Bi Ba - 荜茇 - Fructus Piperis Longi

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Fructus Piperis Longi
Common English:	Long Pepper Fruit

Category

Herbs that Warm the Interior and Expel Cold

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Acrid	Hot	Stomach Large Intestine	1-5g Tincture: 0.5-1ml

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Descends Qi and stops pain, Disperses Cold from the Stomach and Intestines, Warms the Middle Jiao	Cold congealing and leading to Qi Stagnation in the epigastrium and abdomen with nausea, vomiting, hiccups, belching, acid regurgitation, loss of appetite and abdominal pain Stomach Cold
Treats toothache (topical)	As a powder for toothache

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Rz. Alpiniae Officinarum Gao Liang Jiang Rz. Zingiberis Preparatum Pao Jiang	Rz. Alpiniae Officinarum Gao Liang Jiang Rz. Zingiberis Preparatum Pao Jiang Rx. Codonopsis Dang Shen Rz. Atractylodis Macrocephalae Huang Qi	Fr. Chebulae He Zi Rz. Zingiberis Gan Jiang Cx. Cinnamomi Rou Gui
Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain due to Stomach Cold	Deficiency and weakness of the Spleen and Stomach	Chronic diarrhea due to Deficiency Cold
Styrax Su He Xian Benzoinum An Xi Xiang	Lignum Santali Alba Tan Xiang Borneolum Bing Pian Hb. Asari Xi Xin	Fr. Piperis Hu Jiao
Severe attacks of Cold-Dampness and turbid Phlegm	Angina pectoris	As a powder for toothache
Cx. Cinnamomi Rou Gui Rz. Alpiniae Officinarum Gao Liang Jiang Rz. Zingiberis Preparatum Pao Jiang	Rx. Ginseng Ren Shen Rz. Atractylodis Macrocephalae Bai Zhu	Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum Zhi Ban Sha Rz. Zingiberis Recens Sheng Jiang
Cold in the Spleen and Stomach	Spleen and Stomach Deficiency	Nausea and vomiting due to Cold Phlegm in the Spleen and Stomach
Rx. Aucklandiae Mu Xiang Cx. Magnoliae Officinalis Hou Po
Epigastric and abdominal fullness and distention

Notes

1. For pain associated with malignancies, this herb can be given in a large dose.
2. It serves as an antidote for food poisoning.
3. It is best suited to Intestinal pain and to nausea and vomiting caused by Cold in the Stomach.
4. It may be used by itself or combined with other herbs that move Qi and warm the Stomach, such as Cx. Magnoliae Officinalis Hou Po, Rx. Aucklandiae Mu Xiang and Rz. Alpiniae Officinarum Gao Liang Jiang.
5. According to one source, it warms the Middle, descends Qi, tonifies the feet and lower back, kills meaty odor, digests food, expels Cold from the Stomach and treats ensconced lumps and bulging disorders.
6. Bi Ba and Fr. Litseae Bi Cheng Qie both disperse Cold and warm the Middle, treating Deficiency Cold of the Middle Jiao. Bi Cheng Qie is warm and quite acrid, and disperses more powerfully to warm the Stomach and Spleen and eliminate Qi Stagnation. Its strengths are dispersing Cold, alleviating pain and descending Qi. It is best suited to Qi Stagnation producing pain in the chest, epigastrium and abdomen, or to nausea, vomiting and hiccup from Stomach Cold. Bi Ba is very Hot and strongly disperses Cold that has sunk deep into the Middle Jiao; it is best suited to Deficiency Cold of the Stomach and Intestines with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
7. It is also used for headache and nasal congestion.