Parnassia delavayi Franch.
Aliases：Bái ěr Cài (White Ear Vegetable), Jiào Tiān Jī (Call-the-Heaven Chicken), Guāng Bǎn (Light Board), Jīn Kǔ Bǎn (Golden Bitter Board), Cāng ěr Qī (Cocklebur Seven), Jīn Qián Dēng Tǎ Cǎo (Golden Money Lighthouse Grass), Jīn Gà Bǎn (Golden Frame Board), Méi Huā Cǎo (Plum Blossom Grass), Huáng Cǎo (Yellow Grass), Xiǎo Bái Huā (Little White Flower), Shān Cí Gū (Mountain Cigu), Mǎ Niào Huā (Horse Urine Flower), Mǎ Tí Cǎo (Horseshoe Grass), Zǐ Wēi Cǎo (Purple Weed Grass), Fèi Xīn Cǎo (Lung-heart Grass), Bái Zhé ěr (White Folded Ear), Shuǐ Zhé ěr (Water Folded Ear).
Bái Cè ěr is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It is the dried whole plant or root of Parnassia delavayi Franch., a plant belonging to the genus Parnassia of the family Saxifragaceae. This plant is a perennial herb, 10–45 cm tall, with a creeping rhizome. Its basal leaves are thick and papery, reniform or cordate, with long petioles; the stem leaf is solitary, rounded, cordate at the base, and clasping the stem. The flower is solitary at the stem apex, with 5 white petals. It is usually harvested from June to August and dried in the sun or used fresh.
Efficacy & Actions
Clears heat, moistens the Lung, detoxifies, and reduces swelling.
Indications
Indicated for pulmonary tuberculosis, laryngitis, mumps, lymphadenitis, toxic sores and swellings, and traumatic injuries. It may also be used for consumptive cough, hemoptysis, hematemesis, dysentery, leukorrhea, and furuncles.
Modern Pharmacology
Currently, specific modern pharmacological research on Bái Cè ěr is relatively limited. Its traditional therapeutic effects are primarily based on traditional Chinese medical theory and clinical experience.
Ingredients
Specific research on the chemical constituents of Bái Cè ěr is limited. The specific active components contained in it require further analysis and confirmation.
Usage & Dosage
For oral administration: decoct in water, 9–15 g. Some sources document 6–12 g (2–4 qián) for the dried product, and 30–60 g (1–2 liǎng) for the fresh product. For external use: apply an appropriate amount of the fresh herb, crushed and applied topically to the affected area.
Contraindications
Pregnant women should use with caution. Use with caution in cases of Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold. During the medication period, avoid eating cold, raw, greasy, spicy and sour foods, as well as mustard greens and other similar foods.
Selected Formulas
For chronic cough with consumptive disease (Jinhua Chinese Herbal Medicine) Take 6g of Baice'er (Parnassia wightiana) and 6g of Luxiancao (Pyrola herb). Stew with pig lung and consume. For chronic cough with hemoptysis and leukorrhea in women (empirical formula) Take 15-30g of Baice'er, decoct in water or stew with chicken, and consume. For dysentery with bloody stools and post-diarrhea anal heat and pain (Zhejiang Tianmushan Medicinal Plant Records) Take 21-24g of dried Baice'er, and 12-15g each of Xianhecao (Agrimony), Banbianlian (Lobelia), Tianqingdibaicao (a local herb), and Maocaogen (Imperata rhizome). Decoct in water and take on an empty stomach in the morning and evening. For tinea corporis (ringworm) (empirical formula) Take 30g of fresh Baice'er root, lightly toast it over a fire for a moment, rub it into a ball, and apply to the affected area.
Daily Consumption
Stewing: It may be stewed with ingredients such as pig lung or chicken for consumption.
Medicinal Parts
Dried whole plant or root.
Selection & Storage
Store in a ventilated, dry place, protected from moisture.
