Pharmaceutical Name:

Cortex Ailanthi

Botanical Name:

Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle

Common Name:

Ailanthus bark
Tree of heaven bark

Source of Earliest Record:

Xinxiu Bencao

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The bark roots or stems of the tree are obtained year round. After the superficial rough bark has been removed, the remaining bark is dried in the sun and then cut into pieces.

Properties and Taste:

Bitter, astringent and cold

Meridians:

Large intestine, stomach and liver

Functions:

To clear heat, dry dampness and stop leukorrhea
To astringe the intestines
To stop bleeding
To kill worms

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Damp-heat type of diarrhea or dysentery.
*Use with Coptis root (Huang lian), Scutellaria root (Huang qin) and Costus root (Mu xiang).

2.      Yellow leukorrhea due to damp-heat.
*Use with Phellodendron bark (Huang bai).

3.     Menorrhagia or uterine bleeding caused by heat in the blood.
*Use with Tortoise plastron (Gui ban), White peony root (Bai shao) and Scutellaria root (Huang qin).

Dosage:

3-5 g