This product is the residue obtained from the oleoresin of the trunk of Pinus massoniana (Pinus massoniana Lamb.), a plant of the Pinaceae family, after the volatile oil has been distilled off. It is mostly harvested in summer by cutting V-shaped or spiral grooves into the trunk of the pine tree, allowing the oleoresin from the sapwood to flow out from the wound. After collection, it is distilled with water to separate the Knotty Pine Wood oil, and the remaining residue, once cooled and solidified, becomes rosin. It is produced in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, and other regions.

bubble_chart Morphological Characteristics

Irregular, translucent lumps of varying sizes. The surface is yellow, often covered with a layer of yellowish-white frost-like powder. At room temperature, it is hard and brittle, easily broken, with a shiny, glass-like fracture. It has a Knotty Pine Wood oil odor and a bitter taste. It softens upon heating, then dissolves, producing thick brown smoke when burned. The best quality is characterized by neat, translucent lumps with high oil content and a strong odor.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Bitter and sweet, warm.

1. Benjing: "bitter, warm."
2. Bielu: "sweet, nontoxic."
3. Yaoxing Lun: "sweet, neutral."
4. Bencao Zheng: "bitter and acrid; warm."

1. Leigong Paozhi Yaoxing Jie: "act on spleen and lung channels."
2. Depei Bencao: "act on hand taiyin i> and foot yangming channels. "
3. Bencao Qiuzhen: "act on liver and spleen channels."

bubble_chart Efficacy

Dispelling wind and drying dampness, expelling pus and drawing out toxins, promoting tissue regeneration and relieving pain.

bubble_chart Indications

Cure boils and sores, hemorrhoids and fistulas, malignant ulcers, scabies and ringworm, white baldness, incised wounds, sprains, wind-dampness pain, leprosy, and cutaneous pruritus.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "Mainly treats Yongju sores, head ulcers, white baldness, scabies, wind qi, calms the five zang-organs, and eliminates heat."
2. Bielu: "Mainly treats heat hidden in the stomach, dry throat, consumptive thirst, and migratory impediment dead flesh; refining it makes it white; the red ones mainly treat malignant obstructions."
3. Yaoxing Lun: "Kills worms, used to treat deafness; if there are worm holes in the teeth, biting a little will not make them fall out; can adhere to various sores with pus and blood, soft extract promotes muscle growth and relieves pain, dispelling wind."
4. Rihuazi Bencao: "Moistens the heart and lungs, lowers qi to expel evil; soft extract mainly treats fistula rot, expelling pus."
5. Diannan Bencao: "Treats red and white tinea, leprosy."
6. Yixue Rumen: "Treats multiple arthralgia soreness, promotes fluid production to quench thirst, strengthens teeth, improves hearing and vision; taken with tonic medicine, it tonifies yang, strengthens the penis, and promotes fertility."
7. Gangmu: "Strengthens bones and muscles, unblocks ears and eyes. Treats collapse and leucorrhea."
8. Bencao Beiyao: "Dispels wind and removes dampness, transforms poison and kills worms."
9. Bencao Jing Shu: "Rosin, bitter and slightly sweet in taste, dry in nature, dryness eliminates dampness and disperses wind-cold; bitter and dry, it can kill worms; sweet can eliminate heat, dispersing hidden heat in the stomach, then dry throat and consumptive thirst will stop. Obstruction is a disease caused by the combination of wind-cold and dampness. The dampness of the earth affects the skin, flesh, and sinews, which is the origin of dead flesh. When dampness-heat evil is dispersed, blood does not stagnate and decay, the nourishing qi is regulated without obstruction, hence it mainly treats malignant sores; when nourishment and heat are dispersed, head ulcers, white baldness, scabies, and wind qi are all cured. Heat elimination harmonizes the nourishing blood, wind-dampness removal calms the Weiqi, the spleen and stomach are healthy, and the five zang-organs are free from disease, as can be known."
10. Bencao Huiyan: "Rosin, if used in surgical dressing materials, can remove pus and draw out toxins, useful for initial decay or initial ulceration, but if the ulcer has been long-standing and the pus and blood have been exhausted, with qi deficiency and blood cold, and the flesh is exposed and not healing, using this not only does not promote new muscle growth, but increases ulceration, spreading to the flesh, damaging the sinews and vessels, the harm is beyond words, users should carefully consider this."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

For external use: Grind into powder and sprinkle or apply as a paste. For internal use: Take in pill or powder form, or soak in wine.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

1. Yixue Rumen: "It should not be taken alone, as it can block the intestines and stomach."
2. Bencao Jingshu: "Patients with blood deficiency and fire, and those whose illness is not caused by wind-cold or dampness, should not take it."
3. Bencao Qiuzhen: "Those with excessive fire and heat should not take it."

bubble_chart Processing and Storage

Store in a cool and dry place, away from fire and heat.

