She Gan - 射干 - Rhizoma Belamcande

Pharmaceutical Latin:	Rhizoma Belamcandae
Common English:	Belamcanda Rhizome Blackberry Lily Rhizome

Properties

Taste	Temperature	Entering Meridians	Dosage
Bitter	Cold (Toxic)	Lung (Liver)	1.5-10g 3-9g (Secondary source)

Actions

Indications/Syndromes

Clears Heat, relieves Fire toxicity and improves the throat

Swollen, painful throat due to Fire Excess, Fire toxin or Phlegm-Heat obstruction

Can be used alone for sore throat

Transforms Phlegm, clears the Lungs and eliminates wheezing

Cough and wheezing with Phlegm obstruction, Lung-Heat asthma

Combined with warming herbs for Phlegm Obstruction due to Cold-Phlegm

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Contraindicated for those with loose stools or diarrhea due to Spleen Deficiency Cold.
Do not use for an extended period of time.
Contraindicated during pregnancy.

INCOMPATIBILITIES

HERB/DRUG INTERACTIONS

Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin	Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng	Rx. Sophorae Tonkinensis Shan Dou Gen
Sore throat and coughing due to Lung Heat.	Pain and swelling of the throat with hoarseness due to Fire Excess.	Phlegm-Heat in the throat with a swollen, sore throat and Phlegm that is difficult to expectorate.
Flos Lonicerae Jin Yin Hua Lasiosphere/Calvatia Ma Bo	Lasiosphere/Calvatia Ma Bo Rz. Cimicifugae Sheng Ma Rx. Scrophulariae Xuan Shen	Sm. Armeniacae Xing Ren Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng
Throat Bi.	Fire toxin affecting the throat.	Cough, pain and swelling of the throat with difficulty expectorating due to Lung Heat.
Hb. Ephedrae Ma Huang Rx. Asari Xi Xin Rz. Zingiberis Recens Sheng Jiang	Rx. Scutellariae Huang Qin Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng Rx. Glycyrrhizae Gan Cao	Cx. Mori Sang Bai Pi Rx. Platycodi Jie Geng
Wind-Cold asthma with constriction of the chest as a result of Phlegm.	Sore throat with profuse Phlegm.	Dyspnea and cough with profuse yellow sputum.
Hb Asari Xi Xin Rz. Pinelliae Preparatum Zhi Ban Xia Rz. Zingiberis Recens Sheng Jiang
Dyspnea and cough with profuse white or clear sputum.

According to some sources, it descends Qi and disperses Blood.
For field dermatitis, it is used externally as a wash with a small amount of salt.
She Gan and Lasiosphere/Calvatia Ma Bo both clear Heat, benefit the throat, resolve toxicity and disperse clumped heat, and are commonly used for swelling and pain of the throat. She Gan is bitter and cold, descends pathogenic Heat and transforms Phlegm. Ma Bo is lightweight, dispersing, acrid and neutral; it focuses on the Lungs and the Blood to treat epistaxis, and treats swelling and pain of the throat from Wind-Heat.
Dry-fried Belamcanda Chao She Gan is less cold and bitter, making it suitable for deficient patients with a sore, swollen throat.
She Gan and Rx. Sophorae Tonkinensis Shan Dou Gen clear Heat in similar ways. She Gan dispels Phlegm and disperses Stagnation more strongly, whereas Shan Dou Gen sedates Fire more strongly.