WH Acupuncture & Herbs Centre

It is the ripe seed of Sinapis alba L.,family Cruciferae. The fruits are collected in late sumer and early autumn when they mature. The seeds are gathered after the fruits are dried in the sunshine. They are used in the raw form or after they are stir-baked.

[ Medicinal Properties ]: Pungent and warm; relate to lung and stomach meridians.

[ Medicinal Efficacies ]: Warm lung to resolve phlegm; promote qi flow to remove stagnation; free the network vessels to relieve pain.

[ Clinical Applications ]: 1. Accumulation of cold-phlegm, cough and dyspnea, distension and pain in chest and hypochondrium      For cough and dyspnea with clear and profuse sputum, it is usually comgbined with Zisuzi and Laifuzi in Sanzi Yangqin Decoction. For phlegm-fluid retention resulting in distension and pain in chest and hypochondrium, combined with Gansui and Daji, such as Kongxian Pill.

2. Obstruction of phlegm-dampness in the meridians       To treat obstruction of phlegm-dampness in the network vessels manifested as arthralgia, numbness of extremities, yin carbuncle and suppurative tissue disease, it is used with Mubiezi, Moyao, Rougui and Muxiang in Baijiezi Powder; for yin carbuncle and suppurative tissue disease caused by phlegm-dampness, it is combined with Lujiaojiao, Rougui, Paojiang and Shudihuang, such as Yanghe Decoction.

[ Usage and Dosage ]: 3-6g. It is ground into powder and mixed with vinegar for external application or for vesiculation.

[ Precautions ]: It cannot treat lung deficiency due to prolonged cough and yin deficiency with excessive fire, since it is pungent and warm and thus it exhausts qi and yin. Since it stimulates skin mucosa and easily vesiculates, it contraindicates with ulcer in digestive tract, bleeding and allergy of skin. Gastritis and enteritis may occur in case of over dosage.

白芥子为十字花科植物白芥Sinapis alba L．的种子。主产于安徽、河南、四川等地。夏末秋初，果实成熟时割取全株，晒干后打下种子。生用或炒用。