Ma Bo - 馬勃 - Lasiosphera/Calvatia

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Lasiosphera/Calvatia / Lasiosphaera/Calvatia
Common English:	Puffball

Category

Herbs that Clear Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs that Clear Heat and Detoxify; Target Warm and Heat Diseases

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Acrid	Neutral (Cool)	Lung	1.5-6g Tincture: 0.5-2ml

Actions And Indications

Actions	Indications/Syndromes
Clears Lung Heat, relieves Fire toxicity and Improves the throat	Swollen, painful throat and loss of voice due to Fire toxin Cough and asthma due to Lung Heat
Stops bleeding	Bleeding especially in the mouth or lips (topically and internally) Bleeding gums due to frostbite

Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions

Major Combinations

Rx. Isatidis Ban Lan Gen Rz. Belamcandae She Gan Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen	Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen	Rz. Imperatae Bai Mao Gen Nodus Nelumbinis Rhizomatis Ou Jie Cacumen Platycladi Ce Bai Ye
Pain and swelling of the throat and neck	Wind-Heat obstruction leading to swelling and pain of the throat Clears the upper body, Nourishes Yin and stops pain, Restores normal descent	Epistaxis and hematemesis
Sm. Oroxyli Gu Zhi Hua Periostracum Cicadae Chan Tui
Loss of voice

Notes

1. It is particularly useful for resolving toxic throat swelling with loss of voice and cough caused by Wind-Heat Attacking the Lungs.
2. It resolves toxicity, disperses Blood Heat and clears the Lungs, and is useful for hemoptysis during pregnancy or persistent nosebleeds (take 1.5g as a powder and wash it down with rice congee)
3. It dries Dampness and works very well for every kind of sore.
4. For sore throat, it can be sprinkled onto the affected area.
5. Because it is extremely dusty, a mask should be worn when handling it.
6. Ma Bo and Rx. Sophorae Tonkinensis Shan Dou Gen both resolve toxicity, disperse clumps, benefit the throat and clear Heat. Shan Dou Gen is bitter and cold and enters the Heart, Lungs and Large Intestine. In the Upper Jiao, it clears Heat from the Lungs and Heart. In the Lower Jiao, it guides Fire in the Large Intestine downward, kills parasites and dries Dampness. It concentrates on the Stomach, Intestines, Lungs and Heart, treating pain and swelling of the gums and teeth. Ma Bo is acrid and neutral and enters the Lung channel. It clears Lung Fire, disperses constrained Fire, stops bleeding and helps sores heal. It concentrates on the Blood and Lungs, treating epistaxis.
7. Being light in weight, it ascends to disseminate and disperse.