Bai Lian – Ampelopsis Root – Radix Ampelopsis

Bai Lian

English Name: ampelopsis root, Japanese peppervine root

Pharmaceutical Name: Radix Ampelopsis

Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Toxin-Eliminating Herbs

Properties: Bai Lian enters the Heart, Stomach, and Liver channels; it is bitter and acrid in nature and cool in temperature.

What is Bai Lian?:

The Chinese Herb Bai Lian is the dried root of the Japanese peppervine (Ampelopsis japonica), a climbing shrub in the grape family native to East Asia. The flowers bloom in mid-to-late summer. The seeds ripen in the fall and then the plant withers, at which point the roots are dug up, cleaned, and dried for use as medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Bai Lian:

Bai Lian clears heat and eliminates toxins. It is used topically to address redness, swelling, and infection for a toxic-heat disorders in of the skin and also generates flesh to promote healing of these sores/burns/lesions etc… after the heat and toxicity have been cleared.

Bai Lian may also be taken internally to address various toxic-heat swellings within the body (e.g. abscesses and nodules).