Mu Dan Pi - 牡丹皮 - Cortex Moutan
| Pharmaceutical Latin: | Cortex Moutan |
| Common English: | Moutan Root Bark Tree Peony Root Bark |
Category
Herbs that Clear Heat and Purge Fire: Herbs that Clear Heat and Cool BloodProperties
| Taste | Temperature | Entering Meridians | Dosage |
| Acrid Bitter | Slightly Cold (Cool) | Heart Liver Kidney | 6-12g Maximum dose: 30g Tincture: 2-4ml |
Actions And Indications
| Actions | Indications/Syndromes |
Clears Heat and cools (and harmonizes) the Blood | Xue Stage Heat with epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis or subcutaneous bleeding Menorrhagia due to Blood Heat |
Clears Deficiency Fire | Yin Deficiency Heat signs especially in the aftermath of Warm Febrile Disease with fever at night and coolness in the morning (most appropriate when the is no sweating), steaming bones |
Invigorates the Blood and dispels Blood Stasis | Blood Stasis with amenorrhea, abdominal masses, lumps or bruises due to trauma, menstrual cramping Liver Blood Stagnation |
Clears Liver Fire | Liver Fire with headache, eye pain, flank pain, flushing and dysmenorrhea |
Drains pus and reduces swelling | Non-draining sores (topical) Intestinal abscesses (internal) |
Contraindications, Incompatibilities And Herb/Drug Interactions
| CONTRAINDICATIONS |
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| INCOMPATIBILITIES |
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| HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS |
Major Combinations
| Rx. Paeoniae Rubra | Rx. Scutellariae | Rz. Imperatae |
Cools the Blood and disperses Stasis, for Ying Stage Heat with epistaxis, hemoptysis, hemafecia, hematuria, menorrhagia and skin rashes. Blood Stasis disorders. (amenorrhea, menstrual pain, traumatic injury) Purpuric rash, hematemesis and Heat injuring the Ying and Xue levels. Irregular menstruation due to Heat and obstruction from Blood Deficiency. | Heat causing pre-menstrual fevers or epistaxis during periods. | Hematuria, hematemesis, and epistaxis due to warm febrile disease. |
| Hb. Artemisiae Annuae | Carapax Trionycis | Sm. Persicae |
Steaming bone disorder. | Night fevers and recurrent afternoon fevers due to Heat lingering at the Ying level with exhaustion of Yin or Body Fluids. | Bruises and pain from traumatic injury. Amenorrhea and abdominal pain due to Blood Stasis. |
| Ram. Cinnamomi | Olibanum | Fr. Gardeniae |
Chest and abdominal pain due to Blood Stagnation. | Swelling and pain due to Blood Stasis following trauma. | Fire from constraint leading to Liver Fire or Liver Yang Rising. |
Flos Chrysanthemi | Rx. et Rz. Rhei | Flos Lonicerae |
Dizziness and red, swollen eyes due to ascending Liver Fire. | Abdominal pain, constipation, and low grade fever associated with unsuppurated abdominal abscess. | Carbuncles and painless, flat and slow healing suppurative inflammation of the soft tissues. |
Cornu Rhinoceri | Rx. Paeoniae Alba | Ram. Cinnamomi |
Xue Stage Heat. | Early menstruation and premenstrual fever. | Amenorrhea, menorrhagia due to Blood Stasis. |
Sm. Persicae | Rx. Paeoniae Rubra | Rx. Rehmanniae |
Amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea with severe pain, Heat, masses, lumps and tumors due to Blood Stasis. | Hematemesis and epistaxis due to Heat in the Xue level. | Ying and Xue Stage Heat with a high fever, scarlet tongue, thirst, a rash all over the body, epistaxis and hemoptysis. Residual Warm pathogen which has injured the Yin. Kidney Yin Deficiency with steaming bones. |
Rx. Anemarrhenae | Rz. Alismatis | Rx. et Rz. Rhei |
Menopause with Yin Deficiency and Heat. | Spermatorrhea due to Kidney Yin Deficiency with Heat. | Acute appendicitis that has not suppurated with fever, vomiting and lower right quadrant pain. |
Notes
- For Yin Deficiency Heat symptoms, this herb works best when there is no sweating.