Rosin: Place in a copper pot, heat gently until melted, remove impurities, pour into water, allow to cool, then remove and dry.

Prepared Rosin: Boil scallion soup, add rosin powder, cook until the rosin is completely melted, pour into cold water while hot, remove, and dry in the shade. (For every 100 catties of rosin, use 10 catties of scallions.)

1. Tao Hong-jing: Rosin, softened by boiling in mulberry ash juice or wine, is pressed into internal cold water several times until it becomes white and smooth, then it is usable.
2. Bencao Tujing: Rosin is first refined. The method involves using a large cauldron with water, placing a steamer inside, lining the bottom of the steamer with white thatch, and adding a layer of yellow sand on top of the thatch, about an inch thick. Then spread the rosin on top, heat with mulberry wood, add hot water as the liquid reduces, always keeping it full. When all the rosin has entered the cauldron, remove it and plunge into cold water. Once solidified, steam again, repeating this process three times until it becomes as white as jade, then it is ready for medicinal use.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

The rosin of Pinus tabuliformis and Pinus massoniana contains about 80% rosin anhydride and rosin acid, approximately 5-6% resin hydrocarbons, about 0.5% volatile oil, and trace amounts of bitter substances.

bubble_chart Modern Application

To treat chronic bronchitis, mix rosin powder with an equal amount of Liquorice Root powder to form a uniform powder. Take 5 fen (a traditional Chinese unit of weight) three times daily for 10 days as one treatment course. In a study of 256 cases, after one course of treatment, 38 cases showed immediate control, 53 cases showed significant improvement, 117 cases showed improvement, and 48 cases showed no effect, resulting in an effective rate of 81.2%. The efficacy was higher in simple cases than in asthmatic cases. Most patients showed improvement within 3 to 8 days of taking the medication, with the majority showing effects by the 5th day. Persisting with Yaodui significantly enhances the treatment's effectiveness. During the medication period, 5 cases experienced edema, and a few patients reported dry throat. These symptoms generally resolved on their own without the need for additional treatment or discontinuation of the medication.

TCM can effectively treat dry eye syndrome, floaters, retinopathy, and various chronic eye diseases

