This product is the middle layer of the stem of the perennial evergreen tree or shrub plant of the Gramineae family, Bambusa tuldoides Munro, Sinocalamus beecheyanus (Munro) McClure var. pubescens P. F. Li, or Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis Stapf. It is mainly produced in the Yangtze River basin and southern provinces. It can be harvested and processed all year round. The fresh stem is taken, the outer skin is removed, and the slightly green middle layer is scraped into strips or cut into thin strips, then bundled and dried in the shade. It is used raw or processed with ginger juice.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet, slightly cold. act on lung and stomach channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and resolving phlegm, relieving irritability and stopping vomiting.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for cough or restlessness and insomnia caused by phlegm-heat. Bamboo Shavings are sweet and cold in nature, good at clearing phlegm-heat. When phlegm-heat is removed, lung qi becomes smooth and cough stops; when phlegm-fire is cleared, the mind is calmed, and restlessness is relieved, leading to peaceful sleep. For treating lung heat cough with yellow and thick phlegm, it is often combined with Trichosanthis Fruit, White Mulberry Root-Bark, etc.; for treating restlessness and insomnia due to phlegm-fire disturbing the heart, it is combined with Immature Orange Fruit, Pinellia, Poria, such as in Gallbladder-Warming Decoction.
2. Used for stomach heat vomiting. This product can clear stomach heat and stop vomiting, often combined with Coptis Rhizome, Pinellia, etc.; if there is stomach deficiency with heat causing vomiting, it can be combined with tangerine peel, Fresh Ginger Rhizome, Ginseng, etc., as in the "Golden Cabinet" Tangerine Peel and Bamboo Shavings Decoction.
3. In addition, this product also has the effect of cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and can be used for hematemesis, nosebleed, menorrhagia and metrostaxis, etc.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Bielu: "Treats vomiting, warms qi, cold and heat, hematemesis, menorrhagia."
2. Bencao Jingshu: "Bamboo Shavings are sweet and cold, they relieve the heat of the Yangming, causing pathogenic qi to recede and vomiting to stop. Sweet and cold also cools blood and clears heat, hence it is effective for hematemesis, menorrhagia, and relapse due to sexual intemperance."
3. Benjing Fengyuan: "Clears the heat of the stomach, essential for treating virtual vexation, thirst, and vomiting due to stomach deficiency."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct and take 6-10g. When used raw, it resolves phlegm and heat; when stir-fried with ginger juice, it stops vomiting.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

Bamboo shavings powder has a strong inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus albus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus coli, and Bacillus typhosus.