The medicinal material known as Tree-of-Heaven Bark has two sources as a commodity name: Chinese mahogany (Toona sinensis (A.Juss.) Roem.), a plant of the Meliaceae family, also known as pig toon, red toon, spring sun tree, spring vegetable tree, toon sprout tree, white toon, and fragrant tree. In Chinese medicine, the leaves of the toon, Tree-of-Heaven Bark, and the seeds of Chinese mahogany are used as medicinal materials. The other source is Heaven Ailanthus Bark, which is recorded in the Zhongguo Yaodian (Part One) (1995 edition) as Tree-of-Heaven Bark, specifically the dried root bark or trunk bark of the Simaroubaceae plant Ailanthus altissima (Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle), also known as the tree of heaven or stinking toon. It is a deciduous tree mainly produced in Zhejiang, Hebei, Hubei, and Jiangsu. The root bark or trunk bark is harvested in spring or autumn, with or without the outer rough bark removed, and then dried.

Chinese mahogany and Ailanthus altissima (stinking toon) are plants from two different families and genera, but they are often described together in historical materia medica. Their functions are generally similar, with Heaven Ailanthus Bark being more widely used today. Only in regions such as Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, and Guizhou is the bark of Chinese mahogany used, or both types are used interchangeably.

This medicinal material was first recorded in the Tang Bencao. Su Jing stated: "The toon and stinking toon trees are similar in shape, but the stinking toon wood is loose, while the toon wood is solid, which distinguishes them." Su Song noted: "Both trees are found in the north and south, and their trunks are generally similar, but the toon wood is solid, and its leaves are fragrant and edible, while the stinking toon wood is loose and has a foul odor." Li Shizhen remarked: "The toon, stinking toon, and khao are three varieties of the same tree. The toon has fine bark, solid and reddish flesh, and its tender leaves are fragrant and sweet, suitable for eating. The stinking toon has coarse bark, loose and white flesh, and its leaves have a foul odor... The bark and root bark of both the toon and stinking toon are used after scraping off the rough bark, dried in the shade, and then cut and roasted for use... However, the root of the stinking toon is particularly excellent." This indicates that the Tree-of-Heaven Bark used in ancient times referred to the root bark or trunk bark of both Chinese mahogany and Ailanthus altissima, with Ailanthus bark being preferred. Currently, in the mainland market, except for a few regions that use Chinese mahogany bark, most use Heaven Ailanthus Bark as Tree-of-Heaven Bark.

Bitter and astrient, cold. Act on large intestine and liver meridians.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Clearing heat and drying dampness, stopping leukorrhea and diarrhea, astringing and stopping bleeding.

bubble_chart Indications

1. Used for dampness-heat diarrhea, chronic diarrhea. This product clears heat and dries dampness, astringes and stops diarrhea, often used with Sanguisorba; for chronic diarrhea, it is often used with Chebula Fruit, clove fruit.
2. Used for red leucorrhea. This product clears heat and dries dampness, astringes and stops discharge, so it can be used to treat dampness-heat pouring down, belt vessel failing to regulate meridians, red leucorrhea, often used with Phelloendron Bark, such as Muyun Shugen Pill.
3. Used for menorrhagia and metrostaxis, bloody stool. This product clears heat and dries dampness, astringes and stops bleeding, so it can be used to treat blood heat menorrhagia and metrostaxis, hypermenorrhea, often used with Phelloendron Bark, Skullcap Root, Peony Root, Tortoise Carapace, etc.; "Shenghui Fang" uses this product with Cockcomb Flower to make pills, taken with Huangqi decoction, to treat bloody stool in weak individuals; Zhengzhi Zhunsheng Fang, uses this product alone, ground into powder, made into pills with vinegar, to treat hemorrhoid fistula disease with bleeding.
4. In addition, this product also has the effect of killing worms, taken internally to treat roundworm abdominal pain, used externally to wash scabies and cutaneous pruritus.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Xinxiu Bencao: "The leaves of the Toona tree are bitter and toxic. They are mainly used to wash sores, scabies, and wind ulcers. Boil the leaves in water and mix the juice for application. The bark is used to treat malnutrition and hidden sores."
2. Bencao Shiyi: "It is used to treat chronic dysentery with red and white discharge... parasitic infections, and to remove scabies and hidden sores... and to stop bleeding."
3. Zhenglei Bencao quotes Meng Xi: "It also stops excessive uterine bleeding and postpartum hemorrhage, heavy menstruation... and also stops reddish leukorrhea... and treats infantile malnutrition and dysentery."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

