Bai Wei - 白薇 - Radix Cynanchi Atrati

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Radix Cynanchi Atrati
Common English:	Blackened Swallowwort Root Swallowwort Root Versicolorous Swallowwort Root

Category

Herbs that Clear Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs that Clear Deficiency Heat

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter Salty	Cold	Lung Stomach Kidney Liver Lung, Stomach, Kidney (Secondary source)	3-12g Tincture: 2-4ml

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Cools the Blood and clears Deficiency Heat	Ying and Xue level Heat Yin Deficient fever Persistent Summertime fever in children Postpartum fever and recovery from febrile disease (most commonly used) Lingering fever as a result of warm febrile disease that injures Blood or Yin
Promotes urination	Hot or bloody painful urinary dysfunction, especially before or after giving birth
Relieves toxicity and treats sores	Toxic sores, swollen and painful throat and snakebite (internal or topical - weak action)

*Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Cx. Lycii Di Gu Pi	Rx. Angelicae Sinensis Dang Gui Rx. Ginseng Ren Shen	Hb. Menthae Bo He Rz. Polygoni Odorati Yu Zhu (Sm. Sojae Preparata) (Dan Dou Chi)
Steaming bone disorder due to Blood Deficiency with intermittent fevers and chills. Fevers, steaming bone disorder and night sweats due to Yin Deficiency Heat. Afternoon fevers due to Heat in the Ying. Acts as a basis for formulas to treat low-grade fevers from unidentified causes with no other symptoms.	Remnants of Heat cannot be eliminated with unremitting chronic fever and postpartum fever and irritability due to Blood Deficiency.	External Wind-Heat with underlying Yin Deficiency.
Rx. Peucedani Qian Hu Fol. Eriobotryae Pi Pa Ye (Bul. Fritillariae Thunbergii) (Zhe Bei Mu)	Hb. Lophatheri Dan Zhu Ye Caulis Akebiae Mu Tong	Rx. Paeoniae Alba Bai Shao
Cough from Lung Heat.	Urinary dysfunction due to Yin Deficiency and Heat in the Blood.	Postpartum dysuria. In wine for prenatal or postpartum urinary incontinence.
Cx. Lycii Di Gu Pi Rx. Ophiopogonis Mai Men Dong Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang	Talcum Hua Shi Caul. Akebiae Mu Tong Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang	Sm. Plantaginis Che Qian Zi Talcum Hua Shi
Late-stage febrile disorders characterized by lingering fever due to Yin Deficiency.	Xue Lin. (Bloody painful urinary dysfunction)	Prostate inflammation due to Heat in the Lower Jiao.

Notes

1. Its bitterness is not drying, so it carries downward.
2. Being salty, it can enter the Blood, and being cold, it Clears Heat without harming the Yin.
3. It cools Excess as well as Deficiency.
4. It is helpful for long-lasting low grade fever caused by lingering pathogenic influences.
5. By cooling the Lungs, it sends fluid downward.
6. Bai Wei, Cx. Moutan Mu Dan Pi and Cx. Lycii Di Gu Pi each Cool Blood and reduce Deficiency Heat, so they treat low grade fever from Yin Deficiency Heat. Mu Dan Pi and Di Gu Pi can also reduce Blood Heat, and are used for bleeding in either the upper or lower body when Excess Heat drives the Blood into chaotic movement. Unlike the other two, Mu Dan Pi dispels Blood Stasis, and it is also effective for steaming bones and consumptive Heat without sweating. Di Gu Pi addresses the same disorders when sweating is present. Bai Wei's Lung-cooling action resembles that of Di Gu Pi, yet only Bai Wei can vent residual pathogenic Heat that is injuring the Yin in the late stages of a febrile disorder. It can facilitate urination as well.
7. Bai Wei, Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu and Hb. Artemisiae Annuae Qing Hao all clear pathogenic Heat. Qing Hao neither cools the Lungs nor facilitates urination. Rx. Stellariae Yin Chai Hu neither vents Heat nor vents Blood Heat outward; it simply cools Blood Heat on the inside.
8. Fresh Cynanchi Xian Bai Wei works better for cooling Heat toxin and reducing scrofula, and is frequently applied topically on its own.
9. Honey-prepared Cynanchi Zhi Bai Wei concentrates on the Lung channel and treats night sweats, recurrent Heat and hemoptysis.
10. Dry-fried Cynanchi Chao Bai Wei has a gentler cooling nature, which makes it better suited to Yin Deficiency patients and to those with weakness of the Spleen and Stomach.