1. To treat all kinds of swelling and toxins: rosin eight taels, copper green two qian, castor hemp seed five qian, pound together to make a paste, spread and apply, very effective. ("Odd-Ingredient Formula")
2. To treat boils, abscesses, and sores: rosin powder two taels, alcohol two hundred milliliters, heat to dissolve, seal the bottle for later use, dip a dry cotton ball into the medicinal liquid and apply to the affected area, once or twice a day. ("Selected Materials from the New Medical Methods Exhibition of Chinese Herbal Medicine in Jiangsu Province")
3. To treat abscesses and toxins that have ulcerated: pus dripping, pus head not coming out: refined rosin one tael, frankincense, true myrrh (both roasted on a tile to extract oil) each five qian, camphor one qian, grind into fine powder, sprinkle into the toxin, to draw out pus and disperse toxins. ("Complete Book of Surgery")
4. To treat all kinds of fistulas: refined rosin powder, fill the sore hole until full, three to four times a day. (Shenghui Fang)
5. To treat subcutaneous lymph node ulceration: yellow incense one tael, grind into fine powder. For those with pus, sprinkle dry; for dry ones, mix with lard and apply. ("Compilation of Proven Chinese Medicine Prescriptions from Qinghai Province")
6. To treat scabies and eczema: grind rosin finely, mix with a small amount of calomel, rub evenly, first apply oil on the scabies or eczema, then rub the powder. (Liujuanzi Guiyi Fang)
7. To treat cutaneous pruritus and scabies: use refined rosin five qian, Rhubarb Rhizoma, long pepper each one tael; camphor, areca seed each five qian. Grind into very fine powder, mix with lard one tael, and grind into pills, add mercury eight qian and grind again, until the mercury disperses and no dots are seen. When encountering cutaneous pruritus or scabies, rub the pill on the sore. (Liujuanzi Guiyi Fang)
8. To treat neurodermatitis: rosin, lard in appropriate amounts, cook into a paste, apply to the affected area, several times a day. (Guangxi "New Medical Methods Prescription Collection of Chinese Herbal Medicine")
9. To treat scrotal itching about to ulcerate: grind rosin into powder, roll into paper tubes, insert three grains of pricklyash peel into each, soak in a lamp for three nights, take out and burn, drip the oil and apply; first wash with rice water. ("Simple Single Prescription")
10. To treat frequent soft furuncles: clear asphalt eight taels, copper green two taels, sesame oil three qian, three pig gallbladders. First melt the asphalt, then add oil and gallbladder, pour into water and pull, store in a container. Each time use silk cloth to spread and apply, no need to change again. (Gangmu Cuiyu Ointment)
11. To treat children's white bald scalp sore (tinea alba): refined rosin, red lead each five qian, calomel three qian. Grind into fine powder, mix with vegetable oil and apply; first wash with rice water and then apply the medicine, once a day. ("Simple Collection Prescription")
12. To treat head ringworm: alum one and a half jin, roast and grind finely, tender rosin three taels, fresh lard half a jin. Wrap rosin in the oil, use pine wood to light the lard, let the rosin oil melt and drip, cool and add roasted alum, mix well, apply to the affected area to form scabs; remove scabs the next day and apply again, do not wash with water. ("Selected Compilation of All Exhibitions - Dermatology")
13. To treat all wind-heat sores (pityriasis rosea), children's head sores: asphalt, yellow wax, sesame oil each ten taels, croton fruit fourteen pieces. First boil asphalt, sesame oil, yellow wax into juice; then add croton fruit, stir continuously, wait until croton fruit turns black, discard croton fruit; then add two qian of fine powder, stir very evenly, cool, apply to sores. (Weisheng Baojian Soft Green Ointment)
14. To treat multiple arthralgia and various winds, body joint pain unbearable: rosin thirty jin refined fifty times, boil with wine ten times, twenty times is also acceptable; refine three liters of酥, warm, mix with three liters of rosin and stir well, take a square-cun spoonful on an empty stomach with wine, three times a day. (Qianjin Fang)
15. To treat multiple arthralgia: pine resin one liter, wine three liters, soak for seven days, take one ge, twice a day, several doses to cure. (Qianjin Fang)
16. To treat liver deficiency and eye tears: refined rosin one jin, brew two dou of rice, seven dou of water, two dou of yeast, make wine and drink frequently. (Gangmu)
17. To treat children's tight lips: roast rosin and apply. (Shenghui Fang)
18. To treat wind and insect toothache: scrape pine resin, dissolve in boiling water, rinse mouth. ("Binhu Collection of Simple Prescriptions")
19. To treat insect toothache: refined rosin one tael, vegetable oil three qian, boil on fire, when about to solidify, add true toad venom five fen, stir with chopsticks, take a grain-sized amount, insert into the toothache gap. ("Meishi Collection of Proven Prescriptions")
20. Prolonged deafness: three taels of refined rosin, one tael of Croton Fruit, mix and pound thoroughly until it can be formed into pills. Wrap in thin cotton and insert into the ear canal, changing daily. (From "Meishi's Collection of Proven Formulas")
21. For treating women's leucorrhea: Take five taels of rosin, boil it in two liters of wine until dry, then grind it finely in a wooden mortar. Mix with wine, flour, and water to form a paste, and shape into pills the size of wu zi (a type of seed). Take one hundred pills each time, swallowed with warm wine. (From "Zhai Yuan Fang")
22. For treating leprosy, cutaneous pruritus, loss of eyebrows and beard, and purple blisters on the body and face: Take an unspecified amount of rosin, decoct it nine times in a sand pot. After each decoction, let it sit overnight. After nine decoctions, it should resemble sand and is then suitable for consumption. If this medicine is taken, one must never consume salt again, as doing so will cause a relapse. (From "Diannan Bencao")