Pharmaceutical Name:

Rhizome Pinelliae

Botanical Name:

Pinellia ternate (Thunb.) Breit.

Common Name:

Pinellia tuber

Source of Earliest Record:

Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The tuberous rhizomes are dug in the period between summer and autumn.  After the bark and fibrous roots have been removed, the rhizomes are dried in the sun.

Properties and Taste:

Pungent, warm and toxic

Meridians:

Spleen, stomach and lung

Functions:

To dry dampness and resolve phlegm
To conduct rebellious qi downward and stop vomiting
To reduce distension and disperse nodules

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Phlegm-damp cough due to deficient spleen manifested as cough with profuse, dilute and white sputum.
*Use with Tangerine peel (Chenpi) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Erchen Tang.

2.     Nausea and vomiting due to rebellious stomach qi:

a)       Stomach cold type.
*Use with Fresh ginger (Shengjiang) in the formula Xiao Banxia Tang.

b)       Stomach heat type.
*Use with Bamboo shavings (Zhuru) and Loquat leaf (Pipaye).  

c)       Pregnancy type.
*Use with Perilla stem (Sugeng) and Amomum fruit (Sharen).

d)       Stomach weakness type.
*Use with Ginseng (Renshen) and Jujube (Dazao).

3.     Globus hystericus due to qi stagnation and accumulation of phlegm-damp manifested as a feeling of having a foreign body in the throat, fullness and distension in the chest and epigastric region and nausea.
*Use with Magnolia bark (Houpo), Perilla leaf (Zisuye) and Poria (Fuling) in the formula Banxia Houpo Tang.

4.     Goiter, scrofula and subcutaneous nodule.
*Use with Laminaria (Kunbu), Seaweed (Haizao) and Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu).

Dosage:

5-10 g

Cautions:

This herb is contraindicated in cases with dry cough due to deficient yin, or cough due to phlegm-heat.  Also, it cannot be used together with the herb Sichuan aconite root (Wutou).