Decoct for oral use. Apply an appropriate amount externally.

bubble_chart Cautions and Contraindications

Tree-of-Heaven Bark should be used with caution in cases of deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach.

bubble_chart Processing and Storage

1. Purification: Wash clean (Pharmacopoeia 85).
2. Cutting: Wash clean, moisten thoroughly, cut into shreds or sections, and dry (Pharmacopoeia 85). Cut into thick slices (Standard).
3. Processing:
   1. Bran processing: Take bran, sprinkle it in a hot pan, heat until smoke rises, add Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds, quickly stir-fry until slightly yellow, remove, sieve out the bran, and let cool. For every 100kg of Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds, use 10kg of bran (Standard).
   2. Stir-frying: Place Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds or slices in a pan, heat with mild fire, stir-fry until the surface turns yellow, remove and let cool (Standard).
   3. Vinegar processing: Take Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds or slices, mix with rice vinegar, let sit briefly, place in a pan, stir-fry with mild fire until the surface turns yellow, remove and let cool. For every 100kg of Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds or slices, use 20kg of rice vinegar (Standard).
   4. Charcoal processing: Place Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds in a pan, stir-fry with strong fire until the outside turns black and the inside turns dark brown, spray with an appropriate amount of cold water to extinguish any sparks, remove, and let sit overnight (Liaoning).
   5. Honey processing:
      1. First, place honey in a pan, heat until boiling, add Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds, stir-fry with mild fire until yellow and no longer sticky, remove and let cool. For every 500g of Tree-of-Heaven Bark shreds, use 90g of refined honey (Henan).
      2. Take clean Tree-of-Heaven Bark slices, place in a pan and heat with mild fire until warm, add refined tender honey, stir frequently to evenly coat the medicine with honey, stir-fry until the surface turns yellow, remove and let cool until no longer sticky. For every 1kg of Tree-of-Heaven Bark, use 100g of refined honey (Heilongjiang).

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

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

The bark contains amarolide, amarolide-11-acetate, shinjulactone C; various toxic β-carboline alkaloid derivatives; and Toosendanin (C₃₀H₃₉O₁₁, melting point 178～180℃, 238～240℃), sterols, and tannins.

1. Antibacterial effect: A 100% decoction of Tree-of-Heaven Bark in water has been shown to inhibit Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei, and Escherichia coli in vitro. Clinical observation: The water decoction is effective against acute bacterial dysentery, with 81 out of 82 cases cured, and fever mostly subsiding to normal within 3 days after medication. Using a 100% water decoction, 68 out of 70 cases were cured, with an average cure time of 6.3 days. The average time for body temperature to return to normal was 1.35 days. Diarrhea was controlled on average in 2.4 days, and stool returned to normal on average in 3 days. It is also effective against amoebic dysentery.
2. Preparations of the dried bark of Tree-of-Heaven have a certain therapeutic effect on ulcer disease, with clinical reports indicating a total effective rate of 89.45%. However, there are side effects such as grade I dry mouth and throat dryness; very few cases reported nausea and vomiting.
3. There are also reports that Tree-of-Heaven Bark has certain efficacy against ascariasis and cervical cancer; using the eosin test as a pharmacological indicator, it has been proven that amarolide and an unidentified compound X have strong anticancer activity.

bubble_chart Supplementary Medicinals

Tree-of-Heaven Bark is mainly used to treat dysentery, enteritis, urinary tract infections, bloody stool, leucorrhea, and leg pain caused by wind-dampness. The leaves and young branches of Chinese Mahogany are mainly used to treat dysentery. The seeds of Chinese Mahogany are mainly used to treat gastric and duodenal ulcers, chronic gastritis, and other conditions.