This product is the dried fruiting body of the Puff-Ball family plants Giant Puff-Ball (Calvatia gigantra (Batsh ex pers.) Loly), Purple Puff-Ball (Calvatia lilacina (Mont et Berk.) Lloyd), and Exfoliated Puff-Ball (Lasiosphaera fenzlii Renzlii Reich.). It is mainly produced in Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Jilin, Liaoning, and other provinces. It is harvested in autumn, with the outer hard skin removed, then cut into cubes or ground into powder for use.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Acrid, neutral. act on lung channel.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and removing toxins, benefiting the throat, and stopping bleeding.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for wind-heat and lung fire causing sore throat, cough, and loss of voice. This herb has a pungent taste and light quality, entering the lung meridian. It can both disperse wind-heat from the lung meridian and clear excess fire from the lung meridian, excelling in removing toxins and benefiting the throat, making it a common remedy for sore throat. For mild cases, it can be used alone by grinding into powder and holding it in the mouth, or combined with Lonicera, Forsythia, Skullcap Root, and other herbs. For severe cases, it can be used with Mentha, Great Burdock Achene, Scrophularia Root, Coptis Rhizome, Isatis Root, and others to achieve the effects of releasing the exterior with pungent-cool herbs, clearing heat, and removing toxins, such as in Universal Relief Decoction for Eliminating Toxin.
2. Used for hematemesis, nosebleeds, and traumatic bleeding. This herb has hemostatic properties and is used to treat bleeding caused by fire pathogen attacking the lungs and reckless movement of blood due to heat. It can be used alone or in combination with other blood-cooling and hemostatic medicinals. For traumatic bleeding, Puff-Ball powder can be applied to the wound to stop bleeding.

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

3-6 grams. Decoct for oral use. Apply an appropriate amount externally.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Contraindicated for those with cough and loss of voice caused by wind-cold.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

This product contains Puff-Ball element, urea, ergot sterol, leucine, and a large amount of sodium phosphate. Peeled Puff-Ball has hemostatic effects, showing significant hemostatic efficacy for oral and nasal bleeding. The decoction has inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus, and Diplococcus pneumoniae, and also inhibits a few pathogenic fungi. Puff-Ball element is an anti-cancer substance, showing inhibitory effects on throat cancer and lung cancer in animal clinical trials.