Source Ash Bark is the dried branch bark or stem bark of Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance, Fraxinus Chinensis Roxb. var. acuminate Lingelsh. or Fraxinus stylosa Lingelsh (Fam. Oleanaceae).
Producing Areas Jilin, Liaoning and Henan, etc.
Producing Bitter, Astringent, Cold
Channels Gall Bladder, Large Intestines, Liver
Action
- Eliminates heat and stops diarrhoea
For damp-heat diarrhoea or dysentery, especially if blood is present. - Clears heat in the liver channel and clears the eyes
For cataracts, redness, swelling and pain due to liver heat. - Clears wind-damp
For painful obstruction from heat
Usage and Dosage
3 – 12g is decocted for oral use.
Notes Contraindicated in the case with asthenic cold of the spleen and stomach.
Dried Qinpi
It is shaped like a thick slip, with a greyish brown surface on which there are cracks forming a net pattern similar to a carapace. It is hard with a strongly fibrous broken surface, easy to peel into layers. If it is soaked in hot water, the water becomes yellowish green with blue fluorescence under sunlight.
Storage
Keep in a cool, dry place.
The good one is long in size, with thin and smooth outer covering.
Professional Advice Fakes The skin of Hetaoqiu (Junglans mandshurica Maxim) is used as Qinpi in some areas. There are fewer lenticels on its surface and the leaf traces form the shape of a monkey’s face. It is easy to break vertically but not horizontally. The water extract is pale yellowish brown with no fluorescence.