This product is the rhizome of the perennial herb Coptis Rhizome (Coptis chinensis Franch.), deltoid-leaved Coptis Rhizome (Coptis deltoidea C.Y.Cheng et Hsiao), or Yunnan Coptis (Coptis teeta Wall.) from the Ranunculaceae family. Coptis Rhizome is mostly cultivated, primarily in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Hubei. It is harvested in autumn, dried, and used raw or processed by plain stir-frying, ginger frying, wine frying, or stir-frying with Evodia Fruit water.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter, cold. act on heart, liver, stomach and large intestine channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and drying dampness, clearing heat and removing toxin.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for gastrointestinal dampness-heat, diarrhea, and vomiting. This product is extremely bitter and Great Cold (24th solar term), with a stronger ability to clear heat and dry dampness than Skullcap Root, especially effective in clearing middle energizer dampness fire stagnation. It is used for dampness-heat obstruction in the middle energizer, leading to qi movement stagnation, epigastric stuffiness and fullness, nausea, and vomiting. It is often used in combination with Skullcap Root, Dried Ginger, Pinellia, etc., such as in Pinellia Heart-Draining Decoction. For treating dampness-heat diarrhea, mild cases can be effective with single use. If there is diarrhea with abdominal pain and tenesmus, it is used with Aucklandia Root, such as in Aucklandia and Coptis Pill. For diarrhea with fever, it is combined with Pueraria Root, Skullcap Root, Liquorice Root, and added to Pueraria, Skullcap and Coptis Decoction. For diarrhea with pus and blood, it can be combined with Chinese Angelica, Cassia Bark, Peony Root, Aucklandia Root, etc., such as in Peony Root Decoction. This product is excellent for removing spleen and stomach large intestine dampness-heat and is a key medicine for treating dampness-heat diarrhea.
2. Used for intense heat and fire, high fever, and dysphoria. This product clears heat and removes toxins, especially effective in clearing heart channel excess fire. For triple energizer heat excess, high fever, and dysphoria, it is often used with Skullcap Root, Phellodendron Bark, Gardenia, etc., such as in Coptis Detoxification Decoction. For intense heat and fire with yin fluid damage, water deficiency, and fire flaring, leading to restlessness and insomnia, it is often combined with Skullcap Root, Peony Root, Donkey-hide Gelatin, etc., and added to Coptis and Ass Hide Glue Decoction. For heart fire internal damage, leading to reckless blood movement, hematemesis, and nosebleeds, it can be used with Skullcap Root, Rhubarb Rhizome, such as in Heart-Draining Decoction.
3. Used for boils, sores, and toxins, skin eczema, and swelling and pain in the ears and eyes. This product clears heat and dries dampness, clears heat and removes toxins, especially effective in treating boils and sores. For treating abscesses, boils, and sores, it is often used with Skullcap Root, Gardenia, Forsythia, etc., and added to Coptis Detoxification Decoction. For skin eczema, Coptis Rhizome can be made into an ointment for external application. For ear canal boils and pus discharge, Coptis Rhizome can be soaked and applied to the affected area, or combined with alum and borneol, ground into powder for external use. For eye redness and swelling, Coptis Rhizome decoction or human milk soaked juice can be used for eye drops.
4. Additionally, this product is excellent for clearing stomach fire and can be used for intense stomach fire vomiting, often combined with Bamboo Shavings, tangerine peel, Pinellia. For toothache, it is often combined with Gypsum, Cimicifuga Rhizome, Moutan Bark, etc., and for swift digestion with rapid hunger, it is often combined with Unprocessed Rehmannia Root. This product also clears liver heat. For liver fire invading the stomach, leading to liver-stomach disharmony, hypochondriac distending pain, and acid regurgitation, it can be combined with Evodia Fruit, such as in Left Metal Pill.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "Mainly treats heat qi, eye pain, canthus injury with tearing, improves vision, intestinal disorders, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and swelling and pain in the female genital area."
2. Zhenzhunang: "Its uses are six: purging heart fire, first; removing middle energizer damp-heat, second; essential for all sores, third; dispelling wind-dampness, fourth; treating sudden onset of red eyes, fifth; stopping bleeding in the middle region, sixth."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 2-10g; or grind into powder and take 1-1.5g, three times a day. Apply externally as needed. Stir-frying reduces its cold nature. Ginger juice processing clears the stomach and stops vomiting, wine processing clears upper energizer fire, and stir-frying with pig bile purges liver and gallbladder excess fire.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

This product is extremely bitter and cold. Excessive or prolonged use can easily harm the spleen and stomach. It is contraindicated for those with lung and stomach deficiency and cold. The bitter and drying nature can damage fluids, so it should be used with caution by those with yin deficiency and fluid depletion.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains various alkaloids such as berberine (Coptis Rhizome alkaloid) and methyl Coptis Rhizome alkaloid. Among them, Coptis Rhizome alkaloid accounts for about 5% to 8%.

• Coptis Rhizome has a broad antibacterial spectrum, showing significant inhibitory effects on dysentery bacillus, cold-damage disease bacillus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, large intestine bacillus, diphtheria bacillus, whooping cough bacillus, subcutaneous node bacillus, Staphylococcus, meningococcus, hemolytic streptococcus, pneumococcus, etc. It also inhibits Leptospira, amoeba, Trichomonas, influenza virus, and various pathogenic skin fungi. Among these, the inhibitory effect on dysentery bacillus is the strongest. It can also enhance the phagocytic ability of white blood cells;
• it has effects such as lowering blood pressure, promoting bile secretion, antipyretic, sedative, analgesic, antidiuretic, and local anesthetic.
• In addition, it relaxes vascular smooth muscle and has an excitatory effect on the smooth muscles of the uterus, bladder, and gastrointestinal tract;
• berberine and some of its derivatives have anticancer effects.