- It is a principal herb for gynecological problems involving Blood Stasis.
- Its flower ranks among the most beloved flowers in China.
- Recent research indicates that it is helpful for bronchial and intestinal infections.
- It cools Heat arising from either Excess or Deficiency.
- It invigorates the Blood gently without harming the Blood or Yin.
- Lurking Fire is cleared from the Blood by this herb.
- It is also reported to eliminate dead blood cells.
- Mu Dan Pi and Rx. Rehmanniae Sheng Di Huang both treat Yin Deficiency Heat. Mu Dan Pi is cool, aromatic and piercing, dispersing Heat to help the Yin recover. Sheng Di Huang is sweet and cold and nourishes the Yin to relieve Heat, so that the Yin can recover. The two are frequently combined.
- Mu Dan Pi and Rx. Paeoniae Rubra Chi Shao both cool the Blood and dispel Stasis. Mu Dan Pi cools more and can clear Blood Heat from both Excess and Deficiency, with a focus on the Heart channel. Chi Shao clears only Excess Heat from the Blood, not Yin Deficiency Heat, but it invigorates the Blood more strongly and stops pain. Its focus is the Liver channel.
- Mu Dan Pi, Rx. Cynanchi Atrati Bai Wei and Cx. Lycii Di Gu Pi all cool the Blood and reduce Deficiency Heat, treating Heat from Yin Deficiency with low-grade fever. Mu Dan Pi and Di Gu Pi can also reduce Blood Heat and are used for bleeding in the upper or lower body when Excess Heat drives the Blood into chaotic movement. Only Mu Dan Pi dispels Blood Stasis, and it is also good for steaming bones and consumptive Heat without sweating, while Di Gu Pi treats the same disorders when sweating is present. Bai Wei cools the Lungs much as Di Gu Pi does, but it alone can vent residual pathogenic Heat that injures the Yin in the late stages of a febrile disorder. It can also promote urination.
- Dry-fried Moutan Chao Mu Dan Pi is less cold and disperses less, but it drains Fire within the Yin more effectively; it is used most often for Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency with low-grade fever and steaming bones without sweating.
- Wine-fried Moutan Jiu Chao Mu Dan Pi disperses and transforms Stasis more effectively and is used for abdominal masses, accumulations and amenorrhea.
- Charred Moutan Mu Dan Pi Tan can enter the Blood, where it cools and stops bleeding without creating further Stasis, and it is widely used for bleeding caused by pathogenic Heat.
- Also known as Dan Pi.
- Dui Yao pair with Dan Shen: for Blood Heat with hematemesis, epistaxis, metrorrhagia, purpura, rubella and pruritus; irregular menstruation or postpartum abdominal pain from Blood Heat causing Blood Stasis; continuous low-grade fever from Yin Deficiency; and hot, red, swollen, painful joints from Heat Bi.
From Class
- Chi Shao / Mu Dan Pi / Pu Huang: For heavy bleeding (adenomyosis) with blood stasis and heat: add chi shao, mu dan pi; pu huang to control bleeding, alongside a qi-lifting base. (Lewis)
- Mu Dan Pi / Chi Shao / Di Gu Pi / Sheng Di / Xuan Shen / Shi Hu: Bitter-cold blood-cooling herbs; Mu Dan Pi and Chi Shao go to the pericardium. (Gioioso)
- High transferrin: Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan + Chi Shao, Mu Dan Pi: High transferrin with low iron = yin-deficient heat: use a heat-clearing yin-nourishing formula plus Chi Shao and Mu Dan Pi, with iron/vitamin C. (Lewis)