Potentillae Discoloris Herba
Aliases：Jī Tuǐ Er (literally "Chicken Leg"), Jī Jiǎo Cǎo (literally "Chicken Foot Grass"), Yā Jiǎo Shēn (literally "Duck Foot Ginseng"), Tiān Qīng Dì Bái (literally "Sky‑Blue, Ground‑White"), Bái Jī Zhuǎ Cǎo (literally "White Chicken Claw Grass"), Fān Bái Cǎo (literally "Turned‑White Grass"), Wěi Líng Cài (literally "Cinquefoil Vegetable"), Jī Zhuǎ Lián (literally "Chicken Claw Lotus"), Jī Tóu (literally "Chicken Head"), and Jī Tóu Gěng (literally "Chicken Head Stem"). (These are all alternative names for Fān Bái Cǎo, i.e., Discolor Cinquefoil Herb / Potentilla discolor.)
Fānbáicǎo (Discolor Cinquefoil Herb) is a traditional Chinese medicinal material. It is the dried whole herb of Potentilla discolor Bge., a plant belonging to the family Rosaceae. It was first recorded in Jiuhuang Bencao (Materia Medica for Famine Relief).
Efficacy & Actions
Clears heat, removes toxicity, stops dysentery, and stops bleeding.
Indications
Damp‑heat diarrhea and dysentery: Used for heat dysentery and bloody dysentery. Carbuncles and toxic swellings: Used for carbuncles and sores caused by exuberant heat‑toxin. Bleeding due to blood‑heat: Used for hematemesis, hematochezia, metrorrhagia and metrostaxis, and traumatic bleeding caused by blood‑heat. Lung‑heat cough and wheezing: Used for lung‑heat cough with wheezing, phlegm, and lung abscess, etc.
Modern Pharmacology
Hypoglycemic effect: Large‑dose oral administration of the decoction has shown significant blood glucose‑lowering effects in normal rabbits. Quercetin, a main component of its flavonoids, inhibits non‑enzymatic glycation. Antibacterial effect: The decoction of the whole herb has inhibitory effects against Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhi. Anti‑inflammatory and analgesic effects. Antioxidant effects. Antiviral effects. Antitumor effects. Immunosuppressive and antidiarrheal effects.
Ingredients
Flavonoids: Quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, etc. Terpenoids: Oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, etc. Phenolic acids: Gallic acid, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, etc. Glycosides. Steroids. Polyphenols. Tannins.
Usage & Dosage
For oral administration: decoct in water, 9–15 g; for fresh herb, 30–60 g. For topical application: an appropriate amount of fresh herb, mashed and applied to the affected area.
Contraindications
Contraindicated in patients with Yang deficiency accompanied by cold. Use with caution in patients with Spleen‑Stomach deficiency‑cold. Avoid cold and raw foods. It is recommended to use under the guidance of a physician.
Selected Formulas
For heat dysentery and bloody dysentery (empirical formula) Take 30-60g of fresh Fanbaicao (Potentilla discolor), decoct into a concentrated liquid, and take orally in 3 divided doses daily. For acute bacillary dysentery (empirical formula) Take 60g of fresh Fanbaicao (or 30g dried), decoct in water, and take one dose daily. For early-stage furuncle toxin (empirical formula) Take Fanbaicao, decoct with wine and drink. For ulcerated sores (empirical formula) Take Fanbaicao, decoct in water and use for fumigation and washing. For traumatic bleeding (empirical formula) Take fresh Fanbaicao whole plant, wash, dry in the sun, grind into powder, and sprinkle over the wound. For enteritis and dysentery (empirical formula) Take 450g of Fanbaicao, 300g each of Huangbai (Phellodendron amurense) and Qinpi (Fraxinus rhynchophylla bark). Decoct in water, concentrate, dry, and grind into powder. Take 1-2g each time, 3 times daily. For hemorrhoidal bleeding (empirical formula) Take 10g each of Fanbaicao, Weilingcai (Potentilla chinensis), Wuhuaguo (Ficus carica), Diyu (Sanguisorba officinalis), and Jinyinhua (Lonicera japonica). Decoct in water and drink. For metrorrhagia (empirical formula) Take 15g of Fanbaicao, 10g each of Tudanggui (a local herb), Baishao (Paeonia lactiflora), Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), and Chenpi (Citrus reticulata peel). Decoct in water and drink.
Daily Consumption
Stewed consumption: Simmer 10 g of Discolor Cinquefoil Herb (Potentilla discolor) together with 300 g of pig large intestine. Season with salt. Drink the soup and eat the intestine.
Medicinal Parts
It is the dried whole herb (whole herb with roots) of Potentilla discolor Bge., a plant belonging to the family Rosaceae.
Selection & Storage
Store in a cool, dry place, protected from moisture and insects.
