally.

Cautions

Contraindicated with Wu Tou. Use with caution during pregnancy.