Phellodendron
黃柏 · Huáng Bǎi
Cools burning urination and night sweats
Properties
CoolingCooling botanicalBitter
Concerns
What it does
Phellodendron bark does two jobs: it settles burning, urgent urination and hot swollen joints in the legs, and it eases night sweats and low afternoon fevers. In TCM the first is warmth and moisture pooling low in the body, the second is Kidney fire flaring once yin, your cool moistening side, runs low. Practitioners nearly always pair it with anemarrhena. Its yellow bark comes from berberine.
Safety
- Bitter and cold. Avoid with cold-pattern digestion: loose stools, cold limbs, or a pale tongue
- Not appropriate long-term without practitioner guidance. Sustained bitter-cold can damage Stomach qi
- Contains berberine. Talk to your doctor if you take antibiotics, cyclosporine, or CYP3A4-sensitive medications
- One case report of allergic skin reaction with oral use
- Talk to your doctor before starting medicinal use, especially if you take medication
How to take it
Decoct 3–12g of dried phellodendron bark in water for 25 minutes. Drink 1 cup, 1–2x daily. Almost always taken in formula with anemarrhena or other yin-supporting herbs.
Look for it in Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan for night sweats or San Miao Wan for hot, swollen knees and legs
Formulas it's in
Coptis to Resolve Toxicity
黃連解毒湯 · huáng lián jiě dú tāng
A strong cooling formula for hot, angry breakouts, mouth sores, and feverish agitation.
Eight-Flavor Rehmannia
知柏地黃丸 · zhī bǎi dì huáng wán
Six-Ingredient Rehmannia with two added cooling herbs for internal heat, night sweats, and hot flashes from yin deficiency.
Four Marvel
四妙丸 · sì miào wán
For swollen, heavy, hot knees and lower limbs from accumulated damp-heat.
Where it comes from
Phellodendron chinense and P. amurense are deciduous trees native to China, Korea, and Japan, with corky bark that turns bright yellow when cut. The bark has been in continuous use since the Shén Nóng Běn Cǎo Jīng and features in Zhu Dan-Xi's Yuan Dynasty writing on fire-clearing medicine. P. chinense from Guizhou is traditionally considered best. Its berberine, the same compound that colors goldenseal yellow, later drew pharmacological interest.