Huang Bai – Phellodendron Bark – Cortex Phellodendri

Huang Bai

English Name: phellodendron bark, amur cork tree bark

Pharmaceutical Name: Cortex Phellodendri

Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Dampness-Drying Herbs

Properties: Huang Bai enters the Kidney, Urinary Bladder, and Large Intestine channels; it is bitter in nature and cold in temperature.

What is Huang Bai?:

The Chinese Herb Huang Bai is the inner bark of the amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) which grows native in the Northeastern regions of Asia. The bark is harvested in the late Spring and allowed to dry in the sun before being used as medicine.

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

Huang Bai clear heat toxins and dries dampness in the lower jiao. It is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery, painful, burning urination w/infection, jaundice, and other conditions that present as a result of damp-heat toxicity.

Huang Bai clears (yin) deficiency heat with such signs as hot flashes, night sweats, “steaming bones”, irritability, and soreness in the lower back and behind the knees.

Huang Bai consumes fluids and should not be used long-term; it is also contraindicated for those with Spleen, Kidney, or general yang deficiency.